PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless PS4 Controller Review

A good controller is incredibly important for a good play experience. More than just being able to control what you see, a good controller should be comfortable, sturdy and practical in its design. With the month or so I’ve had to use it, the PowerA Fusion Pro has stood out in almost every field. If you are looking for something like it and have the money to throw around, this is one of the best PS4 controllers you can find. 

How does the PowerA Fusion Pro feel?

The PowerA Fusion Pro has a pretty obvious niche behind it. If you play on PlayStation but like the Xbox controller, this is a no-brainer. It’s heavier than the PS4 controller but also much sturdier and bigger. It feels like a controller that won’t break easily and this works well in its favor. What comes in the box is a nice travel bag, a sturdy wire, and a handful of customization options. This means it’s designed to take to a friend's house, and its customization allows it to feel truly yours. You can change around the feel of the joystick or add new buttons to the back with 4 arms.

Though, if you don’t want to add some nice remappable buttons to the back or some new grips for the thumbsticks, you don’t have to. The PowerA Fusion Pro is quite expensive and all the customization available shows that. The controller can be shaped and remapped to fit a multitude of styles. The claw buttons you can click to the back can be swapped out in a few seconds with a standard backplate. Just click the side button down and swap them around. In the nice travel bag, there’s a strong USB, some thumb grips, a backplate, and some general information on how to use it. 

What's noticeable about the PowerA Fusion Pro the second you pick it up is the weight of it. It's a heavy controller with nice textured grips for you to hold on to. This same texture is found in the touchpad. Both are intended for precise movement and neither are likely to slip out of your palms. The comforting weight and smooth surface area make it fit nicely in rather big hands. It's not a huge controller but certainly bigger than the PS4, something my hands always felt a little too big for. The buttons all receive a rather satisfying click and the thumbstick are on par with the Xbox controller. The Fusion Pro is nice due to its fit and not its buttons, which are about what you'd expect from a controller at this price point. 

The PowerA Fusion Pro doesn’t appear to be a controller with revolutionary functions, but it does make up for that in its general stability. Nothing about its design blew me away but for its price range and type, it shouldn’t have to. You can change around most parts at ease to give something with consistency. If you are looking for a pro controller alternative with all the extras, this controller is exactly what you’re looking for.

Customization at your fingertips

This is clearly designed to be a controller you tailor to you. You can flip it around a bit and then take it to a friend's house to demolish the competition. The USB and all customization options fit in the travel pack, and it’s fairly unobtrusive and easy to hold. Just throw it into a backpack and head out. Of course, this isn’t the only way you can use it. The back has three central switches that flip it from a wired PS4 controller, to a wireless PS4 controller, to a wired PC controller. You can also flip nearby switches to affect the resistance of triggers, which was not really something I changed but definitely a cool option to have when you need it. 

In a sense, this is a good way to describe the PowerA Fusion Pro. I can’t guarantee I’ll always use the options available to me but it’s very nice to have them there. Being able to switch the back around to add a few more buttons, or the thumbsticks around for a different feel, makes the fairly high cost feel worth it. It’s a sturdy controller that just generally feels great in the hands.

This all being said, the PS4 will start to fade out over the next few years. After all, all things must end. You might be asking yourself how well it works for the future. Luckily, by just going into the devices section on the PS5, you can get hooked up in seconds. It’s obviously limited as it’s still a PS4 controller, but it’s a really nice backup to have. 

Unfortunately, the PS4 controller doesn’t have a built-in mic and its lack of haptic feedback and realistic rumble means they don’t work on PS5 games. If you want to use this on the PS5, you are limited to just PS4 games. For me, this was barely noticeable as the exclusive PS5 games are still fairly lacking, but this disparity will only get bigger with time. As your only controller for a PS5, I wouldn’t recommend this. As an extra controller and a nice way of diversifying your selection, this is still a solid choice for the current generation.

I’m going to be honest. Over the last generation, I’ve been more of a fan of the Xbox controller than the PlayStation. The PS4 had some really great design decisions and some quite cool gimmicks, but I’ve always found the Xbox controller just a little more comfortable. Needless to say, when I saw the PowerA Fusion Pro, I was rather excited to give it a go. With great customizability and lots of cool functions, it’s generally just a very solid controller. Although it has a steep price tag, it is worth every penny.

The PowerA Fusion Pro was provided by PowerA and is available from their site now or here via Amazon