SCUF Reflex Pro Review: The Best PS5 Controller?

570

I’ve seen many reviewers online claim that the SCUF Reflex Pro is the best PS5 controller you can get on the market. And, as far as first impressions go, it did ooze class when I first unboxed it.

This controller is advertised as a fantastic option for gamers that play a lot of FPS games, and you can already tell why when first holding it in your hand.

The controller comes with additional back buttons in the form of paddles that allow you to aim, shoot, jump, slide, crouch, melee, and more – without needing to move your hands or your fingers, nor use a claw grip.

It also comes with a variety of other interesting features like built-in grip, interchangeable thumbsticks with different sizes and shapes, and more.

By the end of this SCUF Reflex Pro review, we’ll determine whether this is worthy of the ‘best PS5 controller’ title. Spoiler: I’m not sure it is.

Design

The SCUF Reflex Pro unit that I bought was the white one. You do get other color options, but those were out of stock when I got mine. Not that it matters as I really enjoy the simplicity and general appearance of the white controller.

There’s a “greyscale” feel going on here with the main white front, grey back, and grey accents. The buttons are pretty minimalistic too – there are no icons on them and they’re just plain white like the d-pad buttons.

There’s a home button at the center of the two thumbsticks, and a profile button at the back of the controller right near the top.

Generally, there’s not a lot to see in terms of design, but I will say that it looks classy, and I’m a fan of its minimalism.

Build Quality

As far as build quality goes, the SCUF Reflex Pro definitely feels premium. Once you pick it up, it has a nice, reassuring heft to it that suggests that premium materials were used here. It’s not so heavy that you need to put it down after a while, it just feels… loaded.

You can change the thumbsticks and remove the back paddles pretty easily without requiring any tools, but you’ll have to be careful applying too much force while doing so, especially with the back paddles.

The controller also comes with a paracord USB-C charging cable which, again, feels very high quality. It has a bronzed finish and is one of my favorite things about the pad.

I should mention that I was slightly put off by the fact that the “home” and “profile” buttons were not perfectly set in the middle. I’m probably being nitpicky but it’s just something I noticed.

Overall, I would say that I get a good feeling from the build quality of the SCUF Reflex Pro. It looks and feels every bit like the premium controller that it is advertised to be, and I don’t think many people will have any problems with it in that department.

Features

A clean design and solid build quality are both great, but what matters the most in a gamepad is the features that it has and how it performs in real-life tests.

On that note, I’ll start off with the back paddles. As you’ll see in the attached picture, there are four back paddles here. It feels like overkill and I actually took two of them out because I really didn’t need more than two to play. However, you may find more uses for them than I did, so that’s a very subjective preference.

The paddles allow you to customize your button layouts so you can execute different moves without moving your fingers or playing with a claw grip as you would have to do with the regular PS5 controller.

As I mentioned previously, you can also swap out the thumbsticks. You just need to get your fingers underneath the bottom of the controller, pull off the front cover, slide it out, clip the thumbsticks off and line up the replacements as best you can.

The additional ones are domed and they come in two different sizes. In my opinion, the larger one for the right stick is better for slower, long-range, main AR-type fights, and the smaller one didn’t really work out well either.

I ended up sticking with the default pair, and they definitely feel nice to grip and to the touch.

One other key feature of the SCUF Reflex Pro is the grip. The entire back of the controller is made from a texturized rubber material that really makes holding it feel nice and comfortable.

It’s not often that you have a major, real-life practical use for the way a controller’s grip is built, so it was nice to see how this one helped my naturally sweaty palms to hold on better while gaming.

Pros and Cons

In terms of positives, the first thing that comes to mind is the way the controller feels in the hand. It’s possibly the best feeling controller I’ve ever held, and that’s especially true in comparison to the regular PS5 controller which was my go-to for a while.

The combination of the slight hefty weight with the textured grip provides a premium feel that I haven’t seen with many controllers that I’ve tested, and there’s also the USB-C cable that I really like too.

Unfortunately, it feels like I found more negatives than positives while testing the performance of the SCUF Reflex Pro in-game. To put things into context, my opinions are influenced by the fact that this is supposed to be the “best PS5 controller”, so I’m judging based on that.

Firstly, I started to notice a bit of stick drift in the right analog after a couple of weeks. If you play a lot of FPS games, then you know that the right stick is very important and is one of the most used buttons during gameplay.

For a controller that is advertised as an excellent option for FPS gamers, it does not bode well that the right stick appears unable to withstand the heavy beating that it is likely to receive from the hardcore FPS gamers.

Additionally, the back paddles look better than they perform. During the period of testing, I tried multiple button layouts and just couldn’t get to grips with them. The manufacturer might have been better off focusing on adding two excellent back paddles instead of four good-looking but mediocre ones.

If you’re getting the SCUF Reflex Pro controller based on the fact that it is supposed to be the one for FPS gamers, you may want to take these points into account.

How Does It Compare?

During the period that I was reviewing the SCUF Reflex Pro controller, I’d also been testing the Battle Beaver Pro Pick controller, so I was able to compare the two in specific areas.

In the Reflex Pro’s defense, it does feel more premium to hold compared to the alternative, and the USB-C cable is nice, but the Battle Beaver Pro Pick beat it down in other, more important areas.

The Battle Beaver’s back buttons look ugly in comparison to the SCUF Reflex Pro, but they perform so much better. This is a perfect example of function over form, and the advantage was despite the fact that my Battle Beaver Pro Pick controller was not the perfect size for my hands.

Additionally, the Battle Beaver Pro Pick has smart triggers. These come in really handy when you need to shoot, throw grenades, or perform other functions that you would typically use your L2 or R2 buttons for.

The SCUF Reflex Pro only has regular triggers, so it falls short again in that department.

The biggest indicator of the gap in the overall quality of both controllers is the fact that almost every single player in the Call of Duty League – a competition where SCUF is an official sponsor of the league and its players – uses a Battle Beaver.

Telling, isn’t it?

Cost

This is a premium controller, and it certainly comes at a premium price. The unit that I picked up cost me £219.99, which is around $250. It’s a lot of money for a controller, and it is a bit disappointing that the price does not reflect performance.

It took only one game for me to know that I definitely prefer the Battle Beaver Pro Pick controller, and it’s cheaper than the SCUF Reflex Pro.

Verdict

You probably know where I’m heading with this. The question at the beginning of the review was whether the SCUF Reflex Pro controller is the best PS5 controller on the market, and the simple answer is that it is not (in my opinion).

In fact, I would argue that it probably is not even the second best, especially when you bring in factors such as value for money.

That said, there are many other PS5 controllers out there that I’ve not tested yet, so it will be interesting to see how the SCUF Reflex Pro compares to those other options.