The Raiju V3 Pro is one of those rare PlayStation-layout controllers that also works brilliantly on PC, augmented with modern tech like drift-resistant TMR joysticks, Hall Effect triggers, six extra buttons and polling rates up to 2000Hz. After a month with the Raiju V3 Pro, completing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the latest MechWarrior 5: Clans DLC and a long-running F1 23 campaign, I’m happy to call it: this is the best symmetric controller I’ve ever tested.
Design and Features
The Raiju V3 Pro’s matte black plastic shell outwardly resembles the DualSense, but conceals a multitude of features – some intended for competitive gamers and plenty of others that benefit everyone. The most obvious example of the latter are the Raiju’s advanced thumbsticks: unlike the similarly premium Sony DualSense Edge, the Raiju uses TMR (tunneling magnetoresistance) sensors. This tech has just gone mainstream in the last couple of years, and has both longevity (anti-drift) and precision (no dead zone) benefits over traditional potentiometer-based alternatives, making them a natural choice for a $220 gamepad that you’ll want to use for years to get your money’s worth.
The stick caps are also swappable, with a taller concave cap and a same-size convex cap awaiting you in the included carry case. That same case also includes a minute screwdriver for installing or removing the four rear buttons, which come attached by default and are labeled M3 to M6. These back paddles, plus two additional clicky M1 and M2 keys hiding out near the shoulder buttons, can all be remapped using the Synapse software on PC or the Razer Controller iOS/Android app. There’s also an additional button below the PlayStation button to swap between profiles quickly without software.
The regular face buttons are also interesting, with what Razer calls ‘mecha-tactile’ switches – essentially clicky, short-threw variants of a traditional membrane button under a PBT cap. These give each button and d-pad direction a pleasing amount of tactile and audible feedback when pressed, while the short travel distance is nicely calibrated to feel immediate without making accidental presses too easy.
The same fine-tuning is evident on the Hall Effect triggers, which are also more durable than their potentiometer-based forebears. A trigger lock on each side allows you to swap the full travel distance for a short and snappy digital input with a mouse click – ideal for timing-dependent games like Elden Ring or Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The d-pad is also customizable, with four-way and eight-way modes, plus four SOCD settings that let you choose what happens when two opposing directions are held at the same time, whether that’s prioritising the first or last input, cancelling the inputs or recognising both simultaneously.
Moving deeper down, into the guts of the controller, there’s a high-end microcontroller that allows for a maximum polling rate of 2000Hz when wired to a PC. For a wireless PC connection to the included 2.4GHz USB dongle, the maximum is 500Hz, while on PlayStation 5, it’s 250Hz – a platform limitation, Razer tells me. Higher polling rates cut down input latency, though genres like fighting games and shooters will feel the difference most readily.
Gaming and Performance
With its comfortable grips, TMR sticks and familiar layout, adapting to the Raiju V3 Pro was the work of a moment, but I really came to appreciate it while playing through Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The Raiju V3 Pro carried me through the end game and its increasingly challenging optional content, proving more comfortable for timing parries than the keyboard-and-mouse setup I was using before. Being able to lock the triggers helped for executing Gradient Parries or quickly setting off at a run, and even aiming for moving weak points using the left thumbstick was easier than I expected.
F1 23 was a sterner test of the analogue triggers and thumb sticks, which the Raiju V3 passed with precision, and I appreciated having extra buttons on-hand for changing brake bias or differential settings without taking my eyes off the next corner. MechWarrior 5: Clans is another game that has more functionality than can easily be mapped to a default controller, so having a conveniently-placed rear button to quickly enable a MASC boost or change weapon control groups often came in useful. I found aiming a challenge here versus my usual mouse-and-keyboard, but setting the deadzone to 3% in Synapse and opting for a taller stick cap made things easier.
While most of my testing took place on PC, I also dug out the PlayStation 5 to get some impressions there. The Raiju V3 Pro can’t wake the console from sleep, nor can its software be run on the PlayStation directly – that luxury is only afforded to Sony’s own DualSense Edge. Similarly, there’s no counterpart to the DualSense’s adaptive triggers, which means games that heavily rely on haptic feedback, like Astro’s Playroom, fall flat. In every other sense though, the Raiju V3 Pro felt as hooked-up and comfortable on PlayStation as it did on PC, whether I was flying through intersections in Grand Theft Auto 5 or gunning down adversaries in Battlefield 6’s Redsec battle royale mode.
Battery life for the Raiju V3 Pro is rated at 36 hours, which felt accurate – getting the platinum in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 only took two charges, and the rest of my testing was done with only a single further top-up. One silver lining of the highest polling rates being locked behind wired play means that you don’t need to choose between longevity and performance, as you do on high-end gaming mice that perform at their best at 8000Hz – but tend to run out of juice within a day or two of sustained play.
Will is deputy tech editor for IGN, specialising in PC hardware, sim racing and display tech. He has been publishing about games and technology since 2001 (age 12). Will was formerly Deputy Editor at Digital Foundry. He is currently playing MechWarrior 5: Clans.
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