It’s no secret, I’m a massive fan of the KontrolFreek thumbstick add-ons for Xbox One. I’m not however the world’s biggest promoter of Destiny. Thankfully whilst the latest sticks from KontrolFreek come emblazoned with the iconic Destiny logo, they are quite happily at home on a control pad that rarely goes near a first person shooter.
You see, much of my gaming time these days is spent away from the AAA titles, instead seeing me plough some time into the smaller indie games that are available on the market. But hey, this isn’t a review about my gaming prowess, it’s a review for the KontrolFreek Destiny CQC Signature Edition thumbsticks for Xbox One. And you know what? They are bloody great.
Coming in the usual basic but highly effective KF packaging, initial thoughts surrounding the Destiny signature sticks point to the space age silver on black colour scheme as something that should delight the vast majority of gamers. The colours themselves don’t shout from the rooftops and allow a stealth approach when combined with the standard black Xbox One controller or the new Special Edition Copper Shadow version. In fact, they go beautifully with the latter, with the two tone scheme of both pad and stick working well. I’m not however sure you’d want to be plonking these on your Lunar White pad. It just doesn’t work so well from a visual point of view. But hey, each to their own and if you want to combine a combo of white, gold, silver and black, then who am I to tell you otherwise.
What does work extremely well though is the combination of the imprinted tricorn Destiny logo on top, surrounded by a brilliantly soft, triangular tire tread outer rim. This ensures that if you’re looking for a hybrid solution – one taking up home in the halfway house between the control of a concave and the precision of a convex stick – then the Destiny variety are the ones for you. They may feel harder to the touch than something like the brilliant Galaxy sticks that KF have created, but there is most definitely a spring in them that just urges you to keep caressing them. Well, maybe not caressing, that would just be weird, but you’ll never tire of feeling their effects against your thumbs.
With the usual solid three pronged attack giving your pad every opportunity to keep the thumbstick add-ons attached, you’ll have confidence in every situation. Whether that be in a firefight on Destiny, or god forbid, you decide to drop into Star Wars Battlefront or The Division with a rival games logo proudly adorning your pad.
The 8.0mm extra height that these mid-ranged add-ons bring isn’t too big, or too small, for any hand type and adults, kids and adults who think they are kids, should be delighted with the increased comfort, enhanced grip, improved accuracy and overall feel that they bring.
I’ve been using the Destiny CQC Signature Edition thumbsticks for Xbox One for a number of weeks now and not once have I even felt like removing them. They have stood up well to all manner of gaming sessions, from the hot and sticky, to the more relaxed multiple hour long affairs, with little to no sign of degradation. These sticks are pretty much made to last and, whilst they come in with a pretty hefty price tag compared to a lesser brand, should see you right for some time yet.
In fact, I strangely haven’t missed the fact that they are different from my usual Galaxy add-ons and that means there is going to be one hell of a fight on the cards as both sticks do battle for top spot in this gamer’s life.
In summary, the Destiny CQC Signature Edition thumbsticks are nothing short of brilliant.
Buy them…whatever your mission!
You can grab the Destiny CQC Signature Edition thumbsticks direct from KontrolFreek right now.Â
Related: Unboxing and fitting the KontrolFreek Destiny CQC Signature Edition Thumbsticks for Xbox One
