The New King of Xbox Controllers?
The NACON Revolution X Unlimited Controller for Xbox comes to market aiming to deliver on three unique fronts – precision, reactivity and customisation. A premium offering, I think it nails pretty much all three of those selling points, but then also goes one step further.
How much further? Well, this could well be the best Xbox controller on the market. Period.
I’ve used a ton of controllers over the years, with multiple alternatives to the Xbox Elite having passed through my hands. It’s that segment which NACON are aiming to conquer, with a premium Xbox and PC controller that oozes quality. You just need to pick this thing up to be immediately impressed. And then, once connected to the gaming device of your choice, it continues to back up those claims with aplomb.
Connectivity and Weight
A wireless controller that just so happens to cater for the wired brigade if preferred, with a decently lengthy USB-A to USB-C cable included in the box, the Revolution X Unlimited feels stunning in the hand. It’s a reasonably heavy old thing, weighing in at some 325 grams straight out of the box, but the tactility it allows is right up there with some of the best controllers we’ve ever laid hands on.
Unrivaled Grip and Microswitched Precision
All black in design with green Xbox detailing on the microswitched face buttons and cosmetic asides, it’s well textured along the arms to ensure that grip is never seen as an issue. In fact, this could be one of the grippiest controllers available today, with an almost-rubber vibe skirting down the extremes of the arms, and then around the back. The rest of the controller features a soft-touch that works along the front plate and then into the back segments.
Front and centre, the Revolution X Unlimited has everything you would expect of an Xbox controller, and then some. Ever-so-slightly oversized face buttons feel great to hit, with the microswitches beneath allowing for all-out precision, whilst Hall Effect thumbsticks rise high from the controller, extremely well textured on the top and sides to ensure no thumb slippage. Concaved out of the box, these are about as good to caress as you could ever get.
A D-Pad for the Ages
There’s a stunning D-Pad too, something which I never thought I’d ever type in one sentence. Looking like that of an Elite, it’s a disc of pure joy, sleek, stealthily placed and on hand when times call, running with a ‘Mouse click feel’. Again, some nice texturing on top allows this to be extremely pleasant to use, with just the right amount of ‘click’ under it. Mouse click levels? I’m unsure, but it’s definitely nice to tap.
Bumpers, Triggers, and Audio Control
An Xbox Nexus button, the usual Menu, Select and Share buttons do as they should do whilst bumpers and triggers ramp up the quality once more. Smooth bumpers are complemented nicely by textured, grippy, rumble triggers, and these are shaped nicely enough that you’ll want to pull on them at will. NACON are selling these triggers as instantly adjustable; something I am fully on board with.
A 3.5mm audio jack caters for those gamers who like a wired headset in their lives, whilst a quick hitting mic mute button sits just next to that.
Programmable Buttons and Accessories
So far, so premium Xbox controller eh? Well, NACON ain’t done there because it’s in the extra details where the Revolution X Unlimited gets that ‘Unlimited’ tag.
We’ve got six further programmable ‘S’ buttons; two sitting next to the triggers, two right underneath your middle fingers as you hold the controller, and then another two kicking around at the bottom of the arms. We’ve found those latter two to play nicely with our fourth finger, even if six (yes, that is SIX) further buttons on an Xbox pad does feel a tad overkill. If you need the customisation and personalisation though, this has it in abundance.
You can customise things further still with the inclusion of Bluetooth connectivity if you need it, various profiles as well, switchable around the back of the controller, as you make the most of both Advanced and Classic settings. And further to that, is the joy of the included accessories case in the Revolution X Unlimited box, complete with an extra old-school 4-axis D-Pad, concave thumbstick toppers (both of thick and thin variety), stick shafts of varying dimensions and additional weights.
What’s that? Weights you say? That’s right, should you not find the 325 gram weight of the Revolution X Unlimited to be enough for your gaming hands, the arm covers slide off to allow you the chance to insert further ballast, from 10 grams, to 14, to 16 grams. We sit here wondering why, but each gamer to their own and at least they are super simple to slide in place.
Better still, all of this, including the controller itself, sits nicely in a hard-shelled carry case for when you need to chuck it in a backpack and get the hell out of dodge.
Seamless Integration and App Control
The NACON Revolution X Unlimited controller works in both wired and wireless fashion, with a USB-A dongle allowing connection to your device. We’ve mostly been using this with our Xbox Series X, with the dongle plugged in to the included controller dock, as that then allows for a) connection, and b) charge of the controller. It’s a decent little dock too, with the pad lining up with three-pins on the dock once you understand the knack to placement. Various bits of lighting signal charge allowances. It’s a really simple solution and should mean that whenever you come to fire up a gaming session, your NACON Revolution X Unlimited is ready, waiting, fully charged.
As a general rule, we’ve not sat down and stopwatched the charge rate of the Revolution X Unlimited, mostly as a variety of scenarios dictate potential playtime and charge capabilities, but NACON state you’ll be getting ten hours of play, and a charge within six hours from the dock. We don’t think they are too far from the truth there either.
Of course, if you prefer to go wired or use this with PC, you’ll be able to cut the 2ms wireless latency down to 1ms. But then, cables…
We’ve found connectivity to be rock solid during our few weeks of testing, with initial setup about as easy as you can imagine – plug-in that dongle and we were away. And we’ve also appreciated the included Command Screen that is slap bang in the centre of the pad. Whilst not totally essential to our needs, much like the six (did we mention SIX!) programmable buttons, it’s a good way of keeping on top of settings and more custom options. Playing around with button programs through this is easy enough, as is connectivity and the like. It’s all pretty clear too.
If you need to go further though, the NACON Revolution X Unlimited App for Xbox is free to download and – at least once you’ve gone through an initial update process that is slightly too confusing – the world is pretty much your oyster as to how you set this thing up. The App is super detailed and full of opportunity to go changing things to your own liking.
The New Contender for Best Xbox Controller
So, the NACON Revolution X Unlimited is, without doubt, right up there with some of the finest controllers on the market. It may not be a totally ‘official’ first party Elite controller, but the Designed for Xbox tag is most definitely warranted. It may also not be as blingy to look at as something like our gorgeous MegaModz controller, nor come with the gimmicky twists of Turtle Beach’s Stealth Pivot. But what it does do is take the base founded by NACON in their Revolution X Pro from a few years back, and update it all for a more modern day gaming life, chucking in wireless capabilities as they go.
If you want precision, or reactivity, or full-on customisation, you’ve got it with the NACON Revolution X Unlimited controller for Xbox. And then you’ve got a ton more on top.
We’d go as far to say that aside from the requirement of a wireless dongle, there’s next to no reason to not ditch your Elite controller for this. And with that in mind, applause must go the way of NACON. They’ve nailed the premium controller game with this one.
It feels very much like time to go and rewrite that ‘Best Alternatives to the Xbox Elite Controller’ piece…
Huge thanks go out to NACON for providing the Revolution X Unlimited controller for review. You can grab one for yourself by visiting NACON direct, with current pricing sitting in the €199.90 region.
