Hyperkin Xbox "Duke" Controller Review - Indepth

[MotoRacer]

Seems I found the last one of these in Phoenix that isn't on hold or reserved (literally.. it's been a mission and a half...).

 

I figured I'd let people know how the controller is, just in case they either make more or you all feel like spending 130 bucks on ebay for one. It seems more reviewers never go over things I personally care about in a controller. In the case of this one, all they talk about is the oled screen displaying the og xbox boot sequence. In fact, most reviewers claim it's an LCD screen, which is wrong.

 

For those wondering about the actual feel and functionality of the controller, this write up is for you.

 

First thing I noticed, the joysticks are smoother. Not just in the resistance they offer, but the deadzone "lump" in the center isn't nearly as noticeable as the original duke pad's. This can be a good or bad thing I suppose, I personally like it better, but it's not the same.

 

The L3 and R3 "button" click into the joystick is also different, and definitely for the better. One of the reasons old Xbox controllers suffered from joystick ghosting / drift is because people would press the joysticks in while pressing them up in order to run in certain games. This bends the pin inside after time to such a point where it'll eventually make your character walk on it's own, or move the view on it's own. Original Xbox controllers, heck even modern ones, offer a considerable resistance to press in, resulting in needing to press harder to click the joystick in than is probably safe for the wear of the stick (which is probably why Xbox controllers , even till today, suffer so much from faulty ghosting sticks). These on the other hand click in with minor resistance, similar to a Playstation controller, but have more give when it's clicked in which feels satisfying. I can't say as to how long these will last, as I haven't owned it long enough. But I could see these lasting longer simply for this reason.

 

The joystick rubber is softer. In my personal opinion this is for the worse. Don't get me wrong, it feels fine. But it has a certain grainyness to the feel that makes me feel like over time they'll start to wear down and flake off. Again, I've not experienced any wear, but I know what the original PS4 and Xbox One joysticks felt like that fell apart at launch, and these feel even more delicate than those. The good news is this controller is ridiculously easy to disassemble, so if you want to add in original duke joystick nubs in the future, you can.

 

Face buttons are loud. That being said, original duke controller buttons always felt really mushy and undefined to me, so the clicky nature of these is definitely something that feels much better. That being said, there is slight noise that comes with that. I didn't hear it after a couple minutes of play as I auto tuned it out after a while.

 

Plastic texture is much smoother than the original. It's far less textured and grainy, and I actually feel like it feels more premium the way it's been built. It's hard to describe, but it just feels really good in the hands, and doesn't feel like cheap plastic. The shape of the pad is exactly the same, however there are some differences to the pad itself.

 

Difference #1, there are now two bumper buttons on the top of the controller where your index fingers used to rest. These... are.... astounding. I can't get over how good these feel. They're notched, so the tip of your index fingers feel like they're cradled in there, and now your fingers don't feel like they're awkwardly sitting there with no other better place to go. There's purpose. It's a good thing they're here too, as playing games like Sea of Thieves where you have to press and hold bumper buttons while using the right joystick would have been impossible to do if they only offered the black and white buttons (which are still there btw). This is my favorite change to the design. I just love them.

 

Difference #2, the logo button. It's actually a button. Every reviewer keeps saying " you can just press it, and it'll keep on playing the boot up sequence... no other purpose to it". Actually, this is EXTREMELY wrong. No reviewer so far has seemed to mention this is the Home button! So if you press it all the time, you'll be pretty annoyed. As a home button, it feels natural. It's easy to press, and well located for this function. I quite like it, and quite like having the start and menu button below instead of up high. The screen is beautiful, honestly. To such an extent it's a shame the OLED wasn't used for anything else.

 

The dpad is FIXED. I can't scream this from the roof tops any louder than I am already. The pdad is no longer a mushy, clunky mess. You can feel each direction on this thing, and even the dpad plastic itself is slightly different to be more defined. It's not going to replace your Saturn pad or anything, but this is a major improvement over the original!

 

Triggers are exactly the same. In fact, if you open this thing up, there's more than you'd expect to be exactly or near-exactly the same. With this comes some things from the original Duke pad which aren't so good. My right trigger is already starting to squeak..... just like every one of my original Duke pads. I can't blame Hyperkin for this, as it's a design flaw of the original trigger design rubbing on the controller's plastic. But it's a problem, and it's still there. It's still wired like the original. Don't blame Hyperkin, no controllers from third parties can be wireless as Microsoft owns the proprietary tech for this to work with the console. That being said, the cord seems to be about 10 feet long which is nice, and it also detaches.

 

The "VMU" holes on the top of the controller, like the DC, are gone. The striped design now fully covers that area. It looks awkward to say the least. It's fine, it won't bother anyone while playing of course, but ... eh.. there needs to be SOMETHING there other than flat plastic.

 

Lastly, it comes with a much welcome 3.5mm headphone jack on the controller. And it works perfectly, which I was honestly surprised about. Obviously, it won't work with your chat pad.

 

Button response, etc is all perfect btw. No complaints.

 

Being able to play Star Wars Battlefront 2 (the older one) with enhanced graphics on an Xbox One X with this pad literally made me giddy. It was as if you are playing on a super powerful original xbox. The controls all come flooding back to you instantly, and it feels natural. As so all other OG Xbox games, and Halo 1 and 2 on the master chief collection. In fact, I dare say if you're an original Halo player from back in the day, this controller is probably a necessity. It just feels right.

 

Playing with modern games is initially funny, but works well. Sea of Thieves took a hot minute to get used to pressing the bumpers on this instead of on Xbox One controller's, and also for the fact you're using your middle fingers on the triggers instead of your index fingers. But it worked well, and I played 2 hours on it and had a great time.

 

One thing I have to express before I wrap this up....because you don't need to press the black and white buttons anymore, I no longer get lost on this pad. With the original, I never knew what button I was pressing, as for whatever reason, I couldn't keep the black and white buttons separated in my mind from the y and b. Since I no longer have to go up there to search for them, the face buttons have NEVER felt so intuitive. And I swear these buttons are wider and flatter as I they don't hurt like the originals, nor feel as clumped together. I know the placement is the same, but these do have a different feel, and it's welcome.

 

For $70, I know it's high, but if you're like me I definitely recommend it. For eBay prices?.... eh, probably not worth it, although it might be down the road if more of these don't come in stock as is rumored (Hyperkin doesn't even have the pad on their site). It won't replace your XB1 pad for everything, especially since using your middle fingers for triggers simply won't feel right for every XB1 game. It's also good not to use for every game if for anything to keep it in nice condition as it doesn't seem we'll be able to easily and affordably replace them. But man, for all the original Xbox games and for certain XB1 games, it's a dream. An ABSOLUTE dream. I can't recommend it enough despite it's flaws.

Edited May 19, 2018 by MotoRacer

[MotoRacer]

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

Thank you for the very thorough review and info. I know the DUKE is typically is either a love it or hate thing but I really enjoyed it. I am probably in the minority though that I also liked the Dreamcast and N64 controller, I have big hands and those controllers were comfortable and just made me feel, well, IN CONTROL compared to trying to fumble with tiny controllers. I would certainly be all over this if I were still in a financial position to be collecting, I think I appreciate just about everything about it and would happily rock a DUKE. I DO think it is a tad over priced for what it is, I don't really care that it is not wireless but for the price I do understand how many would be turned off because of that but then again I would suspect most who would say "I would love an original XBOX DUKE controller because I loved the original" probably aren't to worried about it being wired lol. Anyway thanks again for the thorough review.

[Jess Ragan]

Hey OldSchoolRetroGamer, you don't look so good...

 

The screen in the center of the controller makes me think you should be able to shake it and get predictions. "Will the Xbox One ever be able to outsell the Playstation 4?" "Outlook doubtful."

[Flojomojo]

I guess I'm glad they filled in the giant memory card ports.

Wired only is a dealbreaker for me.

I neither loved nor hated the Duke, but this reminds me of https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2001/11/28

 

I like the current xbone controllers so I'm not the target market, but I'm glad some people are digging this.

 

Hyperkin and the massive Duke are better than Penny Arcade any day.

[Blazing Lazers]

I always liked this controller and still have one or two that see use from time to time. Thank you so much for posting this review, and I will be purchasing one of these once they become more generally available. You've made a sale or two for those selling these!

[Punisher5.0]

The Duke was the only Micrsoft controller I ever liked. When they replaced it with the S I lost all interest in anything Xbox.

[MrMaddog]

They Finally Fixed The Duke!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

I mean...very insightful and well detailed review.

[Games Retrospect]

So the home button has an amazing screen on it and it's only used to display the boot sequence from the original Xbox. It's awesome that it shows that, but it's unfortunate that it only shows that and nothing else.

[bojay1997]

Looks like Gamestop has a green see-through version up for preorder now shipping in early September.

 

https://www.gamestop.com/xbox-one/accessories/hyperkin-duke-for-xbox-one-green-wired-controller-only-at-gamestop/165964