In our last full controller review here on TouchArcade, I’ve been using the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition for PC and PlayStation on the Steam Deck, PS5, and PS4 Pro for over a month. Before I interviewed PDP Victrix about the controller and arcade stick, I was very curious about the modular nature of the controller, also because after liking the Xbox Elite (1st gen) and DualSense Edge I wanted to try another “Pro” Controllers through the years.
Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller – What’s in the Box
Typically, the controller only comes with a cable and sometimes a charging dock. With the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition, you get the controller, braided cable, a high-quality protective case to hold the controller and everything else that comes with it, replacement battles with a six-button layout Controller mod game, two doors, two replacement analog stick caps, two D-pad caps, a screwdriver for use with the controller, and a blue wireless USB adapter.
The items are neatly placed in the box and the quality itself is very good. Unlike the regular Victrix Pro BFG controller, some of the controller’s items are themed to fit the new Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition aesthetic. Keep this in mind as I haven’t seen an official replacement, but I hope they start selling it soon.
Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller Compatibility
In theory, the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition controller supports PS5, PS4 and PC. I no longer use Windows, so I’m curious if this will work out of the box on the Steam Deck. Since I prefer the PlayStation button prompts in games, I set it up for a PS5 and plugged the adapter into my Steam Deck. It runs without issues and doesn’t require any updates.
On the console side, if you want to play wirelessly, you’ll need the same adapter and set the switch to PS4 or PS5. I have no issues playing the game on PS4 Pro in PS4 mode and PS5 in PS5 mode. In fact, since I don’t have any PS4 controllers that work outside of the PS4-enabled arcade sticks, it’s a pretty nice bonus when I want to test something on the PS4 and compare it to the PS5.
Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller Features
One of the big draws of the Victrix Pro BFG controller is the modularity that allows you to use symmetrical stick layouts, asymmetrical stick layouts, use the battlepad to change the content of the fighting game, adjust the triggers, thumbsticks and D-pad . This is designed to allow you to adjust the controller depending on the game you’re playing. For example, I use a symmetrical joystick layout when playing Katamari Damacy Reroll, but I might switch to an Xbox-style asymmetrical layout when playing DOOM Eternal.
Being able to adjust the trigger stop is also great because I can change it when playing a racing game with analog trigger support, and also select the shortest stop when playing a game with digital trigger support. Other than that, the multiple d-pad options are great, but I’ve been trying to stick with the preset diamond option to get used to it, and I’m loving it. While I wouldn’t use it for a platformer, the other D-pad options work well here.
Since this is an official PS5 and PS4 licensed controller, it’s worth noting that there’s no rumble, no haptic feedback, no adaptive trigger support, and no gyro/motion control support. I don’t care much about the gyro, but the lack of any rumble is disappointing since you have sub-$30 controllers these days that offer decent rumble.
The Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition comes with 4 paddles or paddle-like buttons. I wish there was a suitable paddle to remove. I mapped two of them to L3 and R3 and the top to L1 and R1 because I use them the most in games like Monster Hunter World and also hate pressing the sticks. But it’s nice to have four buttons here.
Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller Look and Feel
Visually, I love the gorgeous bright highlights and colors used on the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition. It’s not as elegant as the preset black model with purple highlights, but its light blue, pink, purple, and Tekken 8 branding looks pretty good for a themed controller.
The Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition feels very comfortable in the hand, but is a bit too light for me. Materials for the main controller body range from feeling premium to average. It’s nowhere near the premium feel of the DualSense Edge, but that controller has an ugly, slick front panel that ruins everything. There’s a big difference in how this controller holds, I’ve put in 8 hours of use with the wired controller and haven’t gotten tired of holding it. Lightness pays off here.
Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller on PS5
On PS5, there are a few things to keep in mind. This is an officially licensed controller, but you can’t turn on your PS5 with it. This seems to be a limitation of 3rd party controllers on PS5, but it’s an annoyance to keep in mind. Apart from that, haptic feedback, adaptive triggers and gyroscope are not available here. On top of that, it supports the trackpad and all the buttons I use on my DualSense controller, including the shared buttons.
Victrix Pro BFG on Steam Deck
As I mentioned above, the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition works out of the box on the Steam Deck with the dongle plugged into the official docking station I use. It’s even correctly recognized as a PS5 Victrix controller, the share button can be used to capture screenshots, and the trackpad works fine in PC games that support PlayStation controllers. This is awesome because some games don’t even recognize my DualSense correctly.
Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller Battery Life
The huge advantage the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition controller or regular controller has over the DualSense and DualSense Edge is the battery life. The battery life on a single charge is several times longer than DualSense and DualSense Edge. It’s also helpful to have a sign on the trackpad to indicate when the battery is low. This is great for playing on the Steam Deck, as other controllers don’t really indicate intuitively when the battery is low.
Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller Software
I can’t test it because it’s only available on the Microsoft Store and I no longer use Windows. Thankfully, it works directly with the Steam Deck, PS5, and PS4. One thing I’d like to see is if the controller works on iOS. I tested wirelessly on an iPad using the adapter, wired on an iPhone 15 Pro, and wired on an iPad Pro without success.
Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller Film
Currently, it has some significant negatives. These include no rumble, low polling rate, it doesn’t come with a Hall Effect sensor, and it requires a wireless adapter, at least for the model I have. The lack of rumble may not be an issue for some, but the polling rate is disappointing for a “Pro” controller. Under the DualSense Edge Wired it responds much better.
As for the Hall effect sensors, I’m glad Victrix is now selling new mods, but why don’t newly purchased controllers just ship with those original mods? Also, if I were to purchase the mod color option for my Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition controller, it would not match the aesthetics and would not have the PS5 front buttons.
Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller Review
Having used the controller for over a hundred hours on each platform in games like UFO 50, Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, Persona 3 Reload, and more, I can safely say, I enjoy using this controller, but rarely considering its price point, the issues are annoying. In many ways, the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition has the potential to be one of the best controllers in years if it can receive some fixes and changes for a potential successor. For now, its high asking price involves a few too many caveats to make sure it’s very good, but not surprising. The main issues currently holding it back are the lack of rumble, dongle requirements, the additional cost involved with the Hall effect rods, and the polling rate. These may not matter to some, but for a $200 “Pro” controller, I expected more.
Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition review score: 4/5
