PS5 Developers Reveal How They're Using The DualSense Controller In Their Games

Sony's PlayStation 5 console will arrive with a brand-new controller, dubbed the DualSense. Compared to the DualShock 4 controller that the PlayStation 4 used, the DualSense features multiple upgrades in the form of several new features. A rechargeable battery via USB-C and a built-in microphone all make for an improved controller, but it's the addition of haptic feedback and adaptive triggers in conjunction with the new hardware inside the PS5 that Sony says will result in a more transformative experience.

Developers of upcoming games will make use of these new attributes within their titles, with each studio adding their own unique touch to how these features are implemented. In a new PlayStation blog post, several studios detailed how the DualSense will factor into the design of their games.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales

"The haptic feedback precision allows us to do all sorts of new things," Brian Horton, creative director on Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales explained. "We'll be hinting to players which direction attacks are coming from by providing haptic feedback from the appropriate direction on the DualSense wireless controller. Because of the high resolution of DualSense wireless controller's haptics system, we can really push the dimensionality of the feedback. As you hold down Square to do a Venom Punch, you feel Spider-Man's bio-electricity crackle across from the left side of the controller, culminating in the right side on impact."

Deathloop

Deathloop may be shipping out later than expected, but when it arrives it'll use the DualSense to make the many weapons within its world feel more realistic when players pull the trigger of them. "Being a first-person shooter, we do a lot of things to make weapons feel differently from one another," game director Dinga Bakaba explained. "One I like is blocking the triggers when your weapon jams, to give to the player an immediate feedback even before the animation plays out, which prompts the player in a physical way that they have to unjam their gun."

Ghostwire Tokyo

For Ghostwire: Tokyo, game director Kenji Kimura explained that the adaptive triggers and haptic feedback will be used for active actions, which results in players feeling a sense of recoil as a result of their activities within the supernatural game. "We're also looking at ways to take advantage of the adaptive triggers to express a sense of persistent energy, or a balance of forces if you will, and for perhaps actions such charging, loading, and a sense of accumulation of power or energy for things," Kimura said.

Horizon Forbidden West

Horizon Forbidden West will use DualSense to make weapons feel more satisfying according to game director Mathijs de Jonge. "Horizon Forbidden West features new weapons that are designed to feel unique and play a specific role in combat with machines and human opponents," de Jonge said.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart creative director Marcus Smith described how the adaptive triggers can be used to deliver bigger actions on the screen depending on how hard they're pulled. "The Enforcer is a dual-barreled shotgun type weapon," Smith said. "As you pull the trigger, you'll fire from one barrel, and you can feel resistance around halfway down the trigger. Need a bigger blast? Pull the trigger through that resistance point and you'll fire both barrels at the same time."

Demon's Souls

With a Demon's Souls remake in development, SIE Japan Studio creative director Gavin Moore explained that the DualSense will be used to make combat feel "grittier, darker, and deadlier." "Metal strikes metal when your foes block your attacks or you block theirs," Moore said. "That extra sensory feedback through the controller allows you to know your attack hit home and your perfectly-timed parry was a success, so you can react faster and more decisively."

Gran Turismo 7

Finally, Polyphony Digital president Kazunori Yamauchi described how the DualSense will translate the technical feedback of handling a car in Gran Turismo 7. "I think the most effective use of the adaptive trigger [in Gran Turismo 7] is for representing the operation of the antilock brake system (ABS) while braking," Yamauchi explained. "The adaptive trigger is suited for recreating this pedal feel, and it will allow the player to accurately feel and understand the relationship between the braking force they want and the tire's grip."

To see just how far the design of Sony's input devices have come over the years, you can check out GameSpot's visual history of PlayStation controllers. Sony also released its first PlayStation 5 advert today, which focused specifically on the DualSense features and invited viewers into "a new world of immersion."