Hyperkin Duke Wired Controller for Xbox Series X|S/Xbox One/Windows 10 -White- Officially Licensed (Xbox 20th Anniversary Limited Edition)

As someone who grew up on PlayStation and 360, the Duke's size is no joke. This thing is stupid massive and the moment you pick it up, all the complaints about it's size suddenly feel validated. After messing around with it for a while, the Duke really doesn't feel that bad. I have relatively average sized hands and to be honest, the large grips feel pretty dang good and my thumbs fall right where the buttons and left stick go. The D-pad and right stick do feel a little too far apart however. More importantly are the addition of two bumper buttons to the top of the controller. These basically compliment the old black and white buttons and they're mapped the same but these make a huge difference in the Duke's usability for modern games. They are a little bit of stretch to reach and don't feel quite as nice as the bumpers on the regular Xbox One controller but I'd much rather have them than not. Honestly couldn't imagine throwing a grenade without access to the right stick. The Duke now also sports a detachable microUSB cable instead of a fixed cable. This is honestly kind of a mixed blessing to me since I've had controllers develop bad ports from having microUSB cables yanked out of them. Having a detachable cable is also a little weird since the Duke isn't wireless, which is pretty odd because, just look how big the thing is. I honestly can't blame Hyperkin for not having this feature since Microsoft has some sort of proprietary license on their wireless technology but it is a little funny that Microsoft didn't let it slide for a remake of their own product. If you don't mind the size of the thing, you'll find that the Duke feels rock solid. The triggers are smooth, the sticks feel great, and the face buttons have a nice audible click when you press them. I played several hours of Rainbow Six Siege, Battlefield 1, and Call of Duty Infinite Warfare with the Duke and found it works fantastically. The size, coupled with how spread out some of the inputs are and the skewed button layout will take some getting used to but the Duke feels like a legitimate controller and it honestly took me by surprise. It is quite expensive though at $70 for a slightly unconventional controller that doesn't even feature wireless. Regardless, the Duke is fun way to revisit one of the darker times in Xbox's history and if you're like me, there's a chance you might even like the thing.

This is exactly what I needed. My hands are big and extended gaming can lead to joint pain. Using your middle fingers to actuate the triggers puts your index fingers in the perfect spot to press RB/LB. In this hold, all eight of my fingers rest comfortably against the controller body. Getting used to using your middle fingers on the triggers is considerably easier than you'd expect, even for games that require delicate partial throttle manipulation like Forza. I felt 98% as proficient as using my index fingers inside the first week. You could use your index fingers on the triggers, but this negated the ergonomics for my big hands. RB/LB become very difficult to access and gaps form between my supporting fingers and the controller. Quality is good. The triggers and thumb-sticks respond as you'd expect, but the buttons stand out. They actuate with a clack. They make the buttons on a 360 or Xbone feel mushy by comparison. I love it. The switches certainly aren't mechanical, but the noise level is probably a little louder than a Cherry Brown keyboard. It also looks like they spent on the packaging. Unboxing this is a real occasion due to the form cut foam. Cons: The white jewel button feels mushy. It works fine, but lacks the clack the rest of the buttons exhibit. It's a small flaw for me because the jewels mirror RB/LB which my index fingers always rest on. Also, the price. This is almost twice as much as I'd really like to spend on a controller. I would not consider a wireless controller for myself, but many people expect that at this price. You probably require nostalgia or big hands to justify the price. Other Thoughts: Others have complained of the cable failing on them. Every controller I've ever owned has eventually failed because the wires wore out where the cable meets the controller. For this reason, I always remove the cable at the Duke's body when not in use, even if I'm getting up for a brief bathroom break.

this controller is not wireless, that is something important to keep in mind but to me not a problem because every xbox one ive seen has atleast a usb port. makes sense tho because there's a whole screen in the controller that lights up and animates every time you press the guide button. it's not the anniversary design, just a regular green, still cool tho. this controller is enormous, i mean thicc and straight voluptuous but that adds to the comfort and feel of just playing with the controller. it's so big it has room to be a 6 button pad too. not only do you have your regular ABXY buttons but an additional set of C and Z buttons. it has shoulder buttons too in case you don't want to use the C and Z buttons. it's a very "big back" controller, but it's very good to use.

I really wanted this to work. I like the size and the weight. I can actually hold the controller sides with my whole hand instead of gripping it between my fingers & that ridge at the top of the palm. I don't have any of the hand issues that people with big hands report when using a normal controller but I'd still rather use the Duke and would consider it worth the money. But ... It took all of a week for the left trigger issue to start. I can go to the controller testing website and see the left trigger stuck at random values, usually anywhere from .05 to .2, instead of going to zero like it should. I've attached a screen snip showing the gamepad tester website readout showing this. This happens about one press in 5 right now and will often but not always fix itself if I tap the controller. Unfortunately it is already making problems in my Stellar Blade playthrough since that game uses left trigger parries a lot. The issue may have been there from the start and just wasn't noticeable playing Hades 2. This appears to have been a known issue for literally years. I'll try the firmware upgrade and revise upwards if it works, and if that fails I'll try a replacement since Amazon's 30 day period isn't even up yet and I did actually buy the warranty after reading about the trigger issues. I hope one of those works since I'd really like this to at least last a year. Luckily I bought a second, cheap controller with this and that one works without any problems. Sadly as you might see in the attached picture, neither stick rests at 0 either for the Duke while that $25 backup controller? It does rest at 0. EDIT: I calibrated the controller and it looked like the issue was fixed. Too bad that was a lie. I still see random left trigger activations in games.

Super comfy and really well made. I hope we see more Duke gamepads later in the future. Triggers are kinda sensitive though but just replugging and unplugging the controller works well. Black and white buttons are fantastic additions that are basically right bumper and left bumper. Both of these buttons are still present in case needed. It plugs via TYPE-C male to TYPE-A male plug which is great. Makes it easy to use on other devices.

The Duke's 20-year old design has been revived for a reason - it's very good. The original design is the result of Microsoft's engineers trying to turn an oversized circuit board into something as ergonomic as possible. The result? A controller with fantastic ergonomics for large hands, good ergonomics for average sized hands, and poor ergonomics for small hands. Sadly, this design was abandoned for many years in favor of a one-size-fits-all approach. Personally, I think there is enough room in the video game controller market to have different controllers for different hand sizes, and the continued success of the Hyperkin Duke is proof of that. So, if you have large hands, the Hyperkin Duke is simply the best controller you can get! I personally prefer the Duke over other controllers even with my average-sized hands. If you've been using a normal Xbox One or Xbox Series S/X controller, switching to the Duke will make you realize just how much your hands have been cramping with the One/Series controller! Joysticks. The Duke's thumbstick caps have a unique design not used in other controllers, and the left design is different from the right design. You may at first assume that the design is just for looks, but I believe there is a purpose to it. The left Duke stick has a large cavity (concave design), which provides grip, makes it easy to make broad motions, and makes it comfortable to keep your thumb there for long periods of time. This is perfect for what the left stick is usually used for: tilting the stick forward for long periods of time, and strafing left and right with large movements of the stick. The right stick is mostly convex, and it has a small cavity for grip. Convex sticks are best for making smaller movements and fine adjustments. This is perfect for what the right stick is often used for: aiming with precise, small movements, or handling a camera with quick swipes, rarely requiring the thumb to rest on the stick. A problem with convex sticks is a lack of grip; the small cavity on the Duke's convex right stick really helps by adding a spot for your thumb to grip when needed. These sticks have a very thoughtful design. Other controllers have identical left and right sticks. Those other controllers could learn from the Duke! The joystick modules are made by Favor Union and feature a mostly-metal construction. There are no issues with dead zones or accuracy. Favor Union sticks have a powerful, deep click sound when pressed, which is noticeably different than the weaker click sound found in the Alps modules in Microsoft's original Duke from 20 years ago and their newer One/Series controllers. Some might consider this a downside as it does not replicate the click sound of the original Duke. The joystick modules accept replacement thumbstick caps designed to fit One/Series controllers. It does not accept thumbstick caps from the original Duke, as those caps have a larger mounting hole than the new ones. The d-pad. With the original Duke's d-pad, it was a very tall plastic part; the surface your thumb presses was very far from the circuit board, resulting in inaccurate d-pad inputs. In other words, it was kind of like trying to press a button with a 1-foot stick instead of just pressing a button directly; this was a bad design. It was easy to press the four cardinal directions, but it was difficult to reliably activate the diagonal directions. The Hyperkin Duke fixes this issue by having an elevated daughterboard dedicated to the d-pad. The d-pad surface is close to the daughterboard, resulting in accurate inputs even with the diagonals! However, this type of d-pad design prioritizes thumb comfort over accurate diagonals, so while it has been greatly improved, it is still not as accurate as the d-pad designs that prioritize accurate diagonals over your comfort, such as that made by Sony or Nintendo. I appreciate the Duke's d-pad design, but if I'm playing a game that relies heavily on d-pad diagonals, I switch to a different controller. Buttons. The face buttons on the Hyperkin are much more clicky than the original Duke's face buttons. They are not pressure-sensitive like the originals, but that feature is not used in modern games, so it's not a problem. A clear improvement over the original. The LB/RB buttons are not easily reached if you grip the controller with your index finger on the trigger, so if you need those buttons you should switch to a grip where the middle fingers are on the triggers and the index fingers are on LB/RB (as shown in one of the pictures attached to this review). The alternative grip is perfectly viable and comfortable. I recommend switching between the two grip styles as the situation demands. LB/RB mirrors the function of the White/Black buttons. The original Duke did not have LB/RB, so this is a welcome improvement, allowing players to choose whether to press LB/RB or White/Black as desired. The shape and color of the A/B/X/Y/White/Black buttons are accurate to the original Duke's buttons, but the A/B/X/Y lettering are not an accurate recreation of the original. Specifically, it looks like they decided to mold the letters into the clear part of the button rather than the colored part, which creates a different look. The Duke's A/B/X/Y buttons have a unique shape and layout that may take some time to get used to! The screen of the Hyperkin Duke is actually a giant Xbox button! The Xbox button feels satisfying to press, and it replays the Original Xbox "flubber" animation when pressed. A white modern Xbox logo is displayed after the animation is done. The "20th anniversary" Hyperkin Dukes have a new button that the previous Hyperkin Duke did not have - the share button. This button is useful for taking screenshots and recording videos. Triggers. The Hyperkin Duke triggers have the same large, comfortable design as the original. The springs are perfectly responsive. The spring is weaker compared to the original Duke; the original Duke's trigger springs were excessively strong and could actually cause fatigue. This is a nice improvement. Accessories. The box has a very nice foam cutout, making it excellent for long term storage of the Duke. A controller stand is included for displaying the Duke on a shelf, which is a nice touch. A detachable, sturdy green cable is included. The cable does not have the breakaway safety feature that the original Duke's cable has. Breakaways are a really useful feature that I wish they would have kept. Microsoft does not allow third parties to use their wireless technology, so the Hyperkin Duke is wired just like the original Duke. I don't really mind wires as the cable is a cool green color and it means I will never have to worry about batteries. The wired aspect leaves room for improvement, as Hyperkin could possibly offer a wireless Duke in the future if Microsoft ever relaxes their restrictions. It would certainly be nice to choose whether I use the controller in wired or wireless mode, but I cannot consider this a flaw as the Hyperkin Duke is clearly advertised to be a wired controller. Look and feel. I love the color. White electronics in general tend to have the most comfortable coating with the best resistance to heat and sweat in my opinion. The white color highlights the features of the controller by making the black sticks and colorful buttons stand out. The surface texture is not a recreation of the original Duke texture; the Hyperkin Duke texture is smoother. The texture of both the Hyperkin and the original feels great in the hands. There is no creaking sound when applying pressure to different spots on the controller, which indicates that it is well-built. Even after disassembling and re-assembling my Hyperkin Duke, there was still no creaking to be found anywhere. The feel and weight are just perfect. My hands are average sized, and they feel cramped with non-Duke controllers, so the Duke is a must for me. The Duke feels so comfortable and powerful in my hands. If you found this review helpful, you can press the Helpful button so that others will see it.

The original versions of these were fantastic in terms of quality. However, the last two I've purchased—specifically the 20th anniversary editions—have had noticeable issues. On one, the D-pad constantly registers as if it's being held down, making menu navigation nearly impossible. The second unit had a minor version of the same issue, but it cleared up quickly. Unfortunately, that one also has an overly sensitive left analog stick, particularly in one direction, which makes precise aiming difficult. Disappointing to see the drop in consistency.

Fully functional, no stick drift or anything, it’s modeled accurately to the original duke controller back in the day even the size.