Gadgetory

- So, you're probably wondering where the controller in today's video is. It's been a little while since we've done a weird controller video and I think, you know, for the lost time let's make sure this one's especially weird, so, I finally got the opportunity to pick up one of my favorite weird things I've seen, the slime controller. This is the HORI slime controller for PS4. It was released as part of a promotion for Dragon Quest 11 coming out in Japan back in 2017, this actually isn't even the first time something like this has been released, it's actually based on a previous design that was released on the PS2 in both a blue color like this as well as a silver metal slime color that somehow looks even more uncomfortable than this one. So obviously this is a pretty awkward looking controller, but let's actually break down what it has to offer and what's missing compared to a PS4 DualShock. So to begin with it is a fully functional controller, it has all the buttons that you need to play games including a working touch pad, however, it is missing a lot of sort of the extra functions that can fill out, you know, the usefulness of a controller. It doesn't have any rumble motors, which doesn't give you any kind of sense of feedback, and honestly I really wish it was in this thing because it'd be hilarious to see this thing just shake around a table, I wish we had a shot of that. (roaring) - It also does not have a headphone jack, so you cannot use any head sets with it directly so you'd have to rely on something that connects to the PS4 directly like their PlayStation head sets, that can work out, and it doesn't have a light bar, which is good and bad, it's gonna make sure the battery life lasts a little better, but I sometimes really like the visual cues that come with light bars, so instead you just get a little tiny light right here to let you know whether or not syncing connected and if the turbo function is on. One of the really interesting things about this is despite its bizarre look the layout for the buttons and sticks is actually very close to a standard DualShock 4, the distancing at least between the sticks themselves and to the D pad and the buttons, obviously the buttons curve out a little bit, which is an interesting feeling, and the triggers are just way off. These do not feel at all like using a standard DualShock 4 because they're a lot higher up and further back on the body of this thing. Also while it's not a function of a PS4 controller, there is a part of me that's a little saddened that this isn't any kind of softer material, I mean you just see this little slime guy and you think oh, maybe it'll have a little give, a little plush to it, no it's pretty hard plastic. Now one question you might be asking yourself is if it's a statue this way, and a controller this way, how do you actually set this down? There's two options, you could set it flat down like this which isn't great for the buttons, or you can set it down this way when you're in controller mode, thankfully though it does come with an actual display stand that protects all the buttons, so that's actually the best way to do it because it gives you a nice little way to display it and make sure this is all nice and safe to use the next time you want to play a game with it. Now all that being said I haven't actually spent a ton of time really using it as a controller yet, so let's go hook this up and see. (chimes) - So one of the things I'm noticing right away is the dead zone on these sticks is pretty ridiculous, like you can go a pretty good distance before the game is actually reading that you're pushing a direction, it's not too bad for movement at least in game, but controlling the camera's where you really notice it, you can't make very small adjustments carefully, you basically have to hit all the way to see it actually do something. Something else I'm noticing too is that while the stick layout is very familiar, having the buttons and D pad be off by just a little bit on each side where it curves in actually makes it a lot more awkward to reach for those buttons. The front facing buttons aren't too bad, but if you ever need to switch between the left stick and the D pad it just doesn't feel natural at all, and it's really easy to accidentally hit the wrong direction, which not a ton of games have you switching between stick and D pad a lot but this is one of them. And on that same note, something else I'm noticing here is that kind of in the same way that the D pad is awkward to switch between a lot, the front facing buttons, hitting X and square and even circle is fine, but if I want to hit triangle I need to reach higher than my hand wants to naturally rest with where the triggers are, so I need to keep shifting it up and down a little bit every time I want to use that button, which is a little annoying. If you have like really big hands it would actually maybe be comfortable, but I have to keep moving, it's a little weird, yeah this is one of those situations where the controller works, it's just there's a lot of better options out there including the one your PS4 comes with. Spending some time with this I've gotta say aside from the dead zone on the sticks, everything else in this controller is pretty good quality. The front facing buttons, the D pad, the shoulders, they all feel good, and I think the thing that surprises me the most is that the actual grip of the controller isn't that bad. If you're just holding the controller it's kind of comfortable in this weird way where your hands are just very relaxed holding a ball almost. Where is gets to be a problem though is when you do need to start hitting buttons and doing like intense button combinations, just moving your hands constantly doesn't feel great. If you use this in a game that didn't need a lot of rapid button presses like a turn based rpg, like Dragon Quest 11, this actually works really well. I would not use it for anything else. (chime) - We talk about a lot of controllers on this channel, and I feel like you can kind of group them all into four very general broad categories, there's the pro-controllers that cost a lot more money but offer all kinds of bells and whistles and fancier stuff, there's the cheaper alternatives that you know, get the job done and are just meant to be a way to save a little money versus buying another official option, there's the controllers that try to achieve some weird form of control for better or worse, and then there's the controllers that just have a concept they really want to get across no matter what and don't care at all whether or not the things gonna be usable, this is in that last category. And there's actually a whole history of very bizarre controllers kind of like this that have been on PlayStation. Like I said there was a previous version of this one on the PS2 in two different colors that actually looked even more uncomfortable because the sticks were even closer together which is just a bit of a nightmare, but going even further back than that on the PlayStation 1, there was a Wu Tang Clan controller which was shaped like the Wu Tang logo, that was the entire shtick. Also on the PS2 was a katana controller that just looked like a full length katana that you could hit buttons on and didn't really have any kind of traditional grip, and then of course there's my all time favorite that we have talked about on this channel before, the Resident Evil 4 chainsaw controller, which is just a mess but I love it so much. There's a certain dedication to this form of design that I honestly really kind of love, because again, I don't think I would ever recommend to someone hey, yeah, you should grab this as your next pro controller option, but at the same time this entire concept is something that's really meant to be a piece that you show off on your desk and then use in front of people as a practical joke, it's just so beautiful to me.