Hardware Review: Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 – A Thing of Beauty
The ultimate, most accessible, enjoyable, premium, and customizable way to play games on Xbox
Hello, dear readers. My name is Victor and I am a blind gaming, technology, and entertainment journalist. I am also an ambassador for universal design and an accessibility consultant. In today’s article, I will tell you all about my experience with the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2.
Before I do that, I want to officially thank once again the great people at Xbox Nordics for continuing our collaboration and sending me this gorgeous controller.
For those of you who may not be familiar with the Elite V2, Xbox says that it is designed to meet the needs of today’s competitive gamers as it features over 30 new ways to play like a pro. With this controller, you’ll be able to enhance your aiming with new adjustable-tension thumbsticks, fire even faster with shorter hair trigger locks, and stay on target with a wrap-around rubberized grip.
After playing around with the Xbox Elite V2 for more than a week now, I can say that I’m quite impressed with this premium controller from Microsoft. Alina tried it as well in Halo, Fable and of course, Forza Horizon 5, and she loves it. I think that we are going to have a problem next time we want to play using the Co-pilot function, arguing about which one of us gets the Elite, or I’ll just have to fork out the cash for another controller so that there is once again peace in our home.
Let’s start from the beginning. As with all other new Xbox products, the Xbox Elite Series 2 comes in a nice package, easy to unbox. After opening the main box, we are greeted by a premium-looking and feeling carrying case which aside from the Elite controller, packs also quite some nice accessories that will allow almost everyone to find their perfect gamepad customization. So, what’s in the case you ask?
Well, front and center we find the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2, a thumbstick adjustment tool, a tiny but appreciated charging dock + a very long and nicely feeling USB-C cable.
There are also different sets of 4 paddles that can be attached to the back of the controller, a classic D-Pad and 4 additional thumbsticks.
As you can see, there are a lot of ways to customize the Elite V2 and in combination with the possibility to remap any and all buttons via the Xbox Accessories app of the console, plus changing between 3 custom profiles on the fly thanks to a very useful Profile Button, this really affords limitless freedom for the player when it comes to the Elite’s personalization.
I spent about 10 hours playing with our new Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2, I tried some Gears of War 5 although it is not fully accessible for me, I still love to stumble around in the dark killing enemies in Horde mode. I also tried out As Dusk Falls and Brok: The InvestiGator, two games that have awesome accessibility features and the Elite felt comfortable in my hands. It is a little more hefty than the Series X controller, but I didn’t find it an issue. Changing the thumbsticks, the D-Pad or the back buttons is as easy as pulling them off and replacing them with what we need.
A lot of you are maybe wondering if it is worth it to spend more than 170 Euros on a controller and to those I’ll say this. You know your financial situation the best and your priorities so the choice is most surely yours, but if what I said above sounds like a good deal, you should pick it up because it is much better than most controllers out there when it comes to accessibility, connectivity, customization, battery life and built quality.
After getting my hands on this one, I will most probably get another one as soon as possible. If you are looking for a more affordable controller that it is similar, I understand there is also a Core version, that it’s the same as the Elite but it does not come with the charging dock and some other accessories are also absent when compared to the Elite V2.
Both Alina and I like the Elite V2 a lot. With its understated, but modern and slick design, it looks and feels premium, allows for wireless charging, it is easy to customize if needed, the battery life is epic and I consider a great accessibility feature the fact that the Elite V2 vibrates when placed on the charger.
For me as a blind gamer, this lets me know that I set it correctly and that the next time I’ll need the controller it will be charged and ready. Another big thumbs up to the team who thought of how to make this a reality. Sighted people can easily see a light turning on, changing color from red to green, or any visual indicator, for blind individuals vibrations, sounds and haptics are mandatory to understand what’s happening with their devices.
For now, we are extremely happy with the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 and we think of it as the ultimate, most accessible, enjoyable, premium and customizable way to play games on Xbox.
Find out more about the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 and purchase it here.
Victor Dima
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