Skip to main content

Scuf’s Vantage controller will bring the Elite treatment to PlayStation 4

Scuf Gaming announced the Vantage controller, developed in partnership with Sony for the PlayStation 4. The Vantage bears many functional similarities to Microsoft’s Elite controller for the Xbox One, which Scuf developed in 2015. Digital Trends recently spoke to Scuf CEO Duncan Ironmonger about the Vantage, and played a few rounds of Call of Duty: WWII to see it in action for ourselves.

Recommended Videos

“As a company, we’re about creating increased hand use,” Ironmonger told Digital Trends. “If you think about keyboard and mouse, it’s about maximum hand use and multiple functions; we’re trying to level that playing field, which is why so many people use [our controllers] in the competitive community.” Bringing a gamepad anywhere near the degree of control and customization that PC’s afford requires an immense amount of ergonomic and efficient design, and the Vantage iterates directly on Scuf’s work on the challenge since 2011.

The Vantage’s body is a little bulkier than a standard DualShock, somewhere between it and an Xbox controller. The grips felt very comfortable to hold, with a rubbery, textured surface similar to the Xbox Elite and an “aggressive angle” on the inside (which Ironmonger told us took 38 iterations) that makes it easy to hold with just your bottom two or three fingers. That frees your middle finger to use the four paddles on the back, one of Scuf’s signature features, which by default are mapped to the four face buttons. Although it requires a bit of retraining your hands, this allows efficiency-minded players (such as esports pros) to never take their thumbs off of the sticks.

Other returning Scuf features that we have seen before are adjustable triggers (for both depth and tension), swappable components, and the ability to re-map any and all functions. Where the Xbox Elite required an app to change configurations, however, the Vantage has a much simpler, more analog solution: Flip a switch on the bottom, and you can then remap any button by pressing it and then the new, desired input. The Vantage saves any changes you made, even when powered off, and a master switch under the removable faceplate can reset to default at any time.

One new feature in the Vantage is an audio touch bar for easy volume adjustment when using headphones without having to take your hand away from the controller. The rumble packs in each grip can also be easily removed for players that would prefer less weight over the immersive rumble.

Lastly, the Vantage also adds a new pair of “sax” buttons, to either side of the shoulder buttons. This degree of customization is great not just for power users, but also people with disabilities, or hands that otherwise don’t quite fit the mythical average. Ironmonger explained how it was their mission to “add not just more functionality, but more diversity to how the controller is used.” We’re happy to see accessibility being taken more seriously by the industry lately.

We only spent a few minutes actually playing with the Vantage, but it felt like a solid and responsive controller that more than lived up to our prior experience with Scuf’s work. The Vantage is available for pre-order now on Scuf’s website in both wired and wireless versions at $170 and $200, respectively. We’ll post a full review once we have spent more time with the Vantage when it becomes available after E3 in June.

Will Fulton
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…
After Freedom Wars, this PlayStation Vita classic deserves a remaster
Soul Sacrifice Delta's key art.

If there’s one thing that the PlayStation Vita delivered, it was great Monster Hunter clones after Capcom’s hit series jumped ship from PSP to Nintendo 3DS. The list included games like Koei Tecmo’s Toukiden, Bandai Namco’s God Eater, and Gungho’s Ragnarok Odyssey Ace. While these mission-based games were perfect fit for the Vita’s pick-up-and-play lifestyle, they were also available on PS3.

Sony Japan even joined into the fray with the 2015 Vita exclusive Freedom Wars, which is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a remaster on modern platforms next January, courtesy of Bandai Namco. On the heels of that surprise announcement, there’s one other hunting action game that needs to break free from the Vita’s shackles: Soul Sacrifice Delta. It's an enhanced version of 2013's Soul Sacrifice that added more content and gameplay adjustments.
Grimdark Archfiend hunter
Soul Sacrifice Delta was released in 2014 and designed by Keiji Inafune (yes, the auteur behind the infamous Mighty No. 9). It plays like how you’d expect from a Monster Hunter-like action game. You can hunt down your main target and hit its weak points to gather materials and create stronger weapons. It’s an engaging gameplay loop that makes sure you’re always prepared to fight increasingly stronger monsters.

Read more
PlayStation has quietly doubled the price of Horizon Zero Dawn on PS4
Aloy aiming an arrow into the wilderness at a robot.

Following the announcement of Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered for the PlayStation 5 and PC, PlayStation has raised the price of the original game's PlayStation 4 Complete Edition by $20 on the PlayStation Store.

As that edition of the game had been retailing for $20 for a couple of years now, that means PlayStation has doubled the price without warning.

Read more
PlayStation is remastering the wrong games
Aloy in Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered.

Love it or hate it, a notable PlayStation trend this generation has been remastering PS4 games for PS5. Even though the console is fully backward compatible, we've gotten dedicated PS5 versions of the two The Last of Us games and will soon be getting new versions of Until Dawn and Horizon Zero Dawn for PS5. I find these remasters understandable, yet unnecessary, but I'm more frustrated that Sony isn't giving this treatment to the games that really need it.

I might be beating a dead horse by complaining that PlayStation VR2 doesn't have good first-party support. A year and a half into the headset's lifespan, it's abundantly clear that Sony is ready to move on to the hardware, especially now that there's a PC adapter available. Still, I can't help but wonder if the discourse around PSVR2 would be different had Sony decided to remaster games like Astro Bot Rescue Mission and Blood & Truth in the same way it is doing with Horizon Zero Dawn.

Read more