What can the PS5 controller's haptic feedback and adaptive triggers do to improve the games we play? A lot, it turns out.
A whole host of next-gen developers have spoken out – via the PlayStation Blog – on how the DualSense controller technology will translate to the player, and the examples given are pretty cool.
First up, Brian Horton, the Creative Director on Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, spoke about how the haptic feedback will give players a sense of which direction attacks are coming from by "providing haptic feedback from the appropriate direction on the DualSense wireless controller." Horton also comments on how players will be able to feel what it's like to use Miles' various abilities, such as stealth or Venom Blast.
"Because of the high resolution of DualSense wireless controller’s haptics system, we can really push the dimensionality of the feedback," says Horton. "For instance, 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.”
Similarly, Gavin Moore, Creative Director of SIE Japan Studio gives us examples of how the DualSense technology will work with games such as the next-gen Demon Souls remake. "We can make the combat [in Demon’s Souls] feel grittier, darker, and deadlier. Now you feel every blow as you strike down your enemies and cast each spell." The haptic feedback will also tell you whether your attack "hit home and your perfectly-timed parry was a success." According to Moore, even pulling a lever will have "a sensory experience" which is something they were unable to replicate with the current DualShock tech.
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Guns blazing
But it's not just exploration or physical contact that will be affected. Guns will make use of the PS5 controller's adaptive triggers as well as the haptic feedback. Guerrilla Game Director, Mathijs de Jonge, talks about how this will be implemented in Horizon Forbidden West. "The DualSense wireless controller adaptive triggers will help us to make the weapons feel even more unique and satisfying to use."
Meanwhile, Ghostwire: Tokyo Director Kenji Kimura says they will use it to "create the sensation of recoil. 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."
Deathloop Game Director Dinga Bakaba also weighs in on the subject. "Deathloop being a first-person shooter, we do a lot of things to make weapons feel differently from one another. 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."
That one in particular sounds like an innovative use of the controller's features.
And finally, games such as Gran Turismo 7 will also benefit from the new technology – specifically, the antilock brake system. "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," says Polyphony Digital President, Kazunori Yamauchi.
If you want to check out the blog post in full, you can find it right here. Alternatively, you can take a look at the first PS5 TV commercial which focuses on the DualSense controller that we reported on earlier today.
