PB Tails Crush Defender assessment: “Could be the crown jewel of your controller collection”
My job as a controller reviewer is normally to search for gamepads with the highest quantity of professional options for as little value as attainable. But whereas reviewing the PB Tails Crush Defender, I really feel like I’ve to do issues a bit in a different way. This isn’t a controller that’s attempting to offer you the greatest Esports efficiency, ergonomic again buttons, and superior customization software program. One have a look at it can instantly make that clear.
So if it isn’t making a play for the high of our best PC controller list, what’s the level? Well, let’s ignore the incontrovertible fact that not everybody wants the newest and swankiest professional controller. The PB Tails Crush Defender is a landmark gamepad that indicators a turning level for this fabled gaming peripheral. It’s the first to characteristic TMR thumbsticks, which is an upgraded kind of Hall Sensor know-how that different producers will, in all probability, extensively undertake in 2025.
This is a controller that’s earned a spot in museums of the future for that alone. Its rusted, metallic design appears self-aware of that, prefer it’s enjoying into its vintage attraction. For $109.99 / £92, it prices greater than some professional controllers, although. So what are you searching for? The elite design of an Esports pad, or a timepiece that would be the crown jewel of your controller assortment?
Design
You can’t deny that the Crush Defender has a appear like no different, however what’s not instantly apparent is that every one made is actually one of a form. The controller has a steel physique that’s hand-finished with tiny dents, scratches, and its personal distinctive deformities. It seems like one thing pulled straight from the world of Borderlands, and I imply that as a praise of the highest order. As a controller, it feels prefer it already has a backstory and a personality of its personal from the second you unbox it, a bit like the Skywalker lightsaber does when it’s handed from character to character. These tiny bits of growing older aren’t only a coat of paint everybody else will discover, however genuine, hand-crafted scars for simply your mannequin that make it simply yours.
On one other be aware, the form of this controller can be distinctive. It’s not like different controllers that launch today which are clearly all drawn from the identical 5, tried and examined molds. The form of the Defender was impressed by, of all issues, a automotive. The Porche 550 Spyder is thought for its elegant curves and easy metalwork. Its headlights are these excellent circles that look virtually out of place on such a non-formulaic physique. The thumbsticks right here stand out in the identical method, reflecting again at you want a mirror because of their silver hue.
The full steel jacket of the Crush Defender provides a lot to the really feel of flicking a thumbstick backwards and forwards. Each push and pull sends a deep, reverberating rumble by means of your palms. Usually, that will be a foul factor, making a gamepad really feel low cost, however as a result of of sturdy steel construct high quality, it seems like a baked-in piece of engineering to boost the really feel of your video games.
The Crush Defender held its personal when enjoying Celeste. The hefty weight and glorious really feel of the pad gave every bounce and sprint a lot energy.
The triggers are maybe the half of the Defender that advantages the most from the steel design. They clack down with authority and stay cool to the contact regardless of the depth of your session. Unfortunately, these additionally expertise drawbacks too. As badass as every set off pull feels, it’s barely ruined by a squeak that emanates once you launch one.
The again of the controller has an excellent form to it. So a lot of the time grips on a controller finish as quickly as you get to 1’s backbone. The indented, round form you wrap your fingers round simply stops as a result of you may as a substitute grip the again of the product. With the Defender, you get this distinctive groove all the method as much as the triggers, which actually helps it to really feel comfy in the palms.
Features
The PB Tails Crush Defender is late to the social gathering, however it might be counted amongst the best Nintendo Switch controllers. It additionally works with Windows, SteamOS, Apple, Android, and the Rasberry Pi. It can join wirelessly through a 2.4G USB dongle that is available in its case, or with a USB-C to USB cable that’s additionally included. There’s even Bluetooth help, so there are a lot of platforms and makes use of for the Defender to make the most of.
The one bit of bodily gaming aptitude it options is its RGB gentle bar, and you’ve got the choice to customise this utilizing six on-board profiles. Additional operate buttons can be discovered on its face which assist you to manage these, and the pad’s deadzone settings. There’s no app or software program that can assist you on this regard, and for a controller with no again buttons to talk of, I can’t assist however really feel like some customization software program may have been the one Esports draw the PB Tails staff may have granted.
Just in case you need some movement management for video games on the Switch, the Defender packs a 6-Axis sensor. In addition, it incorporates a turbo mode, so in the event you’re sick of tapping minigames or quick-time occasions, they’ve a counter. There’s an 860mAh battery inside too, which provides round 8-10 hours of wi-fi life.
Of course, the major promoting level right here is the TMR know-how in the thumbstick modules. As it’s possible you’ll know from virtually each controller adopting them in the previous couple of years, Hall sensor thumbsticks use tiny electromagnets to measure stick actions. They present a way more correct controller enter than conventional potentiometer sticks and don’t have any bodily parts that put on down over time, so drift isn’t going to be an issue.
TMR stands for Tunneling Magnetoresistance, and it takes what’s nice about Hall Sensors and kicks it up a gear. In the identical method that 4K massively expands the quantity of pixels on a show in comparison with 1080p, TMR sensors can register round 10 instances as many positions on an axis as Hall ones like the GameSir G7 SE. They’re additionally quicker, reporting their positions at as much as 20,000Hz. The PB Tails Crush Defender solely has a polling charge of 1,000Hz, and whereas I don’t assume we’ll see most controllers attain previous that any time quickly, it’s why I feel this joystick tech will possible be what’s utilized in Esports gamepads of the future.
Performance
I hate to say it, however in some ways, elite TMR thumbsticks are wasted on a controller like this. I wish to make it clear that the Crush Defender is one of the most unusual and comfy controllers I’ve ever been despatched to check, however a efficiency controller it isn’t. There are practical points with its design which are exhausting to get previous, even when I’m giving it the profit of the doubt for not essentially attempting to be a “pro” controller.
It’s not attempting to be the subsequent pro-level sensation to rival the Victrix Pro BFG for Xbox, it’s attempting to remind you that regardless of how superior the know-how inside a controller will get, we must always bear in mind the place it began.
The thumbsticks do have swappable tops, though to vary them out for the rubberized ones that are available in the case you first must pry off the steel faceplate, then in some way wrestle the metallic stick tops out of their guard. It’s not a straightforward course of, one not one thing PB Tails accounts for in its instruction leaflet. Either method, in the event you plan to make use of this pad for intense gameplay, I feel this characteristic will be a should. The steel floor of the sticks has a domed form, which matches the relaxation of the Defender’s look, however is an enormous downside when gaming. The second your thumbs begin to produce warmth they may slip off the sticks so quick you’ll start to listen to that canned whistle sound utilized by cartoons. That could make exact actions actually difficult, so this isn’t precisely the pad I’d use for sweaty periods of Hunt: Showdown – even when flick goals in Straftat are horrendously satisfying.
The face buttons have a very nice really feel to them – think about a DualShock 4 if the conventional PlayStation buttons had been made of steel and had the symbols engraved into them. On the complete, rumble and suggestions right here make the Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra really feel like a Hasbro toy. Great really feel is hamstrung by an absence of responsiveness although. Swapping between the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro and the Crush Defender throughout periods of Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero was really actually troublesome as a result of the pace allowance of each controllers couldn’t be extra of a polar reverse. Razer’s mechanical and microswitch buttons are like wielding lightning, however with the Defender I felt like I used to be shifting in sluggish movement.
It’s not like what PB Tails has constructed is unusable although, and I wish to make that clear. Besides the aforementioned thumb slips, the Crush Defender held its personal when enjoying Celeste. The hefty weight and glorious really feel of the pad gave every bounce and sprint a lot energy, and the slippy feeling in some way made me extra aligned with my in-game avatar. As they began shedding their grip on the cliff they had been holding onto, I too began feeling my accuracy slip away attributable to perspiration.
It can also’t be denied simply how comfy a controller that is. It makes all of it the extra tragic that there are not any again buttons as a result of constructing them into the implausible form of this pad’s grips would have added a lot utility. As it stands, the Crush Defender is at its greatest in cozy video games the place depth is low, or in cinematic experiences like Indika.
I did discover that recording footage for movies felt nice with the Defender. TMR tech actually makes sluggish digital camera pans simple as a result of even a small trace of a nudge was registered at the pace I needed. On that be aware, in FPS video games that didn’t require an excessive amount of precision, the Defender labored nice. We Happy Few felt prefer it was being performed on the superb controller as a result of all these makes an attempt to repeat BioShock went hand-in-hand with a nostalgic gamepad.
Should you purchase the PB Tails Crush Defender?
One of my favourite controllers of all time is the DualShock 4 – even to today. It doesn’t have professional options, again buttons, or actually a lot that stands as much as the best PS5 controllers right this moment. But it has simple ranges of consolation, really feel, and it does the fundamentals of what a controller ought to do, and does them rather well. The PB Tails Crush Defender seems like a development of that kind of gamepad.
It’s not attempting to be the subsequent pro-level sensation to rival the Victrix Pro BFG for Xbox, it’s attempting to remind you that regardless of how superior the know-how inside a controller will get, we must always bear in mind the place it began. It’s only a disgrace this minimalist angle didn’t translate to substance over fashion, as a result of as solitary as the Defender’s design is, small errors like slippy, domed thumbsticks make no sense. For some, I guess squeaky triggers will be a step too far.
Again, let me ask you what you’re searching for in a controller. The PB Tails Crush Defender isn’t low cost, and you possibly can get a totally fledged professional controller like the PowerA Fusion Pro for lower than this. If you need one thing a bit quirky for the once-in-a-while controller session although, and also you desire a collector’s merchandise that you just’ll treasure for years to return, nothing has the PB Tails Crush Defender crushed.
How I examined the PB Tails Crush Defender
I spent a quantity of months with the PB Tails Crush Defender earlier than writing up this assessment. I’ve had a good time testing it with slower, extra cinematic video games like Indika and Pools.
To check its FPS prowess, I hung out with it in Hunt: Showdown and STRAFTAT, nevertheless it didn’t actually evaluate with my expertise utilizing different professional controllers on this style. In slower single-player FPS video games, it wasn’t unusable. Playing We Happy Few felt fairly nostalgic, and since exact aiming isn’t the greatest facet of that recreation, it labored higher.
I in contrast the Defender’s pace with the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro as a result of I examined each controllers alongside each other. In Dragon Ball Sparking Zero I felt as if the Defender was actually missing pace and responsiveness, though time enjoying Celeste did make me extra optimistic about that.
For extra on how we test controllers, try the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.
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