Brian A. Delancer
Great controller for the price
I've been a multi-time victim of the dreaded "stick drift" issue with Sony's first party Dualsense controller -- I've gone through 2 since 2021. As a result, I've opened to considering third party controllers, accepting whatever drawbacks that come with them. Recently, I purchased the QRD Spark N5 and have take a few days to put it through its paces.Overall, the experience has been positive, especially given the price point ($45). On the positive side:- initial pairing with the Blackpill PS5 adapter (which appears to be required to play wirelessly on the PS5) was pretty straightforward. I've run into no issues on any subsequent sessions with reconnecting.- while it's still not possible to turn on the PS5 from the controller, the controller does shut off when powering down the console. It might not sound like great shakes, but this is pretty handy. I also use the PDP Victrix BFG Pro, which doesn't include this feature -- I've run into more than once instance of my forgetting to turn off that controller and burning battery as a result. No such issues exist for the Spark N5.- on the gameplay front, it's very smooth. No detectable input lag for joysticks or buttons.- tactically, inputs feel great as well. The benefit of hall effect (besides the elimination of drift) is the noticeably smoother joystick movement. Buttons also feel good as well.- I haven't had a chance to test the back buttons or to program macros. However, the location and feel is a big upgrade from the Victrix BFG Pro, whose buttons I accidentally pressed more times than I can count. The buttons are flatter and are pretty resistant -- you have to WANT to push them on the Spark N5.There are some items that might swing people one way or the other that I should note:- it is noticeably lighter than the Dualsense. It's also a little smaller -- for people with small hands, this might turn people off. I had no issues adjusting, however, with my average-side hands. Also, despite the smaller profile, it doesn't feel cheap.- there is no rumble or vibration. At least I think so -- I died playing Days Gone and my controller shook when it returned to the load screen. YMMV on this one, but as I understand it, there are no 3rd party controllers that support rumble or haptics, so if it's there on the Spark N5, it's a plus.- battery life, best I can tell, is somewhere between the Dualsense Edge and the Victrix BFG -- probably in the neighborhood of 15 hours. It's not bad.Overall, I'd say that, for the price point, this is a great addition to the collection of available controllers. In addition to the input responsiveness, the Hall Effect joysticks give me assurance I'll have this available for quite a while.UPDATE 6/14/2025 - This is more of an addendum after playing a native PS5 game with the Blackpill adapter: I recently upgraded my Days Gone playthrough to the remastered PS5 version. I was pleasantly surprised to feel actual rumble where I hadn't on the native PS4 game version. It was great to feel it during activities such as bike riding and survival vision. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only third-party controller that supports rumble, so I'd consider that a big plus when you factor in the extended battery life and Hall effect sticks.Ver másVer menos
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