Verdict
The Asus ROG Raikiri Pro has the makings of a superb professional controller. It’s snug to make use of and easy to customize. But with no wi-fi Xbox connectivity and a largely pointless OLED display inflating its price ticket, there’s little to set it other than different Xbox and PC gamepads.
Pros
Very comfortableStraightforward customisation
Cons
Pointless OLED screenPricey for its featuresOnly wired Xbox connection
Customizable Response curves, button mapping and extra might be adjusted
Xbox and PC appropriateAlthough it will possibly’t wirelessly hook up with consoles
OLED displayIt’s enjoyable and flashy, even when it doesn’t do a complete lot
Introduction
The ROG Raikiri Pro is a superbly serviceable controller with an out of date OLED display plonked on the entrance and an inflated price ticket as well. It’s snug, it’s robustly customizable, and even with its surprisingly angled again buttons, it served me nicely in aggressive shooters, soulslikes and even the odd RTS.
But for all Asus’s claims that the ROG Raikiri Pro has been designed with the Xbox in thoughts, it will possibly solely hook up with the console over a USB cable, not wirelessly. And the OLED display may look flashy, however doesn’t add as much as way more than a glorified screensaver.
If you’re an Xbox participant, splashing £149.99/$169.99 on the Rog Raikiri Pro whereas the Xbox Elite Controller 2 and Scuf Instinct Pro Controller might be had for a contact additional doesn’t make a complete lot of sense. And in case you play primarily on PC, most of our different picks of the most effective recreation controllers shall be superior. Don’t be fooled by the OLED gimmick.
Design
An OLED display bang within the centerWireless PC and wired Xbox supportFour rear paddles
The most important characteristic of the ROG Raikiri Pro is the inch-long OLED display on the prime of its faceplate, although why it’s been put there in any respect remains to be one thing of a thriller to me. Its most important function is to behave as a screensaver, exhibiting a splashy animation or string of textual content. By default, it’s set to a brief, looped animation of a ROG brand, which is available in a number of varieties, though you may import a customized animations and string of your individual. Other than that, it’s used to vary button-mapping profiles with the help of a few aspect buttons. That’s it.
It’s principally a gimmick, and one which feels intentionally designed to function fodder for scoffing information headlines and keyword-laden Amazon listings. It’s additionally one thing of a distraction. I discovered the default ROG brand animations so gaudy that I ended up turning the entire display off only some days into my testing, and am but to show it again on.
Image Credit (TechSwitch)
The again of the controller additionally seems to be a bit peculiar. In the center of 4 rear buttons is a magnetic compartment hiding a USB dongle used to wirelessly join the controller to a PC. It’s a snazzy method of integrating the receiver, though you may overlook about it you’ll simply be taking part in on Xbox, because the ROG Raikiri can solely be wired as much as consoles. It does, fortuitously, include a beneficiant 3m braided USB cable. But even so, with wi-fi controllers the norm for console controllers, it’s an enormous omission.
The remainder of the ROG Raikiri will really feel acquainted to anybody who’s used the usual Xbox Wireless Controller, bar a couple of changes. The d-pad is bigger and flatter, which I discovered to be extra snug. The center View, Share and Menu buttons are smaller and protrude much less – useful if, like me, you generally end up by accident catching these center buttons with the guidelines of your thumbs. And the triggers have a extra accentuated curve, giving them extra of a set off really feel.
Image Credit (TechSwitch)
The 3.5mm headphone jack and a useful adjoining mute-microphone button spherical off what’s a really snug controller, though its conservative RGB lighting sits considerably at odds with the flashy, weird, and largely functionless OLED display slapped within the center.
Performance
Granular customizationOptional hair triggersOddly formed however well-performing again buttons
The ROG Raikiri’s again paddles are excessive up on its physique and near its backbone. It’s an uncommon positioning, and means your fingers relaxation subsequent to the buttons moderately than on prime of them. I discovered that labored properly sufficient and prevented me from by accident tapping them at any inopportune instances, though it did take some time to get used to stretching my center and ring finger upwards to achieve them. They do the same old, and might be assigned to particular in-game controls or used to vary extra granular settings of the ROG Raikiri on the fly, such because the sensitivity of its analogue sticks.
Image Credit (TechSwitch)
Their form is a bit of unintuitive, too. They’re angled and have a couple of grooves, however they’re not precisely ergonomic. I usually discovered myself hitting their edges moderately the flat a part of their our bodies, and whereas that didn’t trigger any main issues, I can think about anybody who’s used to exactly tapping the rear paddles of their controller with lightning velocity will discover it an irritating adjustment.
The hair triggers work higher. They might be set to a short-range mode for minimal actuation, which turns out to be useful if you’re taking part in a twitch shooter and must quickly pull the set off, or a long-range mode for normal journey distance. You can swap between them utilizing a pair of sliders on the controller’s again, and customise their useless zones and enter thresholds utilizing the accompanying Armoury Crate app.
Image Credit (TechSwitch)
That stage of granular customization extends throughout the controller. The response curve, useless zone, and threshold of every analogue stick might be adjusted, as can the depth of the controller’s 4 vibration zones. That covers primarily the whole lot you’d need to modify, and I discovered it highly effective sufficient to vary the controller to precisely my choice.
Battery life can also be stable. I acquired over 40 hours of juice from the controller when utilizing it wirelessly with my PC. Although in case you’re wiring it as much as an Xbox, you gained’t have to fret about that.
Software
Slow-going at timesStraightforward to make use of
To entry any of these adjustment options, that you must use Asus’s Armoury Crate PC app, which didn’t go wholly easily for me. For starters, you may solely modify the ROG Raikiri’s settings when it’s wired as much as your PC – considerably irritating given its wi-fi performance – and even getting it arrange turned a chore. I needed to reconnect the gamepad a number of instances earlier than the app would acknowledge all of it, and was then repeatedly met with a obscure error message for a couple of hours earlier than it miraculously mounted itself. Bugs like that don’t precisely fill you with confidence.
Once it was up and operating, utilizing the app was smoother. The interface is responsive and clear, and adjusting the assorted parameters is easy sufficient. Even higher, the adjustments are made in actual time, so you may test what you simply did and if any additional adjustments are wanted.
Latest offers
Should you purchase it?
You actually like flashy OLED screens
The OLED display is the ROG Raikiri’s massive draw. It doesn’t do a lot, however is a enjoyable gimmick.
You need higher worth in your cash
The ROG Raikiri Pro doesn’t supply something of substance you may’t discover elsewhere at a comparable value.
Final Thoughts
The Asus ROG Raikiri Pro is a stable all-round gamepad that ticks most packing containers. But the shortage of wi-fi Xbox connectivity and the addition of an OLED display that does little greater than bump up the value does it no favours.
If you’re going to spend this a lot on a PC and Xbox professional controller, you could as nicely shell out on one thing extra substantial, just like the Xbox Elite Controller 2 or Scuf Instinct Pro Controller.
How we check
We use each recreation controller we check for at the very least every week. During that point, we’ll test it for ease of use and put it by way of its paces by taking part in quite a lot of completely different genres.
We additionally test the controller’s software program assist and battery life if relevant.
We used as our most important controller for at the very least every week.
Played quite a lot of video games to check all of the options.
Tested on each Xbox and PC.
Tested out the battery life.
FAQs
What is the distinction between the Raikiri and Raikiri Pro? While the usual Raikiri connects to PC and Xbox by way of a USB cable, the professional mannequin may also pair to PC by way of Bluetooth and a USB receiver. Is the ROG Raikiri Pro wi-fi? Yes, however solely when utilizing it with a PC. If you’re connecting it to an Xbox, you’ll must wire it up with a USB cable.
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UK RRP
USA RRP
EU RRP
CA RRP
AUD RRP
Manufacturer
Quiet Mark Accredited
Size (Dimensions)
Weight
Release Date
First Reviewed Date
Model Number
Ports
Connectivity
Switch Type
Number of Macro Keys
Cable Length
Battery Length
Asus ROG Raikiri Pro
£149.99
$169.99
€168.99
CA$229.99
AU$269.99
Asus
No
103 x 155 x 64 MM
330 G
2023
23/08/2023
22404
USB-C, 3.5mm jack
USB, Bluetooth, 2.4GHz receiver
Membrane
0
3 Meter
48 hrs
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