PS5 DualSense features revealed for Ratchet & Clank and a lot more

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The DualSense controller will offer innovative feedback for eight upcoming PS5 games

PS5 DualSense controller
(Image credit: Future)

After a few quiet months, the PS5 is about to get a big influx of new games. Some of these, like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, are exclusive to Sony’s new console. Others, like Life Is Strange: True Colors, will be available on a variety of platforms. One thing they all have in common, though, is that they’ll all take full advantage of Sony’s innovative DualSense controller.

On the official PlayStation Blog, eight developers spoke with Sony to outline their DualSense plans. Ever since the PS5 debuted, both fans and critics have been pretty positive about the DualSense’s subtle haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. If you haven’t gone hands-on with a DualSense yet (PS5 restocks are really hard to get), the controller produces subtle vibrations and adjusts the tension on the trigger buttons in response to in-game phenomena. It’s either very immersive or very distracting, depending on whom you ask.

The eight games we learned about in Sony’s post are Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Subnautica: Below Zero, Ghostwire: Tokyo, Life Is Strange: True Colors, Scarlet Nexus, Mobile Suit Gundam Battle Operation 2, Kena: Bridge of Spirits and Returnal. Readers may be aware that Returnal actually came out a few weeks ago, but it did indeed have one of the most ambitious DualSense integrations yet, with extremely delicate effects for raindrops.

PS5 Dual Sense Controller Life Is Strange

Life Is Strange: True Colors (Image credit: Sony)

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is probably the biggest game on the list, and the developers reiterated what they’ve said about its DualSense capabilities in previous discussions:

“We love how the fidelity of the controller’s haptics allow us to give so many things in the world a distinct feel and the range allows us to support bombastic responses like explosions all the way down to footsteps without the sensation getting old,” said a representative from developer Insomniac Games. “For example, the simple act of picking up bolts from a defeated enemy is that much more satisfying when you feel a tiny impulse from each on [sic] in your hands, complemented by a subtle controller sound.”

Naturally, the DualSense will also provide a somewhat different feel for each one of Ratchet’s bizarre weapons, and even “click” slightly each time you scan a new object.

PS5 Dual Sense Controller subnatuica

Subnautica (Image credit: Sony)

For the most part, the other developers discussed the features you’d expect in a DualSense-optimized game. Each tool in Subnautica will have a different haptic feel associated with it. Ghostwire: Tokyo will have otherworldly voices come out of the controller’s speaker. Kena will increase tension on the triggers as the titular character draws back her bowstring.

Life Is Strange: True Colors, on the other hand, will try something we haven’t seen much before. As the game’s title suggests, colors play a big role in the story. As such, developer Deck Nine explains that players can expect to see “the burning red of Anger, sharp purple of Fear, deep blue of Sadness and shining gold of Joy” reflected in the DualSense’s thin LED light bar. Relatively few games have taken advantage of this feature — but it’s nice to see at at least one dev make use of it.

Marshall Honorof
Marshall Honorof

Marshall Honorof was a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site's coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. After hours, you can find him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi.