PS5 DualSense controller will adapt to the game you're playing

Sony PS5 Haptic Feedback
(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)

In a recently published blog by Mary Yee, the vice president of global marketing at Sony, fans were given direct quotes from a handful of developers working with the PS5. They provided us with insight on how DualSense will directly adapt to a handful of elements found within their games.

Additionally, it includes a fascinating new trailer meant to be a dramatization of what the controller will make the player feel.

DualSense adapts to the game you're playing

Within the blog, each game is given some space for a developer to go over how they will make use of the DualSense controller. Creative Director of Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Brian Horton, claims that they'll "be hinting to players which direction attacks are coming from by providing haptic feedback from the appropriate direction." 

He continues, "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."

Perhaps the most fascinating use will be seen in the game Deathloop, where Game Director Dinga Bakaba explains that the game is going to be "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."

For Ghostwire: Tokyo, Director Kenji Kimura explains that the game will be using DualSense to "create the sensation of recoil." He wants 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."

The blog post continues with Creative Director at SIE Japan Studio, Gavin Moore, going over how Demon's Souls will allow players to feel "metal striking metal or fire crackling in your hand as you conjure magic." This is all in the hope of making the game "feel grittier, darker, and deadlier."

With Horizon: Forbidden West, Game Director Mathijs de Jonge remained a bit vague about how DualSense will impact the sensory experience. He says it will "make the weapons feel even more unique and satisfying to use," but that's all the info we got.

The same could be said for Godfall, with CEO of Counterplay Games Keith Lee explaining, "as a player, I’m excited to finally FEEL which weapon I’m holding in my hands without looking at any UI. I can also sense where an enemy is spatially, even outside of my field of view."

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

(Image credit: Insomniac Games)

Marcus Smith, Creative Director at Insomniac Games is far more specific about Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. He says "the Enforcer is a dual-barreled shotgun type weapon. As you pull the trigger, you’ll fire from one barrel, and you can feel resistance around halfway down the trigger. Need a bigger blast? Pull the trigger through that resistance point and you’ll fire both barrels at the same time."

In Astrobots Playroom, Studio Director Nicolas Doucet reveals that he "tried turning haptic feedback off once, and could not believe how much I missed it. It is a game changer for sure!" He also claims that "Astro’s steps can be felt running on plastic, metal, sand, and even splashing in water."

Ned Waterhouse, Design Director for Sackboy: A Big Adventure, explains that "when picking objects up, there is a tension to each press which conveys that the little guy is struggling to carry it." Furthermore, grappling hooks "makes the player feel like they’re actually firing it themselves."

Kazunori Yamauchi, President of Polyphony Digital, reveals how Gran Turismo 7 will make use of DualSense. He explains, "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."

Momo Tabari
Contributing Writer

Self-described art critic and unabashedly pretentious, Momo finds joy in impassioned ramblings about her closeness to video games. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Media Studies from Brooklyn College and five years of experience in entertainment journalism. Momo is a stalwart defender of the importance found in subjectivity and spends most days overwhelmed with excitement for the past, present and future of gaming. When she isn't writing or playing Dark Souls, she can be found eating chicken fettuccine alfredo and watching anime.