As a lot of reviewers are saying, it feels very close to the Steam Deck controls. The trackpads are slightly different texture and a bit more refined (in a good way). The D-pad and face buttons feel good to me as a longtime gamer.
I’m used to the Xbox Elite 2 these days and this is quite a bit lighter in weight and feels more like plastic, but still solid enough (again, like the Deck). I do maybe prefer the 8-edged D-pad and I’ll probably miss the trigger stops, but gyro and trackpads and grip sense should more than make up for it.
I hit the reservation button the very minute they opened up the second round. I’m still waiting for that second email to actually order a controller though.
Why am I doing this? I’m probably going to hate the dpad anyway.
The D-pad seems quite good to me and I play things like Silksong at times. Unless you’re a fighting game diehard I doubt it would be an issue.
My preferred dpad is the Xbox octagon style one. The main issue I have with most dpads is when pushing in on it causes the whole thing to press in as if it’s a button.