Designed for the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and the Xbox REACT-R Controller for Windows, Turtle Beach’s affordable controllers are a formidable foe to third-party controllers priced under $40. , with a few caveats.
Turtle Beach may not be the first company that comes to mind when looking for a budget-friendly controller, thanks to their continued success in the audio industry, but the company does offer some controllers. More budget-friendly options these days might be the best value for money you make… literally.
of Turtle Beach REACT-R is designed for wired Xbox controllers that can be used with Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows PC. You can use the company’s “superhuman hearing” technology with any wired headset, and the controller has full audio controls on the front and his two remappable “quick-action” paddle buttons on the back. React-R is available now from the Turtle Beach store for £34.99/$39.99/€44.99.
Turtle Beach REACT-R Wired Game Controller for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows
I’ve been using the Turtle Beach REACT-R as my daily controller for the last few weeks, and I’ve definitely tried its pace, and to be fair, it handled everything quite well. As for quality, it’s the best controller I’ve used in this price range. The REACT-R is much lighter than the official controller (300g), which seems to be the rule of thumb for budget-friendly controllers, but its typical hard plastic shell makes it leaps and bounds above the competition. You get good build quality. offering. It’s sturdy, comfortable to hold for long periods of time, and seems durable enough. I’ve used PowerA’s Enhanced Wired Controller for the Xbox Series X|S quite a bit on TA. That’s in the same range of prices as this controller, and the REACT-R is much more durable in every way and feels much better quality. .
The shell features diamond-cut grips on the arms, bumpers and triggers that actually provide a comfortable grip rather than existing as a more aesthetic addition. It feels solid in use and has minimal noise feedback, but the trigger is loud. Small buffers work fine here, but that’s my only complaint about the button, not a big deal.
However, the reassignable paddle buttons on the back are very nice, although I’ll admit I tend not to use them very often. The actual switch feels like it’s on the inside of your arm instead of the back of the controller, so when you’re holding it, your fingers rest comfortably in a cradle-like shape, giving you the same grip as the rest of the controller. It’s easy to press, and I’ve yet to accidentally click it when performing other actions. It’s the best back button I’ve come across.
The best feature of the Turtle Beach controller is the audio enhancement control that enables the company’s “Super Human Hearing” feature. Any A wired headset connected to the REACT-R, whether it is a Turtle Beach headset or not. It all works through the front control panel. This control panel has buttons to enable superhuman hearing and mute the mic, control the overall headset volume via control buttons and the D-pad, and mix game and chat sounds. The whole system is very intuitive, allowing you to quickly control audio levels without having to fiddle with headset controls or bring up the Xbox audio menu while gaming. This is definitely my favorite part of the controller, and this feature alone makes it worth having.
Of course, to use the audio panel, you’ll need to connect a wired headset to the 3.5mm audio jack. Without it, the audio panel is obsolete. The REACT-R itself is wired, so adding a wired headset will get you kind and tangled — but if you’re willing to use wired accessories, it’s worth it. It comes with a cable and is perfectly adaptive, but a bit too short for my living room needs.
The Turtle Beach REACT-R Wired Controller for the Xbox Series X|S offers more value than the competition if you’re happy to deal with wires. , provides a truly excellent experience when playing for a long time. And the addition of the company’s proprietary audio tech adds an element that most other controllers, especially in this price range, don’t have. Mostly positive, it speaks to the level of quality Turtle Beach continues to deliver in their peripherals. Currently the REACT-R is by far the best controller I’ve used and costs less than $40 is. If you’re looking for a new controller, I can easily recommend it without breaking the bank.
A test unit of REACT-R was provided by Turtle Beach for this article.
