Finding the right PC controller can be tricky. Finding one that has comfort, style, and weight to it is generally a compromise. Some controllers have a few of those boxes checked, while others have almost none of those checked. And with the diverse nature of Steam and Epic Games when it comes to controller compatibility, there has to be a pretty darn good reason to jettison an official Xbox or PlayStation controller to make room for a third-party device.
Thankfully, PDP has developed a good reason with the Afterglow Wave Wired Controller. It has style, functionality, and programmability, and it just feels good in your hands. It’s also very weighty, which is an important element of design for my snobbiness controller tastes. The application to manipulate it? Well, that’s a fifty-fifty gamble at the moment.
Buckle up, turn the RGB on high, and let’s get into it.
Functionality, if the Windows Store cooperates
Earlier today, I broke down PDP’s Rematch Wired Controllers for the Nintendo Switch. I praised the easy programmability of the controller to reassign buttons on the fly. And loved the idea of a 3.5mm audio jack in the bottom of the controller that could easily turn into a Bluetooth-capable audio experience. Having a controller that is self-contained in its functionality and ability to adapt on the fly is brilliant.
Thankfully, the Afterglow Wave Wired Controller follows in the footsteps of its Nintendo Switch brethren. It comes equipped with a function button that doubles as a mute button. It can reassign buttons on the fly as the Rematch did. It also contains a wonderful audio input jack at its base, where you can attach a Bluetooth adapter from Amazon so that you can use any Bluetooth-capable headset. It contains everything that the Rematch did and a little more. Having all those capabilities is wonderful.
The Afterglow Wave Wired Controller also can control the volume of the chat and game through its directional button, as the Rematch only used this for volume – no one chats through Nintendo’s mythical chat network. All those bells and whistles are there and in place, even before you get to the software.
Speaking of software, it is a PC controller, so it should have software included in the mix. It would be weird not to have software.
The real-deal design of this controller is controlled through the PDP Hub application. This application can be downloaded directly onto your Xbox system, which is where I reviewed it, or it can be downloaded via the Windows Store, which is still pending a download for me…for the last three hours. I mean…c’mon, Windows Store.
Before I dig into that negative point, let me just praise PDP for their ability and willingness to put their customizable controller software on the Xbox Store. Downloading it was as easy as using it. From this application, the user can configure audio in the controller, such as balancing out the game and chat audio and turning up or down the mic monitoring. The Xbox-based app can also configure the controller’s buttons, change the vibration of the controller, change the left and right triggers (even swapping them), and customize how the colors run through the controller and what colors you want running through it. The app will even show you the diagnostics of the controller. It’s stupid deep for a console controller app and it works so darn easy. I downloaded it and had my color changed within three minutes. It’s an intuitive piece of software. PDP did one helluva job with it. It’s like a lite version of ROCCAT’s Swarm Software, which was equally just as intuitive.
On the PC side of the tracks, I wish I could tell you how the software performed, but it’s still pending a download. Yeah, I blame this on the Windows Store wholeheartedly, as it’s not my place of choice to download any software. I have never had an easy or healthy experience with that store for whatever reason. Anyway, while I don’t blame PDP for the Windows Store choice, as it makes sense that an application on a Windows machine would come from this place, I do wish they had a direct download from their site, much like if you were looking for a printer driver on HP. It would make everything so much easier, provide a secondary option for gamers to go to should something go wrong with the Windows Store, and it wouldn’t make hiccups like the current one a possibility. Anyway, if this download should happen in the next week, I’ll update this. As of right now, there needs to be a secondary way to download the PDP Hub app.
At least the Xbox app works. Right?
*sigh*
All the feels
When everything is kicking in full force, the Afterglow Wave Wired Controller is a great controller and another feather in the cap of PDP. The controller feels comfortable, it has some weight, and the buttons feel solid. And trust me, I put this controller to the test with PC gaming this past week. I abused the poor controller to death with Binding of Isaac, a game I have played relentlessly since the PlayStation 4. If it can survive that game for hours upon hours, then it can survive anything. Hmmm…I should have tried Destiny 2. That game destroyed more trigger buttons than I care to count. Nah. I won’t try that until they get a story going again.
Anyway, on a more serious note, I enjoyed the thumbsticks on this controller more than I did the Xbox Series X controller. For some reason, the Xbox Series X controller wears down my thumbs and makes playing long hours of games incredibly uncomfortable. I usually must take breaks because the thumbsticks make my thumbs hurt. Must be the texture. The Afterglow Wave Wired Controller has smooth but grippy thumbsticks, so I get all the stability I need from them for hours but without the irritating rub. It may not be important to some of you, but it’s important to me. I want comfort when I play games. Even with my thumbkins.
Overall, the functionality and comfort of this controller is better than most. It feels good, acts like a controller that wants to be your go-to for the next few years, and it brings some incredible features that work as advertised (and beyond). As for the customization, I am impressed with the Xbox PDP Hub software and what options it provides when it comes to personalizing your controller experience, but unimpressed with the restrictive choice to only use the Windows Store for the app download on PC. Please, for the love of everything good and holy, PDP, offer this as a download on your site. If not only for being a backup download site.
Style and profiling…four profiles
As mentioned above, the controller features software that can change the RGB capabilities of the LED lights on the device. Any color you want on the color wheel is at your disposal. You can customize your color scheme, mix colors, and even tell the controller how to display and move them. Having that much control over your controller and style set is way more than anyone should need. I like having too much, so it makes me happy how this controller works in the style arena.
Much like having a closet full of different outfits, the Xbox PDP Hub App comes equipped with multiple profiles for your color settings. You can set up to four to your individual liking. If you have favorite colors for Call of Duty, you can set those in Profile 1. If you want blood red for Binding of Isaac, you can set it up in Profile 2. Whatever suits your fancy, you can do it, which is nice and flexible for those of us who are pure style snobs with our gaming devices. It is worth noting that the Afterglow Wave Wired Controller is a bland gray color, which I wasn’t sure was the best of ideas, though I see there are different colors offered on the PDP site, but seeing the LED light up and how the LED works with that gray bland, it compliments the lighting. It’s like watching TRON characters with lit suits. Just perfect and cool.
On that sweet note, let’s wrap this review up.
Conclusion
The Afterglow Wave Wired Controller from PDP is a wonderful PC and Xbox controller. It’s stylish, comfortable, and carries some good weight when playing games. Its functionality is mostly good, as the buttons and functions on the hardware are spot-on where they should be. The only hiccup in this giddy-up is how the software works. It’s superb on the Xbox, as you can see all the beautiful functions it offers, such as re-mapping buttons, changing colors, toying with audio management, and adjusting trigger options. On the Windows side of the tracks, there must be multiple ways to access the hub app.
