I’m going to start this blog off by answering the question in its title. The Xbox One Elite Controller is, in fact, elite. It is full of great ideas, not all of which I use but all of which are tremendously implemented and useful to folks of all sorts. It might be a bit on the expensive side, and I hear a new one may be on the horizon soon, but I personally think it is a tremendous value. Let’s discuss.

Firstly, the controller is extremely responsive in all aspects. You might think that’s just something they say on the box, but it appears to be true. The face buttons and triggers seem to react smoothly, the thumbsticks have a solid, steady feel that is responsive while managing not to be too sensitive, and the directional pad, (which at first made me nervous due to its very different design), seems to work perfectly every time. It is made to better account for diagonal presses as well as the traditional 4 directions, and this makes it feel a bit floaty when you’re moving it, but it works well despite that. I had no trouble pulling off moves in Mortal Kombat or Killer Instinct.

Even better, the entire controller is configurable. Get this. You can configure the sensitivity of every button including the triggers and, if you want to really get into it, you can remap every single button as well. You can even configure the brightness of the light on the Xbox button. That’s some serious configuration. Maybe in the next model you’ll be able to transform the controller into any shape you like! I personally look forward to playing fighting games with my grilled cheese sandwich controller.

Seriously, though, I’m not done. Let’s just say that remapping the existing buttons isn’t enough for you. Perhaps you have issues with hand mobility, perhaps you just like buttons. Either way, the elite controller has you covered. There are 4 additional, attachable/detachable buttons that can be configured during remapping as well, given you even more options. These buttons attach to the grips, making them easier to reach while holding the controller. They are magnetized, making them easy both to add and remove, and if you don’t use them, just keep them in the handy dandy hardshell case the controller comes with. Ya know, just in case you ever want to attach your run button to the grip of your controller, or something like that.

If you can believe it, though, I’m still not done. Both thumbsticks, as well as the directional pad, are completely swappable. The controller actually comes with 1 spare directional pad, and 2 spare differently-sized thumbsticks. Again, configuration is the name of the game here, until you start playing a game, in which case the name of the game you’re playing is the name of the game. You get it. I’m just saying, it’s amazing.

Just one more thing, and then I promise I’ll stop blowing your mind. All these configurations, the remapping, the sensitivity, all of it can be assigned to different controller profiles, which you can then save to the controller. Yes, you can only save 2 at a time, but a flip of a switch swaps between them, leaving you freedom to have your own way of playing games even if someone else wants to keep things as they are by default. It’s another thoughtful feature that makes this controller complete.

I think I’ve made the point by now. The Xbox One Elite controller is a really neat, really well-made device. Everything is considered from configurability to comfortability, as its grips are easy to hold. Microsoft deserves almost as much praise for that as they do the Adaptive Controller, but the adaptive controller is just too amazing to handle, and one can only take so many brain explosions. I thank you all for reading this little review, and please continue to be awesome!