If anything, PS4 gamers have really got the short end of the stick when it comes to controllers. Besides the DualShock 4, we really don’t have much choice. When we look at the Xbox One, we can choose between the Elite Controller, which we reviewed and played tons of hours with, and loved. Well Razer have worked very hard on a Pro Controller for the PS4 players, and we have spend a few hours with it and loved our experience so far. The Razer Raiju is a solid device with such premium design elements to it, that it warrants its steep price tag of R2499. Its a premium device that feels expensive in our hands.

Razer Raiju Review

The Razer Raiju is a eSports controller at its core, which means that it has extra fully programmable buttons that can be assigned to various keys on the controller. We set ours to take advantage of the circle button and cross button. We assigned these buttons to the two extra bumpers on the back of the controller, so that when we had to jump or reload, we did not need to lift our thumb off of the analogue as we just used out fingers to press the back bumpers. This gave us the edge we needed while playing FPS games that required quick precision.

Razer Riaju Review

The controller shape and size has been designed by top eSport athletes, so the ergonomic fit in our hands, felt great. In theory there are four extra buttons that can be remapped, and remapping is easy. All we had to do was hold down the mapping button, then press the button we wanted to map to, and then the button we wanted it to be. There are also two profiles that can be stored on the controller at once, so it is easy to switch between the two, and we had different profiles for different games. For our FPS games like Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2, we had a setup that put crosss and circle on the back paddles, making it easy to crouch and jump in the game. For other games like Final Fantasy XV, we had square and cross, as the square is used for blocking incoming attacks, and cross is helpful in battles when we need to jump around.

The controller also has a neat hair trigger toggle that shortens the distance between the button press on the left and right trigger. This means that when the toggle is on, the time it takes to press in the trigger button is half that it would be without the toggle off, or while using a DualShock 4. That short distance means more rapid fire under pressure.

Razer Riaju Review

Overall we have enjoyed our time with the Razer Raiju, and although the wired aspect of it kind of got in the way of things, the controller is a premium device that caters for all PS4 gamers. Its extra buttons, and control panel that lets you mute your mic without lifting your hand off the controller, makes for handy addition in any circumstance. All the buttons in general, and even the touchpad has a refined feel to it, and the travel time between the buttons is much less, giving us more presses in a short amount of time. The aluminium thumbstick shaft, means that the lifespan of the analogue will be much longer than the typical plastic shaft, and the rubberized grip on the top of the controller will help with the wear and tear of the rubber.

We had a few issues when it came to the design of the controller overall. It took us a while to adapt to the larger scale of the controller and often we would tap on the trigger buttons by mistake. This was due to the large stretch between the additional Hyperesponse buttons and the trigger buttons. This was especially prone to happen when we had the hair trigger lock on as the button was more sensitive then.  We just played more carefully and eliminated this issue, but it is important to keep in mind that you will need to lookout for these buttons when you are using the back panels. You could also do what we did and remove the extra paddles altogether, this then made us rely on the top two buttons instead. This is easily done by just unscrewing the paddles from the back of the controller and locking in the attachment.

Razer Riaju Review


The Razer Raijju is a great gadget, of which is one of its kind. Not only is the customization options helpful for any gamer, but it will give you the edge when it comes to certain genres of games. It is the best professional controller for PS4, and a must have for anyone bored of using the classic DualShock 4.


Razer Raiju Review: A great addition to your PS4
The Razer Riaju is a great addition to any PS4 gamer's setup. The functionality is a most welcome change after years of using the normal DualShock 4.
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