Victrix Gambit Prime controller review — Pro controller in disguise

I’m a huge fan of PDP’s Victrix brand. The Pro BFG is my main controller, one that I’ve grown even more affectionate for as I’ve used it. That said, not everyone, including myself, can afford to drop $180 at the drop of a hat. A less expensive option is a good thing, and with Victrix’s Gambit Prime, I can get my Xbox and PC friends in on the great design, even if a few corners have been cut.

Inside the box, you’ll find the Victrix Gambit Prime controller, the 3m braided USB-C cable, a quickstart guide, and a little box for the accessories. In that box you’ll find a tall and concave thumbstick, an omnidirectional D-pad, two thumbstick gates, and a two button back paddle panel. For a much lower price, I’m not at all mad at the amount of goodies included.

The Gambit Prime controller itself is nearly a carbon copy of the Pro BFG in form factor, minus the versatile swapability of parts. There’s still some, but not nearly as much. If you’ve used an Xbox controller before, it’ll be familiar to you, meaning it’s very comfortable to hold. I also really like the choice of matte plastic for the shell and a textured design on the top of the handles, giving a nice grip to it as you play.

I mentioned swappable parts, and the Gambit Prime still has some. You can change out your thumbsticks, the guards and d-pad, and the back button paddle. It’s nothing too insane, but it works perfectly for this particular controller.

While some may bemoan the wired necessity, I like it. As a more competitive player, I know my inputs register better while wired, and with a nearly ten foot cable, you can play from almost anywhere. My only complaint here is that the controller will only work on PC and Xbox; no PlayStation variant exists and it won’t work on the Switch either.

Moving into the triggers, these mimic the Pro BFG as well. They not only feel great in the pull, but have five different levels of trigger locks. I love these on the Pro BFG; being able to fine tune my pull to my liking is amazing. The only thing I can nitpick is it can be a bit touchy to adjust – five different locks is a lot leaving little room for error.

Switching out back paddles wasn’t something I thought would be an option, but I’m really surprised it works as well as it does. These are designed differently than normal buttons or paddles; they’re more or less a panel or plate that rests on top of the important button parts. The paddles/buttons protrude off of this plate, giving you the indication they are there when touching the bottom of the controller.

It took me a moment to adjust to, but when I did, they worked as well as the Pro BFGs. I don’t think they are better than the actual buttons on the Pro BFGs, which also fit more naturally in your grip, but these are really good. If you don’t want to deal with four paddles, there’s a two paddle panel to switch out, which you can do in seconds.

It’s all good and well in theory, but does the drop in price result in drops in gaming quality? So far, I’m not noticing any fall off. I’ve been playing a lot of Call of Duty and XDefiant with this controller, and it’s keeping up in the same fashion that my Pro BFG has. Beyond getting used to the paddles, the thumbsticks, triggers, and other buttons have been fantastic. I speak so highly of the Victrix Pro BFG, and the Gambit Prime deserves at least to be heard in the same breath.

Lastly, the app. While I had a few connectivity issues with the Pro BFG, the Gambit Prime connected right away. There are plenty of changes you can make as well like remapping your back paddles, calibrating your thumbsticks and triggers if you’re getting drift, updating the firmware and more. This is also where you switch your back paddles to register swapping to two back paddles rather than four. The Victrix Control Hub works, and it works well. Also, as a bonus, the 3.5mm jack brings multiple audio profiles, including a lifetime subscription for Dolby Atmos. That’s just epic.

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