Turtle Beach VelocityOne Multi-Shift review

I freely admit that I’m a simulation junkie, I’m always on the lookout for things that will up my immersion.  I loved the VelocityOne Race Wheel (my review), and I noted that it was just begging for a stick shift add-on. Arriving sure as a checkered flag, we’ve finally gotten our hands on the Turtle Beach VelocityOne Multi-Shift, and it’s (almost) everything I hoped it could be. Buckle up and let’s kick this review into high gear.

Whether you’re whipping around the track Forza Motorsport, or hurtling through the air in EA Sports WRC, you’ve got options for controls.  Sure, you can get your zoom on using a controller, but if you really want to take it to the next level, a steering wheel is the way.  If you’ve got the skills to handle a stick shift, then you’ve got another tool to immerse yourself even further.  Enter the Turtle Beach VelocityOne Multi-Shift Stickshift, an accessory designed to bring an authentic, high-performance racing experience to your setup. Like the rest of the VelocityOne line, the VelocityOne Race and this Multi-Shift is aimed at the racing enthusiast with a blend of features at a reasonable price. I have used this wheel extensively (here’s a video of the unboxing as well as a lot of track time) but have never particularly enjoyed the paddle shifters, so I was excited to bump it up a notch.

First impressions are crucial, and the VelocityOne Multi-Shift Stickshift delivers exactly that.  The shifter has heft to it, with a solid construction that continues throughout the device.  The device is capable of acting as a 8-position H-shifter (7 gears and reverse), with a high/low toggle to expand that all the way out to 14 if you’re driving a big rig.  Pulling a small lever on the side changes the device into a sequential shifter.  That means you push it forward to shift up and pull it down to downshift (unless you configure it the other way, weirdo).  It can also stay in this configuration to act as a handbrake – useful if you are a drift racer.  

The ergonomics of the stickshift are comfortable in either configuration, which is important as you’ll be shifting quickly in just about any game you’re playing, unless you’re driving a rig.  Whipping the stick into position in either mode results in a satisfying “click”, even though the device is entirely Hall Effect sensors underneath.  This tactile locking into position simulates a real-world transmission, providing tactile feedback that you simply don’t get with paddle shifters.  Put simply, the Turtle Beach VelocityOne Multi-Shift is as close to the real thing as you can get without hitting the track in your own supercar.  

If you’re unfamiliar with Hall Effect components, these utilize magnets to signal that a button has been pressed or a stick has moved into position.  This reduces wear and tear on the device as internal components are not making contact with one another.  Sure, Hall Effect components will cost a little bit more, but in every case I can think of, it’s very much worth it.    

Any optional accessory for a hardware device has a relatively high hurdle as it’s effectively an add-on for an add-on.  That’s true with the VelocityOne Multi-Shift as well, and performance in your favorite games is not the only benchmark to determine if it’s right for you.  First, you’ll need to get it configured.  As you can see in the unboxing video above, there’s not a great deal of complexity to set this up, connecting easily enough to the VelocityOne Race wheel for both the Xbox Series X|S or PC.  It’s also possible to use this with any other wheel as it can connect directly to a PC to act entirely on its own as an input device.  It’s this point that we start to hear an annoying wobble in the tires.

Let’s be clear up front – the problems I have with the VelocityOne Multi-Shift’s, and ultimately the VelocityOne Race, are directly aimed at the enthusiast market.  There’s a support matrix that has thankfully grown since the wheel launched, and hopefully that continues with this shifter.  I tried several games with the Multi-Shift, specifically F1 2024, EA Sports WRC, BeamNG Drive, Asseto Corsa Competizione, Dirt Rally 2, American Truck Simulator, and Euro Truck Simulator 2.  The list is far longer than that, but these are certainly the most popular of the bunch. There are a handful of fully supported games that will work with no configuration required, but most of them will take a little finesse to get working. 

Dirt Rally 2 and EA Sports WRC were my first stops.  In both titles, all I had to do was set the Multi-Shift to H-Drive and map the positions with a simple button press on the keyboard and then sliding the gear into place.  At that point I was able to get in the car and realize that I just might be the worst rally driver on the face of the earth – times two…  Does the stick work?  Yes – perfectly.  Do I suck at this type of racing?  Yes, absolutely.

After driving off several cliffs I went to something a little slower – both Truck Simulator titles.  Here I had far less luck with mapping.  I mapped buttons, I set ranges on pedals, and I did everything I could possibly think of to try to get these two working, but after hours of attempts and not being able to even get past the tutorial I gave up.  If you’ve managed to configure those games in a way where they function, I’d love to hear it.

F1 2024 is a Formula 1 title (it’s kinda in the name) so that’s more suited to a sequential shifter (or more likely the paddle shifters).  This game is listed as “plug and play” and it is.  I had far more track success with this game and I can see revisiting it in VR as it was a blast.

Next up I checked out BeamNG Drive  because it’s also listed as plug-and-play. With no effort whatsoever I was able to get behind the wheel of a truck with some very dodgy physics and roar around a cityscape.  The H-shifter works like a charm, though I can’t say that game is my personal brand of fun. That’s when I fired up Asseto Corsa Competizione.  

I can’t say I’m good at Asseto Corsa Competizione, far from it, really.  That said, it is an absolute blast.  Better drivers than I can use it for drifting, I’m sure, but I used it as a sequential shifter.  I could tell you about it… but why don’t I show you?

As you can see, when the game supports the wheel and shifter, the whole experience is elevated. A decent racing game becomes a nail-biting roar around the track as you white-knuckle the wheel, rapidly whipping through the gears.  The Multi-Shift really completes my driving setup.  The haptic feedback vest, the YawVR, a VR headset, and the VelocityOne Race Wheel and Multi-Shift combined?  It’s just like being there, hair on fire, going 200 miles an hour – there’s simply nothing like it.

Another thing you might notice in the video is that I never had any lag in the input for the Multi-Shift.  I was able to rapidly shift just like if it were the real deal, and it didn’t take long before I was fully in the zone.  Rally games have a different shifting style, but that’s supported too. 

Just like the Race Wheel when we reviewed it, the last stop is price and warranty.  The Multi-Shift, just like its wheel counterpart, carries a 1 year warranty.  And just like how I felt when I reviewed the wheel, I wish it was longer than that.  The Hall Effect sensors should remove a lot of the strain and wear on the stick, but a little more peace of mind would be good.  The stick itself is $129.99, full MSRP.  As an optional add-on, that’s less than half of what I paid for a single high-end flight stick – Turtle Beach has priced these fairly aggressively.  Yes, it’s entirely optional, but once you’ve driven with it, you won’t want to drive without it.