Having a dedicated place to charge one’s gaming peripherals is essential to keeping their gaming space clean. I’m the kind of person who has a specific place for most things, so having multiple controllers floating around is less than ideal. Enter the HyperX ChargePlay Duo controller charger, and its capability of charging (and housing) two PS5 controllers at a time.
Having recently reviewed a different controller charger in the Razer Quick Charging Stand, I was keen to see the differences between the two. Unboxing is always fun for me, and the HyperX ChargePlay Duo didn’t disappoint. It’s a very bare-bones package with just the controller stand, a short USB-C charging cable, and some paperwork.
I was immediately drawn to the white colour that matched one of my PS5 controllers (I use the red and white concurrently). There is a lovely HyperX logo on the front in red and the whole unit is nice to look at.
It took me a moment to figure out that this stand is designed to be looked at from the “side”. You place two controllers on either side of it, and they face away from each other whilst charging. You could absolutely turn it to have the controller face you, but I think it looks fantastic as it is with your controllers facing left and right. In terms of placement, the included USB-C cable is rather short, but can be easily swapped out for a longer option to ensure you can place it exactly where you want.
“The HyperX ChargePlay Duo is altogether a fantastic charging option for your PlayStation 5 DualSense controllers…”
On the actual controller dock itself are the charging points that connect to the controller, as well as a tiny little piece that glides into the headphone port on the controller. Not enough to engage it, but enough to keep the controller in place. This is a feature I have been crying out for since it is absent on both the Razer and PlayStation official charging stands.
Most people would be content placing their controller on a stand and leaving it to charge reliably. In my house, the location I have the charging stand in is also used as a running path for my cats. Many times I would place my controller on a stand to charge and come back the next day to it laying on the shelf because the cats charged through and knocked it off. The HyperX ChargePlay Duo, however, always stayed in place thanks to its weighted base and rubber strips on the underside to prevent sliding.
The only gripe I have with the HyperX ChargePlay Duo is that there is no charging indicator light to let you know when charging is complete. Short of turning the controller on to check, there isn’t really a way to determine how charged it is. Speaking of knowing when charging is done, during testing I found that the ChargePlay Duo typically got a controller from fully flat to fully charged in less than three hours. This amount of time seemed very reasonable as I would always have a backup controller on the charger to take over duties should the need arise during a long gaming session.
The HyperX ChargePlay Duo is altogether a fantastic charging option for your PlayStation 5 DualSense controllers, and at a price of $29.99 USD, you can’t go wrong. I can highly recommend using this as your go-to charging station.
