Every year, technology advances beyond gaming’s wildest imagination. 10 years ago, the PS4 and Xbox One were just launched, and today, fans have the choice between some of the best equipment available when it comes to controllers. This is where Victrix comes in, with their newly repurposed Victrix Pro BFG for the Xbox.
The Victrix Pro BFG is a nifty modular controller that gives the player true control over how they would like to play, adding the best of modular design and stapling it to some of the best features in control design, but it comes with some layers of jank that cannot be ignored.
First impressions are incredibly important, and the Victrix Pro BFG controller knocks this out of the park. The one I tested arrived in a striking white/purple colourway which felt like the Los Angeles Lakers Association Edition jerseys—they’re white—minus the yellow accents.
The Victrix Pro BFG comes with a case (that matches the body of the controller) to hold the controller and keep it safe from adversaries, a hexagonal screwdriver for controller part changing, a dongle that supports 2.4ghz transmission to the console or PC, interchangeable analog stick rings for the fighting game fan and a complete modular replacement that changes the face of the controller into a fight stick. There are also different height analog sticks and replacement +pads. The BFG (like its DOOM counterpart) includes everything but the kitchen sink.
“The Victrix Pro BFG is a nifty modular controller that gives the player true control over how they would like to play…”
The Victrix Pro BFG controller is noticeably lighter than the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller and has a myriad of features a gamer can use to skew encounters in their favour. There are hair-trigger stops to prevent the R2 + L2 triggers from compressing all the way, there are four back buttons (commonly referred to as paddles) auto-mapped to the four face buttons, a profile button on the back, and all the included buttons found on an Xbox Series X controller (yes, even a headset 3.5mm audio port on the bottom).
The most notable feature of the Victrix Pro BFG is the ability to literally rip the face of the right side of the controller off and replace it with a module that has six face buttons and no analog stick. This module has ‘Fight Pad’ emblazoned on the upper right, in a font similar to the font found on the Atari Jaguar’s box. This effectively turns the controller into a bonafide fight stick.
With recent releases of the Mortal Kombat 1 Season Pass characters (like Invincible’s Omni-Man), Eddy Gordo just getting the call for the King of the Iron Fist Tournament in TEKKEN 8, and Street Fighter 6 letting players take it to the streets with their customized character, it is a great time to be into fighting. The Victrix Pro BFG even FEELS like a fight stick when the six face buttons are pressed, and PDP even included octagon analog stick rings for advanced button inputs.
However, mapping buttons to the back ‘paddles’ is a different story. With the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller, gamers merely have to go to the dashboard settings menu, and hit accessories to remap buttons. The Victrix Pro BFG requires the user to press the profile button on the back, press the chosen back paddle button, and then while the function indicator is blinking on the back, a face button (or trigger button) has to be pressed to map the button. While this is uncomplicated, I would have preferred the dashboard option.
“The Victrix Pro BFG even FEELS like a fight stick when the six face buttons are pressed, and PDP even included octagon analog stick rings for advanced button inputs.”
The hair-trigger adjustors are placed in a confusing spot. They are located right where I would normally hold my middle finger while gaming, so numerous times I accidentally reset the trigger to ‘no press necessary’ for it to activate. By no press necessary, I mean the trigger is barely being touched, never mind pressed, and it goes off. There are notably five points gamers can let the trigger pull to stop at which is a cool customization option.
But, this is an issue only fixed by increasing the trigger compression point, which is then accidentally reset by playing again and disrupting the trigger sensitivity. This small design flaw creates a lot of issues, especially when trying to sneak past sentries during an Elder Scrolls Online Dark Brotherhood quest that requires silence when trying to assassinate a target. On many retries, while escaping after killing the target, I would have my cloak spell intact, and out of nowhere, my Dunmer Nightblade would throw a fireball and ruin the entire operation. The Victrix Pro BFG is not intended for stealth operations.
It’s worth mentioning while playing with the Victrix Pro BFG’s wired cousin, the Victrix Gambit Tournament controller, the trigger sensitivity is the same. It just sometimes behaves like a trigger is being pressed and it isn’t, an issue that plagues the Victrix Pro BFG. Many times, during a Destiny 2 raid (looking at you, Deep Stone Crypt), I would float along during the platforming segment when my aerial floating thrusters disengaged. This happens when pressing any button, including a sensitive trigger or errant back button press, and this happens often with the Victrix Pro BFG.
“The most notable feature of the Victrix Pro BFG is the ability to literally rip the face of the right side of the controller off and replace it with a module that has six face buttons and no analog stick.”
Fortunately, the Victrix Pro BFG controller comes with an internal battery, charged by an included 10-ft long USB-C cable. Changing the controller’s behaviour to work with PC was super simple, all I had to do was plug-and-play to start gaming instantly. During a preview session with The Rogue Prince of Persia, the Victrix Pro BFG carried me through the hardest platforming sections without breaking a sweat.
The Victrix Pro BFG controller is a nifty device. Here is a controller that places the fighting game fan at the forefront of gaming, without needing to shell out a ransom on a specialty fighting stick. The BFG is malleable and can shift from a fight stick to a high-tech controller with over 20 buttons in the blink of an eye (and the turn of a screwdriver). Changing the parts of the Victrix Pro BFG is also incredibly fun, and the solid construction makes component changing simple and effective.
But, due to functional shortcomings like ghost trigger activation and trigger stops confusingly hurting gameplay instead of adding to it, the Victrix Pro BFG sounds better on paper than in practice. My favourite time spent playing with the Pro BFG was when it was being used as a basic controller or fight stick, without any of the extra functionality or hair-triggers or back button pressing. The Victrix Pro BFG is a good controller, but one that has too steep a price tag when it feels like it doesn’t function as intended.
- Play wirelessly on console using the USB dongle, connect via Bluetooth to compatible devices, or use the included cable to plug in the controller for tournament play and even faster inputs
- Modular design for custom configuration with reversible left module, standard right module, 6-button fight pad module, 4 interchangeable sticks, 3 different D-pads, and 4 gates
