Marathon PS5 controller is pretty cool for a limited-edition DualSense

After a lengthy and public development cycle, Marathon is out today for PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. No matter what its Steam concurrents peak at, no matter what scores headline the hastily published first batch of reviews, there’s one thing that the numbers, and the myopic debate around them, can’t take away: the DualSense wireless controller – Marathon Limited Edition (official name) is actually pretty cool.

Representatives for Bungie, Marathon‘s developer, sent Polygon a DualSense wireless controller – Marathon Limited Edition for testing in late February. Right out of the box, the DualSense wireless controller – Marathon Limited Edition feels like a regular old DualSense that doesn’t have a fancy name, except done up with Marathon-themed decals. As far as special-edition controllers go, the DualSense wireless controller – Marathon Limited Edition is tastefully done.

Blocky lime-green and black designs run up the left handle. In the center of the touchpad, the Marathon logo is set within a lime-green square. Face buttons are surrounded by whatever we’re calling those cyberpunk squiggles these days. A sans serif “R” is on the right handle, in case you forget which side is right. These designs aren’t cheap stickers, either; they’re colored into the plastic. The DualSense wireless controller – Marathon Limited Edition is topped off by white shoulder buttons and triggers that add subtle divergence from the dark gray ones you’ll find on a standard DualSense.

(One design touch that doesn’t make sense? The D-pad is surrounded by decals pointing up, left, right, and down, each one indicating which direction to push those buttons. C’mon, DualSense wireless controller – Marathon Limited Edition. That’s just redundant.)

Image: Polygon

This week (in other words, not quite enough time for it to develop any stick drift), I’ve been using the DualSense wireless controller – Marathon Limited Edition. Yes, Bungie conducted a technical test for Marathon. I… missed it. Instead, I’ve been enraptured by Cairn, the transcendent climbing game from The Game Bakers. If you’ve played Cairn, you know full well that it’s a workout on the left thumbstick. As you navigate hero Aava’s limbs to grasp various hold on steep cliff faces, you have to fully tilt the thumbstick in that particular direction, pretty much constantly. The entire time, the DualSense wireless controller – Marathon Limited Edition has felt like any other PS5 controller.

This held true for other games, too. Riding a horse in Ghost of Yōtei triggered the dynamic rumble the PS5 controller is known for. Dodging futuristic ninjas in Ghostrunner 2 did the same for its haptics. You’re right, for the hat trick, I probably should’ve played one more game that starts with “Ghost.”

Image: Polygon

In other words, the DualSense wireless controller – Marathon Limited Edition is just a PS5 controller with a fancier design. If you like the look, you’ll like it. If you don’t, you won’t.

For the most part, PlayStation has been on a roll with its limited-edition controllers during the PS5 generation. The mostly black DualSense wireless controller – Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Edition was supremely elegant, though it required not looking down and mistaking the spider decal on the trackpad for the real thing. The God of War Ragnarök DualSense controller got a gorgeous blue-and-white colorway with Norse motifs (and, for some reason, a name that’s not a mouthful). The DualSense wireless controller – God of War 20th Anniversary Edition, with an off-center red stripe on an otherwise all-white background, balances nostalgia bait with a refined design. Even the DualSense wireless controller – Concord Limited Edition leaned on retro vibes for an all-time killer look (one that is currently listed on eBay for hundreds of dollars). The DualSense wireless controller – Marathon Limited Edition is just the latest in the line.