Developer: KontrolFreek
Publisher: KontrolFreek
Platform: Xbox One, PS4
Tested on: Xbox One
KontrolFreek Alpha for Xbox One – Accessory Review
There are times where we have the desire for more grip, more control and more comfort of our controllers without having to buy several kinds of accessories to provide us the aforementioned features. Luckily KontrolFreek’s arsenal doesn’t just pack thumb grips developed for racing games and first person shooters. This time we’ve tested the KontrolFreek Alpha thumbsticks which work great in all types of games.
The KontrolFreek Alpha is not designed to make your controller more unique. In fact, the bowl-shaped concave knobbed design is rather bland looking but the nubs provide good friction which is the main feature of the Alpha; providing more grip and allowing the players to have more control of their movements while improving the comfort of stock thumbsticks. The soft rubber might not be extremely durable but it does increase the comfort levels significantly compared to the original sticks. The black matte color might be a tad boring seeing as there are tons of awesome designs and color schemes in KontrolFreek’s range and it shows a slight discoloration compared to the Xbox One’s original black color but you’ll only see this up close. Once again it would have been a nice touch to offer the grips in a few monotonous colors to fit any secondary grip, whether it is another thumbstick, a full controller grip or even a simple sticker.
Compared to other thumb sticks, the Alpha feels a little smoother and having your thumb slide off is much more common than with the FPS Freek Galaxy. Nonetheless, the Alpha still adds a depth of sensitivity and is super comfortable. As the Alpha is a low rise stick extender, it doesn’t extent the stick too much. The three millimeter height increment is barely noticeable which makes it perfect for smaller-sized hands while still being suitable with larger hands due to its wider thumb surface and there’s no need to become familiar with the accessory.
Installing the thumb grips was almost as easy as the SpeedFreek Apex. The combination of the latter one and the Alpha is also nearly perfect, although it might make your controller less suitable for certain genres. The three clips that essentially hold the grip onto the original stick did not chafe the sticks either which means that these grips are also perfect to prolong the lifetime of your analog sticks as they cannot wear from extended usage.
Of course, the Alpha’s are not designed to last an entire lifetime and while it is much cheaper to buy thumb grips, this is a personal opinion and might vary from player to player. Removing the grips is another easy task and you don’t need to be too careful with your original stick. Once the grips are installed, they cannot twirl around like certain grips can do but we found this to be a positive feature.
The KontrolFreek Alpha allows the player to feel less fatigue in their hands when playing lengthy sessions of Assassin’s Creed, Dying Light or Mortal Kombat X but at the same time, the grips offer a depth of sensitivity which translates to a better accuracy in games such as Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Halo: The Master Chief Collection. While the Alpha is certainly not as great for racing games as the SpeedFreek Apex, it does come rather close in terms of controlled movements.
Conclusion
The desire for more grip, more control and more comfort of our controllers while prolonging their lifetime has been fulfilled by the low rise KontrolFreek Alpha thumb grips. We highly recommend them to casual gamers who are seeking to prolong their gaming sessions without feeling fatigue in their hands but also to competitive players who want more depth of sensitivity and thus gain more accuracy.
KontrolFreek Alpha for Xbox One - Accessory Review,
No Comments