Evil Shift Xbox One Master Mod Review

November 16, 2019 at 4:09am
By Jason Stettner

I’ve been using the Evil Shift Xbox One custom controller for a number of years now. I had previously reviewed the initial version of this line awhile back, and was recently sent the updated one to cover as well. I’ll be making comparisons to the upgrades, and to the regular Microsoft controller options. They’ve changed things quite a bit, added features and it’s generally great.

There are some solid improvements and additions present. For context, this is a type of controller that you can completely customize. These options are found on the Evil Controllers site, and it’s mirrored for the Playstation 4 DualShock to a degree. You can go more basic, or go wild and they sent me one with a lot going on with it. It’s got a smooth Apex Legends design, and they put the site logo on the back which was cool. These are just examples for some of the custom options that are present.

Moving forward I'll be diving into more of the technical aspects and general thoughts on this new controller. The box this was sent in was more of a professional store looking package, as opposed to the sort of hand craft box I had received with the previous one. It was neat to see the style right through the packaging. You also get some info sheets, including one for mapping the back paddles and another to handle mods. This version is considered to have “Master Mods” which are very intuitively integrated. I’m not really into mods controller wise, but I did test them out for the purpose of this review in private matches. I’ll discuss those further later on.

The package also contains a series of analog sticks. With the options for analog sticks you get a few convex styled sticks. Three sets of two featuring various lengths. I personally prefer concave, but have gotten used to this convex style after using the previous controller for a long while. It’s not at all a big deal to me now, and I quite like using them. The sticks themselves are thicker, that fixes an issue I had in the past with them. There’s also a layering of tension with the design, much more exact and that’s a neat change-up. I describe it as feeling tighter.

With this being a personal controller there color options present, mine is almost as pictured and looks slick. I've become used to plain controllers over the years so having something with a lot of color is different. The previous one was a blue black gradient, and this one is a shiny red and grey. Both are aesthetically pleasing. The back of mine also has a special tactical grip, it's quite great while not being too noticeable. I would heavily suggest choosing this type of grip, or something like it. This is a very light controller, you do however miss some of the rumble in this transition.

You still get some feedback, but not everything you might be used to. Still, this gives us a better response and a lighter product so you can debate the tweak there as it sure is nice to have that 1mm response time. Going onto improvements the buttons are hyper sensitive and very responsive to taps. You see this as a theme throughout the design with tactile triggers that reduce the tension by 50% (incredible response) and large surface area thumbsticks.

The triggers feel great, offering a very fast snap back so that you can respond quicker. They go down just a bit, creating a faster response. It’s quite nice, at the same time it would be cool to see an on and off type configuration in the future if that’s possible. The movement you feel with the analog sticks is quite tense, huge difference here in comparison to even the previous one I had. This also supports the 3.5mm port in the bottom for headphones, and it has Bluetooth support which is great. Time for what's probably one of the key highlights of the Evil Shift, the paddles.

These are button based being tied directly into the sides of the inner controller ends and they are definitely comfy to use. Being a button you get a more of a dynamic range on them as opposed to sticks that prop out and fall off like with the Elite line. They're harder to hold down for shooters, but for the most part are certainly fantastic to use. Another amazing aspect is the option to remap them on the fly. There’s no need to switch inputs or use an app, hold view followed by the paddle and select the new option. Simple, fast and saves you time.

The mods follow a similar setup. It’s hard to describe these, so you’ll need to use the book you get for guidance. There are choices for fire rate, reloading and the input too. You can lock the mods on, or off as you can turn this into a standard controller if desired. The mod is working if the middle Xbox button is flickering in response to you doing something. There are also now evil eyes beside the middle button, odd yet help add distinction for branding.

The Conclusion

The Evil Shift Xbox One controller with Master Mod is an excellent option for gaming, to enhance your tactical edge whether you’re on the specific console or using this gamepad elsewhere. That’s easy to note and suggest, as most games on PC support these Xbox controllers, as do mobile devices through the Bluetooth. This is a quality build, the customization is unmatched.

The remapping at any time is a huge improvement over the Xbox Elite options and the style choices here easily beat that. It's light, efficient and has better response times in all areas of the controller. It feels really nice to use being light and I haven't had any issues with it. It’s an improvement over the previous one, and I have enjoyed that one for a long while.

The quality seems to be solid and the grip option is definitely worth having on a custom one if you go that route. While not a fan of mods on a controller, they were very intuitively integrated and simple to use. They performed well, and will give you an edge. In general the Evil Shift controller provides an incredible edge in a quality product.

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Evil Shift Xbox One Master Mod Review product provided by Evil Controllers tested with Gears 5, Minecraft, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Need for Speed Heat, Windows 10 PC

Rating Overall: 8.7