Let’s not mince words: the Game:Pad’s design was clearly redrived from the PS4’s rival, the Xbox One Controller, right down to the slightly upturned L2/R2 triggers. We spent at least three solid days using it before the battery indicator warned us it needed recharge. Battery life seems excellent, at least on par with the standard DualShock. Once paired it’ll function just like the standard DualShock controller, which means putting the console to sleep, waking it up, and haphazardly losing it under your couch.

Pairing the Game:Pad with the PS4 was as simple as plugging in the (included) USB cable and letting the console recognize it. There’s also a regular Blue variant floating around but good luck finding it! For variety there’s four colors available: Black, Grey, Blue Camouflage, and Bubblegum Camouflage. The design is identical, only instead of a tethered cable there’s now a single Micro USB slot to connect – and charge – the controller. Oh, and it’s nearly half the price of Sony’s DualShock 4. Their Game:Pad 4S Wireless Controller for the PlayStation 4 is, basically, a wireless variant of their already available Game:Pad 4S – minus the wires and more battery. Snakebyte has been slowly trying to reclaim a foothold in the American markets, having become a familiar presence for European gamers in recent years.

Third-party gaming controllers can be – and often are – hit-or-miss. But what about all those alternatives with names like Power A, Astro Gaming…and Snakebyte? Only replacing Sony’s DualShock 4 will still set you back a steep 60 bucks…if you’re wanting the real deal.

As the PlayStation 4 is the most popular console out there, chances are good this has happened to you or someone you know already. You’re in the heat of battle when – boom – your controller just up and quits right on your suffering self.

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