There's no doubt that Turtle Beach's Stealth Pivot controller is built on a gimmick, but it's still pretty impressive. By flipping two switches and turning two parts of the controller, the Stealth Pivot can transform from a device that favors one type of gaming experience to one that favors another.
Related
The new Turtle Beach Stealth rotary controller allows you to switch the button layout
Boasting a premium customization feature, the new Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot is worth buying.
At first glance, the Stealth Pivot looks a lot like Turtle Beach's Stealth Ultra with the Connected Command display in the middle. On the built-in screen, users can see social notifications from their phone, swap profiles for button mapping, and view battery information. It's a lower resolution screen compared to the Stealth Ultra, but it still offers useful information.
The Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot Controller comes with all the right features
The Stealth Pivot includes several common features of a premium controller such as:
- Hall Effect Joysticks – Avoiding stick drift is essential for any premium controller.
- Shutter Stop (Full and Short) – If you want to take full advantage of the shutter release or would prefer to treat it as an instant press button.
- 2 Customizable Back Buttons – The back buttons cover part of the controller's grips and the underside of the controller, making them easy to press and hold firmly.
The Stealth Pivot is strong enough and comfortable to hold. The controller is a bit heavy due to the screen, but I didn't find it distracting or heavy to the point of being unbalanced. There's also a bit of texture on the outside of the grips and back buttons to help the otherwise smooth controller hold firmly in your hands.
Taking the name out of the equation, the Stealth Pivot is a solid premium driver that ticks all the right boxes. Its wireless functionality on PC (wired on Xbox) makes it a great choice for platform gamers, it has a bit of style and is comfortable to hold. But it's no ordinary controller.
By flipping the two switches on the bottom and turning the joysticks, you can rotate the two control/button modules on the front of the controller to reveal two new layouts. On the left module, turning reveals a module with a D-Pad in place of the joystick and an RSB and LSB button below it. To the right, turning reveals a module with the XYAB buttons in place of the joystick and the P1 and P2 buttons above them.
Depending on which pods you rotate, there are four possible configurations with the Stealth Pivot, but it's clear that the controller is aimed at the fighting game and retro gaming community with the other pods. Playing a side scroller, for example, doesn't need a second joystick, and having 6 buttons right at your fingertips can be beneficial. Or in a fighting game, the precision of the D-Pad combined with 6 buttons (for high, medium, and low actions) might be more appropriate than the standard controller layout.
The Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot Controller is a good fit for the fighting and retro gaming communities.
This added versatility puts the Stealth Pivot in a unique position for many players and makes it interesting as a result. Even the ability to switch to “side scroller mode” or “fighting game mode” is attractive, but also completely optional. As mentioned, the Stealth Pivot is a solid controller without swapping modules – being able to do this pivot is a bonus. Whether or not you'll find the Turtle Beach controller more attractive than some other similarly priced premium controllers depends on how useful you find this swapping mechanism.
As with most Turtle Beach controllers, you can jump into the Control Center app and customize things like RGB colors, dead zones, all-button mapping, or sound settings for the included headphone jack. If you're going to opt for an orientation with a bunch of added buttons, it's nice to be able to customize them to your liking.
While testing the Stealth Pivot, I found module rotation to be a nice feature. Jumping from a first person shooter STALKER 2 where dual joysticks are essential for precise side scrolling Nine Sols it's simple and easy with the controller and I felt that two different configurations for two different games would make each game better.
The Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot gets the basics right and that's crucial to its wider appeal. Obviously, there are sub-communities that will find the controller more appealing than others, but knowing that Turtle Beach hasn't skimped on the controller's premium features or focused too much on modules allows anyone to approach each unique feature as an added bonus. It's basically 3+ controllers in one and they all work really well.
Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot Controller
The Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot seems to stand out from the growing number of customizable controllers by offering a unique button layout and thumb change function. Instead of swapping parts, players simply have to switch between a traditional layout and a fighting game-style layout. The controller also supports wired and wireless connections, allowing you to play with free range of motion or tethered to the screen.
- A great premium controller in its own right
- Rotating the module will open its tool
- 20 hour battery life
- Switching modules won't appeal to everyone
The Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot Controller is now available for pre-order. Game Rant was provided a unit for this review.
