Victrix is one of the big players in the competitive fighting game space with their Pro FS fight stick for the Playstation 4 causing a stir in 2019 due to its premium build quality.
Now Victrix has brought their flagship fight stick back but fully optimised for the PlayStation 5 and in two new colour schemes.
Victrix has actually released two variations of their classic controller, the Pro FS and Pro FS 12.
The Pro FS 12 has the same build and functionality as the Pro FS but it omits the joystick, much like the HitBox.
Victrix has given fans this option as button-only gameplay is becoming more popular in the competitive side of fighting games.
But for this review, I will be solely looking at the Pro FS, which looks to capitalise on the precedent set by its predecessor.
Fight Sticks come in various shapes and sizes but the Pro FS has a very unique build. Its outer shell is made from a single sheet of aluminum that’s tough and a great change from the usual plastic builds.
Each end of the Fight Stick has built-in handles that make transportation much easier. Further inside the ends, are LED lights that flash in the same colours as the DualSense controller.
Its rectangular shape has been built with a 6.28-degree slope that has been designed to relieve some of the wrist stress after a long session of gaming.
This alongside the well-placed buttons and joystick makes the Pro FS one of the most comfortable Fight Sticks I have used.
The splendid ergonomic design continues, as the function buttons are located at the top of the fight stick and are illuminated, so players can easily distinguish between them.
The bottom of the chassis has a nice textured rubber plate to ensure that it stays in place and is still comfortable if you decide to rest it on your legs.
But what’s even more interesting is that the underpart of the fight stick has a back panel that grants players access to the fight stick’s insides.
Everything looks neat and tidy in there but there isn’t room for anything extra and Victrix has also decided to place the console switch button there as well.
Completing its design is the 3.5mm audio jack, which is situated at the front of the fight stick.
The Pro FS smart design was definitely built with pro gamers in mind as it's highly premium and user-friendly. I would’ve preferred the console switch button to be in a much better location putting it out of the way stops any random switching during games.
The Pro FS is built with 30mm Sanwa Denshi arcade buttons which are of the highest quality. It also uses Victrix’s patented detachable Link 2 Joystick on a Sanwa JLF base.
I was very impressed with the low latency from the buttons and joysticks which really allowed me to excel in faster games such as Dragon Ball FighterZ.
As mentioned earlier the Pro FS has several function buttons located at the top of the fight stick which include buttons native to the DualSense controller like the home and share buttons alongside Victrix’s own ones.
These include a tournament lock button, which is proving to be a godsend in all this new generation of fight sticks, a pro button, and a button to change the light pattern.
Due to the new layout and inclusion of the touchpad, players will notice that there isn’t an L3 or R3 button, but this is where the Pro button comes in as players will be able to change it to one of those two buttons.
But the glaring issue is that only one of these buttons can be used at a single time which can be a little frustrating but luckily the process of remapping the Pro button isn’t difficult.
The Pro FS connected to my Playstation 5 straight out of the box via a USB-C cable and the cable is detachable, but there isn’t a suitable place to store it within the fight stick.
Victrix Pro FS Verdict 4 / 5
Victrix Pro FS is a fantastic tournament-grade fight stick with an ergonomic design that will allow games to play for that much longer without major strain.
Its robust but lightweight build alongside the handles makes it a perfect choice for transportation and for use in competitions. It is a little more expensive than what’s currently available, however, the quality speaks for itself.
