After spending a lot of time with the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro—a controller I genuinely loved—the Razer Raiju V3 Pro landed on my desk with some serious expectations riding on it. On paper, it’s exactly what I like to see from a modern “pro” pad: Hall effect triggers, magnetic anti‑drift thumbsticks, removable back buttons, slick software customisation and low‑latency wireless. In reality, it’s an excellent controller in many ways, but it also makes a few design decisions that keep it from being an automatic recommendation—especially at this price.

The Razer Raiju V3 Pro selling for around AU$349.95, which puts it nose‑to‑nose with Sony’s DualSense Edge. A quick look at current prices and the Razer controller is anywhere between $20-40 more than Sony’s offering which really heightens every trade‑off it makes.

Design, Build and Comfort

Razer’s industrial design team is still at the top of their game. The Raiju V3 Pro looks and feels undeniably premium the moment you pick it up. The rubberised grips are, quite simply, some of the best in the industry. The texture is grippy without being abrasive, the contouring nestles nicely into the palm, and nothing creaks or flexes. The face buttons, d‑pad and triggers all feel tuned for competitive play rather than casual comfort, which matches the product positioning perfectly.

What surprised me, though, is that despite how good those grips are, I actually find it a little less comfortable than the Wolverine V3 Pro. It’s not a night‑and‑day difference and I can still play for hours, but something about the hand positioning just doesn’t feel as natural. I suspect the symmetrical stick layout is the culprit here. If you’re used to offset sticks like on the Wolverine or Xbox controllers, the Raiju’s PlayStation‑style symmetry can introduce a subtle tension over long sessions, especially in your left thumb and wrist. It’s not a deal‑breaker, but it’s enough that I noticed the difference coming from the Wolverine.

The other thing you notice immediately is the weight. For a controller that doesn’t have haptic motors, the Raiju V3 Pro is surprisingly heavy. The upside is that it absolutely sells the “pro” and “premium” vibe—it feels like a serious bit of kit, not a hollow plastic toy. The downside is that marathon sessions can be a touch more fatiguing than I’d like, especially if you’re used to lighter pads. Given that Razer removed haptics to supposedly improve latency and reduce distractions, I was expecting something a little closer to featherweight. Instead, you get heft—with all the pros and cons that implies.

Back Buttons and Controls

One of the standout features here, and a first for Razer controllers, is the removable back paddles. Instead of fixed paddles that you either learn to live with or tape over, the Raiju V3 Pro lets you physically swap them out using the included screwdriver and replacement buttons. You can go from protruding, easy‑to‑hit paddles to flush‑style buttons that sit more evenly with the controller body, or strip things back so you’re only using what you actually need.

That matters more than it sounds. I almost never use more than two paddles on any controller; the extra pair usually ends up feeling like clutter or accidental‑press territory. Being able to physically remove the unwanted paddles instead of just disabling them in software is a genuine quality‑of‑life upgrade. It lets you tailor the physical layout to your grip and your game, and that’s exactly what a “pro” controller should offer. In that sense, Razer nailed the concept.

Where it stumbles is the execution. Swapping paddles requires a screwdriver and a bit of time, which feels oddly clunky when cheaper controllers like the GuliKit TT Max let you click paddles on and off in seconds with no tools. Once you’re set up, you don’t have to touch it often—but on a controller that can cost more than a DualSense Edge, asking players to dig out a screwdriver every time they want to tweak their layout feels behind the curve.

On the face of the controller, the Razer Mecha‑Tactile PBT action buttons and floating 8‑way d‑pad feel crisp and responsive. Button presses are sharp, with a short travel that’s closer to clicking a mouse than squishing a membrane. If you live in the worlds of fighters, shooters or high‑APM action games, you’ll appreciate the speed and consistency here.

The Hall effect triggers with Razer HyperTriggers add another layer of control. You can flip them into short‑throw “mouse click” mode for instant actuations in shooters, or keep the full analog pull for racers and more nuanced inputs. Having independent control over each trigger is great; you might want a hair trigger on the right for firing, but a full sweep on the left for throttle or brake.

TMR Thumbsticks and Precision

The thumbsticks are one of the Raiju V3 Pro’s biggest strengths. Razer’s TMR (magnetic, anti‑drift) thumbsticks feel superb in use—smooth, consistent and incredibly precise. The inclusion of interchangeable caps is more than a cosmetic flourish. Being able to swap between shorter caps for faster movement and taller dome caps for fine‑tuned aim lets you dial in the controller to your playstyle and specific games.

Long‑term, the magnetic design should pay dividends as well. Stick drift is the bane of modern controllers, especially at the high end, and anything that pushes back against that is welcome. On both PS5 and PC, aim adjustments felt predictable and repeatable, which is exactly what you want in a controller marketed at esports and competitive players. In terms of pure input fidelity, the Raiju V3 Pro feels built for longevity as much as accuracy.

Performance: Better on PC Than PS5

This is where things get interesting. Razer talks a big game about the Raiju V3 Pro being an elite wireless PS5 controller, and it absolutely works well on Sony’s console. Using the included HyperSpeed wireless dongle, input latency is low, button response is crisp, and the fundamentals are rock solid.

But the best experience I’ve had with this controller is actually on PC. Over HyperSpeed wireless, the Raiju V3 Pro unlocks its best performance with a higher effective polling rate and tighter feeling input than you get on PS5. On PS5 you’re locked to a pedestrian 250Hz polling but on PC, that quadruples to 2000Hz. In practice, that makes inputs feel more immediate and responsive on PC. If you’re the kind of player who notices the difference between a really fast mouse and a merely good one, you’ll feel it here too.

That really came into focus for me in CoD Black Ops 7. I’ve put dozens of hours into the game on PC with the Raiju V3 Pro and, unsurprisingly, my performance with this controller is actually higher than when I’m using my usual 8K keyboard‑and‑mouse combo. I will preface it by saying I’m a controller guy and I find keyboard just so uncomfortable for motion inputs.

But, the combination of the Raiju’s low‑latency wireless, precise TMR thumbsticks and well‑placed paddles lets me play aggressively without feeling like I’m giving up control. The bonus is comfort: I can kick back, recline in my chair for hours, and still play at a genuinely competitive level instead of being locked upright at a desk which is what I do all day for work.

On PS5, it’s still excellent—but if you’re buying this primarily as a console controller, you’re not getting the absolute peak performance that the hardware is capable of. It’s one of those subtle, nerdy details, but given the AU$350‑ish price tag, it’s worth calling out.

The Haptics Problem

For a flagship, premium‑priced PS5 controller, the lack of haptic feedback is the Raiju V3 Pro’s most baffling omission. My first ever Razer Raiju Ultimate on the PlayStation 4 had haptics and so not sure why this one doesn’t. Sony’s own DualSense Edge also manages to offer pro‑grade features while retaining adaptive triggers and next‑gen haptics, and plenty of third‑party competitors still build rumble into their designs.

Razer’s argument is that removing haptics reduces weight and latency, and keeps you more focused on pure input. In a vacuum, that makes a certain amount of sense. But in reality, the controller is still relatively heavy, and on a platform where haptics are often a core part of the experience, it feels like a step backward. You’re paying roughly the same—or in some cases more—than you would for a DualSense Edge, yet you’re losing one of the PS5’s most distinctive features.

That’s really where the value equation starts to wobble. When the DualSense Edge and Scuf Reflex line manage to deliver both premium control and immersive feedback, the Raiju’s “no haptics, same (or higher) price” stance becomes very hard to justify unless you care almost exclusively about raw competitive performance.

Battery Life and Everyday Use

On the plus side, battery life is excellent. Razer quotes up to 36 hours of gameplay on PS5 in wireless mode, and in my experience that figure feels realistic. I never found myself anxiously checking battery percentage or tethering to a cable mid‑session. In fact, I can’t remember charging it since I unboxed it weeks ago. You just play, and the controller quietly does its thing in the background. For anyone who hates battery micromanagement, that alone is a big win and a genuine advantage over Sony’s pads, which are notorious for needing a charge more often.

PlayStation‑specific features like the touchpad work as expected on console and are implemented cleanly. On PC, though, they can feel more like vestigial limbs. The touchpad is occasionally useful when games map certain commands to it, but often it’s just a big slab of real estate that doesn’t add much in the Windows ecosystem. It’s the trade‑off you accept when you build a PS5‑first controller that also supports PC, but it’s worth noting if you’re primarily a PC gamer.

Customising the Raiju V3 Pro is straightforward on PC thanks to Razer Synapse 4. You can tweak thumbstick sensitivity curves, remap the six programmable buttons, adjust trigger behaviour and save multiple onboard profiles. The UI is clean enough that you can go from “out of box” to “dialed‑in” in a single sitting, and having on‑device profiles means your setup travels with the controller.

What’s strange is the lack of a dedicated PlayStation app. Razer offers a mobile controller app, but there’s no native PS5‑side configuration experience the way there is with Sony’s own controllers. Given how tightly integrated the PS5 ecosystem is, having to rely on a PC or mobile device to do all your deep configuration feels like an oversight. A top‑tier PS5 controller really should feel fully at home on that platform, and here the Raiju V3 Pro feels just slightly like an outsider.

Verdict

The Razer Raiju V3 Pro is, in many ways, a fantastic controller. The build quality is superb, the grips are arguably best‑in‑class, the TMR thumbsticks are precise and future‑proof, the removable back buttons are a genuinely smart innovation, and performance—especially over HyperSpeed wireless on PC—is top tier. The 36‑hour battery life means you almost never have to think about charging, and for serious competitive play, the input feel is exactly what you want. In my own time with Black Ops 7, it’s the rare controller that lets me recline, relax and still genuinely out‑perform my high‑end mouse and keyboard setup.

But for a controller this expensive, the trade‑offs are hard to ignore. Coming from the Wolverine V3 Pro, I actually find the Raiju less comfortable, likely due to its symmetrical stick layout. The decision to remove haptics on a PS5‑focused flagship feels out of step with what the platform is all about, especially when alternatives like the DualSense Edge and Scuf Reflex manage to deliver both premium features and immersive feedback at roughly the same price. The surprising heft, lack of a native PlayStation configuration app, screwdriver‑dependent paddle swaps and some PS‑specific features feeling awkward on PC all add up to a product that is excellent, but not bulletproof.

If you’re a competitive player who spends a lot of time on PC and values low‑latency wireless performance, supreme thumbstick precision and deep physical customisation—especially if you, like me, prefer running just two paddles—the Raiju V3 Pro is easy to love. As a pure PS5 upgrade over the DualSense Edge or a Scuf Reflex, though, the missing haptics and premium AU$349.95 price tag make the recommendation a lot harder. It’s a great controller—but at this level, “great” doesn’t automatically mean “best choice for everyone.”

Razer Australia kindly provided the Raiju V3 Pro to PowerUp for the purpose of this review