Scuf Infinity1 Custom Xbox One Controller Review

Peter Donnell / 9 years ago

Introduction

The SCUF Infinity1 is the latest creation from the skilled craftsmen at SCUF Gaming. They take your everyday controller, in this case, the Xbox One controller, and customise and tweak it within an inch of its life, turning it into a hardcore, feature packed competitive gaming device that any enthusiast gamer would be proud to own. Of course, there’s more to it than just making it look awesome, these controllers are fine tuned to be as competitive as they are stylish, making them very appealing to the eSports community.

Naturally, all this customisation doesn’t come cheap, as you’re going to be paying a skilled team to hand make each controller to your own desired specifications. This is an “off the shelve” controller at heart, but the end product is capable of being truly one of a kind and you’re not likely to get that kind of service elsewhere. You can pick the colours of all the components, the types of analogue sticks, d-pad, grips, remove features like rumble and headphone ports, adjustable triggers, add extra control paddles and so much more! Still not content with that level of customisation? The SCUF Infinity1 is no ordinary SCUF controller, if there is such a thing. This one you can keep customising after you’ve purchased it! That’s right, you can detach the D-pad, the analogue sticks and more, swapping them out to suit your tastes or needs on a per game basis.

There’s a whole range of configurations, which is no bad thing for those who want to match their controller to their eSports team colours, or even just to match their pillows and favourite T-shirt, the choice is yours and the combinations are extensive. banner2

The packaging is really nice, with a great tear down image of the controller, highlighting some of the possible adjustments that can be made.

Around the back, you can see even further customisation and adjustment options, but we’ll take a closer look at those in a moment.

In the box, you’ll find a host of accessories, such as the electro magnetic remapping guide, extra grips, adjustment tools, USB cable and a wrist strap.

Scuf also included their accessory package, which includes this custom Infinity1 clamshell case, perfect for keeping your controller in perfect condition when not in use.

There’s also a tube of Gamer Grip (anti-persperant for your hands), Precision Thumbsticks, as well as the thumbstick lock and the Scuf Adjustable Trigger & Pro Grip Combo Kit; overall, not a bad selection of goodies!

Finally, a small backpack, perfect for storing all the above together when travelling to a gaming event!

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A Closer Look

Right, that’s the plethora of accessories and extras taken care of, so let’s take a closer look at the star of the show! It’s immediately apparent that this is a very different controller from the standard ones that you get with the console. The most immediate thing that stands out to me is the colour, a mixture of lightly textured silver/grey and glossy reds certainly makes it stand out. Obviously, this colour scheme isn’t going to be to everyone’s taste, but you can pick your own colour combination when ordering your own controller.

The finish on the controller is faultless, really clean lines, nothing feels or looks like it’s been rushed; it certainly looks and feels every bit a premium quality product.

Of course, there’s been a lot of work done to this controller and one of the most notable changes is that the D-pad has been replaced with the Scuf Control Disc. It gives you increased grip, control and surface area. Of course, if you don’t want to use it, just lift it straight up and you’ve got the fully functional D-pad underneath. I’ll be honest, after just a few minutes of using this controller, that control disc is staying right where it is, it’s fantastic to use and actually made the D-pad usable again in Soul Calibur. As an optional extra, you can also choose to have the rumble removed from the controller. This is obviously a personal taste thing, as I like having rumble, but removing it means less distractions and a lighter controller, so the choice is yours on that one.

The sticks are really nice too, they feel better than the stock ones and a little smoother too, which will give you a clear advantage when playing FPS games. There’s a good range of stick options too, domed long, medium and regular length, concave long, medium and regular length, or if you’re feeling a taste for vanilla, you can have the stock sticks left in place. Each of the stick lengths have a 2mm difference, perfect for those with different hand sizes or who just prefer the feel of the longer or shorter controls.

The sticks are also fitted with Scuf Rings, these are available in a range of colours to suit the rest of the controller or your personal preferences.

Of course, even the buttons can be colour customised although I don’t think there’s anything that’s can’t be customised, just to be clear. The buttons are obviously of a very high quality and perform just as you would expect.

These two buttons are also colour matched but have been stripped of the stock decals to give them a more uniform look. The Scuf guide button looks pretty cool, and if you want to pay a little extra, you can have it set to red, blue, green or a white LED backlighting.

The rear triggers look just like the stock ones, albeit a different colour, however, they perform very differently. The top ones are pretty standard, but the main triggers have an adjustable hair trigger. With the triggers fully adjusted, they only have a tiny bit of travel to them, meaning you can simply depress them lightly and they trigger, cutting response time from press to on-screen action. While gaming, I found this quite strange at first, as I would hit the trigger with force to push it all the way in, only for it to stop after a short distance. However, once you get used to it, the instant action you get from the trigger is freaking awesome and it really sharpened up my K/D ratio when playing Swat on Halo MCC. It’s all but useless for driving games, but you can always adjust them on a per game basis, but for FPS gaming, you’re going to want these tightened up.

The adjustment tool looks pretty unique, but it’s actually just a tiny Allen key, it’s really easy to use and simply slots into the discrete hole located below each trigger.

One of the most popular features for a Scuf controller is the paddles on the back. You can have it with two or four paddles, giving you fingertip control of any button on the controller. When using dual sticks for an FPS game, you have to take your right thumb off the stick to press melee, jump, weapon change or anything like that, now you don’t have to! Again, this takes a bit of practice to get used to, but after a few days of “learning” the new buttons, you’ll wonder how you did without them. I put them through their paces in Borderlands, Halo, Call of Duty and a few other games, and being able to have full control of the sticks while swapping weapons and laying down some melee action is a real game changer.

They have a nice mechanical feel to them too, with a gentle click that feels like an MX Blue switch at the back, while also having a contoured shape that makes them easy to feel under your fingertips, giving you extra control.

When you need to reassign the paddles, you can use the Scuf Mag Key to make quick and easy adjustments. This is an optional extra and one I must admit is essential, as it opens up a world of possibilities for literally any game you can think of. Another cool feature, as if the controller is short on those at the moment, is that the paddles are compatible with the current range of Astro and Turtle Beach headset adapters, giving you extra controls over game audio. The paddles are also removable, allowing you use between 0-4 paddles as you desire and even install different paddle heights, shapes and sizes if needed.

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Final Thoughts

Price

The price of this controller depends on how you want it, for the stock model with a few minor tweaks, the price starts from £95.99, while some of the more unique looking models start from £127.99. It’s important that I stress the “from” part, as these are hand crafted by skilled technicians and the cost of your custom controller depends on how many features you want adding. Something like the one we’ve tested today would be a little over £180. Find out more on the Scuf website here.

Overview

I’ll be honest, this controller isn’t going to appeal to everyone, mostly due to the price if anything. That being said, it’s not designed for your day to day gamer, this is pro gaming gear at its finest and if you’re wanting to take your competitive gaming to the next level, then it’s a perfectly reasonable investment. Anyone who plays sports knows that good footwear isn’t going to come cheap, but it’ll give you tangible benefits and the same is true for the Scuf controller. For a pro gaming team, competing for hundred, thousands and often even more in prize money can be common place, so investing sub £200 in a controller that can mean the difference between victory and defeat is no bad thing. That being said, many pro gamers have been using Scuf for years.

The build quality is nothing short of amazing and the fact that the skilled engineers at Scuf have crammed in so many new features, without spoiling any of the core experience of using the controller is impressive. If you’re coming from the stock controller to a Scuf, it’s going to feel right at home in your hands. Any further customisation to the sticks or triggers certainly enhances the experience and has a noticeable impact on improving response times and accuracy.

The real innovation here, however, is the paddles. Sure, Scuf have been making these for years, but they’re still the biggest and most impactful feature to be found on any Scuf controller. That fingertip control is going to give you a huge advantage and while I admit that it takes a while to get used to the new controls, it’s certainly worth the effort.

I love that you can choose just how much or how little you want to adjust on the controller. If you only want the paddles, you can do that, if you only want a custom colour scheme, that’s not a problem. However, it’s after sale customisation that really stands out and being able to remap the paddles, adjust the tension on the rear triggers, swap out the sticks, add or remove the control disc and the extra underside grips, that’s the real special thing about this controller. If it doesn’t feel right, or it works better in Call of Duty one way, but Street Fighter in another, then you can change it. Before, you may have needed two controllers of different specification, now you can tweak it on the fly between games.

The price may be high, but you pick how many features you really need, you build the controller you really want and Scuf deliver the quality and performance you desire, so you really do get what you pay for; it really is as simple as that.

Pros

Extensive customisation options (by Scuf)
Extensive customisation options using included tools and extras
Remappable and removable paddle controls
Adjustable triggers
Control Disc massively improves D-pad performance
Exceptional build quality

Cons

High price may put off some consumers

“The Scuf Infinity1 is the definitive Xbox One controller, with no exceptions. Create the controller exactly how you like it, then fine tune it until your heart is content. The perfect addition to any competitive gaming setup.”