The Corsair Novablade Pro is an exceptional leverless fighting game
controller that puts quality and customizability first

Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Corsair Novablade Pro: One-minute review

Ive spent the past week testing the Corsair Novablade Pro, and Ive come away extremely impressed with this leverless fighting game controller. Like the
more budget-friendly 8BitDo Arcade Controller and other contenders for the
best fight stick , theres no traditional joystick here; opting instead for a pure button layout that handles everything from movement to motion inputs.

Whats immediately striking about the Novablade Pro is its luxurious build quality. Made from high-quality plastic and metal materials, it also avoids
the trap many leverless controllers fall into of being too bulky. In comparison, the Novablade Pro is remarkably thin, making it easy to play at home or out with you at in-person tournaments.

The Novablade Pro is also incredibly easy to customize to your liking. The magnetic aluminum face plate can be easily removed, allowing you to swap out buttons, keyswitches, or the face plate itself should you desire. Remapping buttons and creating your own layout profiles is also simple, with onboard function controls dedicated to such actions.

And thats something Id recommend looking into, as the default black face
plate is unfortunately effective at picking up prints and smudges from your gaming sessions. And trust me, when youre deep into a tense Tekken 8 ranked session, thats going to be unavoidable.

Lastly, Im personally not the biggest fan of the pressure-sensitive
keyswitches Corsair has opted for here. Dont get me wrong; they work great
and let you fully customize button travel time, but I personally prefer the more tactile and immediately clicky switches found on the 8BitDo Arcade Controller and from manufacturers like Sanwa. But I must stress that this is purely a preference thing, and not necessarily a knock on the Novablade Pro itself.

Corsair Novablade Pro: Price and availability
$249.99 / 229.99 / AU$349
Compatible with PS5, PS4, and PC only
Matches the Victrix Pro KO on price

The Corsair Novablade Pro is available to buy for $249.99 / 229.99 / AU$349 (the latter as per a listing at JB Hi-Fi in Australia) and comes in one configuration, compatible with PS5, PS4, and PC. The product is available to buy from Corsairs own website or participating retailers in your region.

This is a fairly mid-range to premium price tag for a leverless controller, coming in much pricier than the 8BitDo Arcade Controllers $89.99 / 75.99 (around AU$136), but matches the price of the Victrix Pro KO at $249.99 / 229.99 / AU$399.95. In the latter regard, this positions the Novablade Pro as
a competitively priced product, and one you might want to consider if youve also been looking at Victrixs output.

Corsair Novablade Pro: Specs

Price $249.99 / 229.99 / AU$349)

Weight 3.9lbs / 1.8kg

Dimensions 12.6 x 9.1 x 1.2in / 320 x 231 x 30mm

Compatibility PS5, PS4, PC

Connection type Wireless (2.4GHz, Bluetooth), Wired (USB-C)

Battery life Around 40 hours

Software N/A

Corsair Novablade Pro: Design and features

Almost everything about the Corsair Novablade Pro feels carefully considered for customizability and a premium, high-end play experience. Youre looking at
a very high-quality build here, with an aluminum finish for the face plate
and rock-solid plastic for the unit itself and its buttons. The underside is completely covered in textured, non-slip rubber, providing utmost stability
on flat surfaces.

As is pretty standard for leverless controllers, there are 15 buttons and keyswitches on the Novablade Pro. At the top, there are six dedicated
function buttons that encompass actions like pausing, profile switching, activating tournament-ready modes (which prevent pausing or resets), and, of course, a power button. Off to the top right, youve got L3 and R3 buttons as well as a DualSense -like touchpad.

To the right of said touchpad are five additional function buttons aligned vertically, and these can be used for mapping various button macros,
something I found handy in various fighting game training modes for recording inputs, resetting positions, and the like.

The rear of the controller has a really handy USB-C cable lock, along with a slider that can both unlock and lock it in place. This keeps your cable nice and secure with minimal disconnection risk if you opt for a wired connection via USB-C.

I have to mention the Novablade Pros excellent RGB lighting, too, which is something I initially thought would be distracting during games. That couldnt be further from the truth; the lights arent overly bright, and customizable color coding helps you to visually identify which buttons are where at a glance. This can all be customized on the controller, of course, on a per-profile basis.

The face plate can be removed by placing a finger underneath the notch at the top and easily pulling it free. Underneath it, youll find a 2.4GHz dongle for wireless connectivity, as well as switches for swapping between platforms
(PS5, PS4, and PC) and connectivity options (Bluetooth, 2.4GHz, or wired).

The plate itself is quite a fingerprint magnet, though, so Id recommend routinely wiping it down after play sessions, or swapping it out for other compatible face plates - especially if you like to alter your controllers
looks (and support commissioning artists while youre at it!).

Corsair Novablade Pro: Performance

As mentioned, Corsair definitely has intermediate to professional-level fighting game players in mind with the Novablade Pro. This is apparent with
its choice of pressure-sensitive keyswitches. This is a standout feature of
the controller, and you can fully alter the travel time of your buttons from 0.1mm all the way up to 4mm. So, you have the choice of sharply immediate presses or longer ones, depending on the situation. I found that this could also prevent mispresses with certain buttons by not pushing them in all the way.

Personally, I do prefer the clicky, more tactile results of microswitches. I find them to be more satisfying to press, as was the case on the 8BitDo
Arcade Controller, which I reviewed previously. By no means does this make
the Novablade Pro deliver an unsatisfying or inaccurate play experience. The buttons here still feel great, bouncy, and responsive. Thats just a matter of personal preference on my end, but something you may want to consider based
on your own experience with leverless controllers.

Otherwise, the Novablade Pro is exceptionally responsive, no matter what type of connection you go with, though I would suggest avoiding Bluetooth connectivity altogether. Its not bad here, but in general, it offers a
slightly higher degree of input latency compared to 2.4GHz and especially wired. On PC, both wired and 2.4GHz connections offer a 1,000Hz polling rate, level with some of the best PS5 controllers and best PC controllers. Though
due to the PS5 and PS4 s design, youll only get that 1,000Hz polling rate
with a strictly wired USB-C connection. Again, something to keep in mind if youre playing on console.

Should I buy the Corsair Novablade Pro? Buy it if

You want a premium leverless experience
The Corsair Novablade Pro, from build to performance, is all about quality.
Its rare that controllers I test have build quality and attention to detail
at this level. So I can wholeheartedly recommend it if youre looking for a premium experience.

You love customizability
15 buttons, plenty of functions, and five custom profile slots mean youll
very likely be able to find setups on a per-game basis that work just right
for you.

Dont buy it if

Youre a leverless beginner
Its costly, for one thing, but the Novablade Pros high amount of utility can
be a little daunting if youre brand new to the leverless world. In this case, Id recommend dipping a toe in with a cheaper model like the 8BitDo Arcade Controller.

Also consider...

If the Corsair Novablade Pro isnt quite what youre looking for, consider the following two alternatives.

(comparison table in link below)

Victrix Pro KO
Its priced the same as the Novablade Pro, and pretty comparable in terms of specs and capabilities. While wired only, its certainly worth considering if you want a highly customizable pad, and theres even an Xbox version available if you play on those consoles.

8BitDo Arcade Controller
An excellent introduction to the world of leverless controllers. Its affordable, but still impressively versatile with 15 tactile buttons, profile creation, and a superb lightweight build that makes it a perfect travel companion.

How I tested the Corsair Novablade Pro
Tested for one week. Played a variety of fighting games on PS5 and PC.
Compared to the 8BitDo Arcade Controller and Victrix Pro KO.

I tested the Corsair Novablade Pro over the course of one week, and having
now got a proper feel for leverless controllers after the 8BitDo Arcade Controller, I felt incredibly comfortable with the Novablade Pros layout and high build quality.

I played a variety of the best fighting games with it across PS5 and PC, including Street Fighter 6 , Tekken 8, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising , and Guilty Gear Strive.

In my time with the Novablade Pro, I was able to compare it directly to a cheaper model I also have in for testing - the 8BitDo Arcade Controller - and one of comparable price and features in the Victrix Pro KO. Both being some
of the best fight sticks around. If youre after a premium leverless
controller, you likely wont be disappointed here. Especially given its superb build quality and high level of customization.

First reviewed October 2025 ======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/corsair-novablade-pro-review
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* Origin: Capitol City Online (42:17/1)