User Experience

The provided accessories come in handy when tuning the user experience of the SCUF Prestige. Allowing mapping and remapping of the paddles on the back, the EMR Mag Key is arguably the single most important one. This begins with the placement of the magnetic key on the back as seen above, and SCUF has a useful page with a video on the process. The allowed functions are A, B, X, Y, Left D-Pad, Right D-Pad, Up D-Pad, Down D-Pad, LS, RS, Menu, View, LB, and RB, and for someone who is already comfortable with the XBOX controller, getting used to the paddles was a fairly easy transition.

A part of this was already having gotten used to the paddles on the SCUF Impact, and it took less than a day to get the controller to my liking. By the end of the first week I was already doing multiple configurations depending on whether I was playing a racing game or a shooter. The EMR process takes very little time and is foolproof, but does mean you have to keep track of what functions were prior to testing the controller. You can not map the paddles to LT/RT or the Xbox button itself—an attempt to do so results in the paddle function defaulting to the previously programmed one. The paddles are also designed well, offset lengthwise and curved with grips to allow for the ring and pinkie fingers to be supported at the bottom, where they click into the switches underneath to actuate. It is an ergonomic benefit in many cases as it aim to reduce hand strain, but there remains a reason for something such as the Microsoft Adaptive Controller, and it will not solve everything. I also would have preferred metal paddles at the price point the SCUF Prestige operates in, but that is where the SCUF (and Microsoft) Elite controller comes in.


A trigger-control system compromised of two parts is built into the SCUF Prestige. Using the included 0.9 mm SCUF key with the two tiny trigger screws on either side between the triggers and the paddles on the back allows clockwise/counter-clockwise rotation to respectively tighten/loosen the hair trigger response. It's best done in-game to test how much of a reaction response you need to actuate the function; say shooting in an FPS game. The default position is when the screw is flush with the body, with it moving upward or inward otherwise. Another way to control trigger movement is with the total travel distance, wherein the trigger stop can be turned on by simply moving the stop(s) outward, which has the trigger hit the actuation point and no more. Think of a mechanical switch that suddenly has its total travel distance reduced to just the actuation point and you will see why this function is not for everyone. Depending on the in-game scenario, it is handy to have and can net you quick responses for timed actions in, again, FPS and RPG games, and it is extremely easy to get back to the default off options. SCUF also offers customers optional multi-actuation triggers or digital triggers at the time of purchase. There is also a reset button hidden underneath the second paddle from the left, and the paddles themselves can be removed/replaced similar to how it is with the Impact.


A big differentiator compared to the SCUF Impact is that the primary design comes in the form of an easily removable face plate as opposed to the shell with the DualShock 4-based Impact. There is even a notch on the right side for your finger to pry it out, and we can see how the face plate is held in place via magnets as well. Removing the face plate means SCUF can more easily customize the Prestige controller, which may also be why this controller includes several of the options that are additional, separate purchases with the Impact by default. We get a better look at the internals now, as well as the screws with the covers on top that prevent further disassembly. The rumble motors are on the hand grips, which is why SCUF only allows for their omission when placing the order. Doing so reduces the mass of the controller from 267 grams (8 grams more than the standard Xbox One controller) to 216 g, which is less than even the wired standard Xbox controller.

We can also see the anti-friction rings out of self-lubricating materials. The base of the thumbsticks, these rings are also customizable. With the face plate removed, the thumbsticks can be pulled upward for replacement, which has the company provide different shapes and heights of thumbsticks as desired, and of course, these are all customizable for color and finish, too. Seen above is a look at the SCUF Prestige with the provided optional thumbsticks installed. There are other things here that merit discussion, and an underrated aspect is the integrated grip on the back, especially during intense couch-gaming sessions. The old memes of giving your friend the bad controller ring especially true here with all the customization, and don't underestimate how useful the grip is.

The customization aspects aside, the SCUF Prestige is still at its heart an Xbox One wireless controller. Pairing it with a PC as a Bluetooth device is straightforward as it is natively recognized as an Xbox controller by Windows with the Win 10 Anniversary update. This means all games that support a game pad will support it natively on Windows, which is the biggest advantage of the Xbox controller for PC gaming relative to the DualShock4. Battery life is excellent compared to the DualShock 4 as well, but that is again more a Microsoft vs. Sony thing than a SCUF thing, with 26–30 hours on average depending on the rumble settings and LED brightness and a full charge taking ~4–5 hours depending on the USB port power output. USB 2.0 will suffice for a wired connection and charging the battery at the same time.

People who have used controllers, whether XBOX or DualShock, already know the advantage of analog control over movement. This is especially true in racing games—gone are the jerky on/off inputs for acceleration in particular, with much smoother input as well as finer control with turning. While controllers are also more typically used in third-person games purely because of the mouse advantage when it comes to first-person games, there are situations where having analog control over movement in FPS games can be useful, a typical example being stealth sections where AI behavior is often tied to the speed of the character's movement, which is translated into "noise." There is not a whole lot more to say here since you either already want a controller for the PC or not, and only for the former are such items as the SCUF Prestige relevant.