PowerA MOGA XP-Ultra controller review: Hefty price for averageness
The MOGA XP-Ultra is an all-in-one controller system for Xbox, PC, and mobile gaming. We’ve put it through our gauntlet of tests to tell you if it’s worth the asking price.
There are a lot of controller alternatives out in the wild these days. Fighting game aficionados have endless options, while console and PC players don’t even have to worry about what type of controller they use anymore. There’s even a huge fanbase around Gamecube controllers.
However, a hybrid controller that supports up to three different systems isn’t all that common. Sure, you can buy a clamp for your phone, or adapter, but nothing is as compact as the MOGA XP-Ultra.
The latest controller from PowerA offers a plethora of features across three different systems and is pretty good at it too.
Key specs
- Connectivity: USB-C, Wireless
- Compatibility: Xbox, PC, Android
- Price: $129.99
- Features: “4-in-1” controller design, mappable back buttons, removable sheath for a smaller controller, included mobile clamp
Design
The MOGA XP-Ultra on its surface is a fairly basic design. It looks like a third-party Xbox controller, with nothing too special to note. However, once you get your hands on it, it begins to feel a lot less premium for the price being asked.
Housed in fairly strong plastic, the device still feels cheap. Bearing in mind that the MOGA costs around the same as the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller, it immediately set some alarm bells ringing. Playing with it further and for the last few weeks, has made us appreciate the official controller even more.
MOGA’s choice of plastic makes everything feel just that bit less premium than the asking price would have you assume. Buttons are clacky, with a distinct stiffness. The D-Pad, while accurate in comparison to some of its competitors, has this unfortunate tacky feeling when using it.
The sticks, however, are a different story. While not Hall-effect, they have this decent resistance on them that made for an excellent time testing out Forza Horizon 5 on it. They feel like they’re worth the money and sit in stark contrast to the rest of the device.
The controller can be split into a few modes, done by unsheathing it from the pad’s handles. This is done by similar contact pins found for charging the Elite controller, or the 8BitDo Ultimate. It’s incredibly smart and works flawlessly regardless of where you decide to play.
It is also unfortunate that the smaller variant it produces is wildly uncomfortable for long periods of time. With no handles to make it easier for playing on mobile and to take out and about, removing the rest of the design left our hands cramped after a while.
Thankfully, the mobile clamp and holder are wonderfully strong. We know this because the controller’s light-ish weight immediately causes the wrists to fight against the weight of the phone.
Features
DexertoThe transforming MOGA XP-Ultra does work as advertised. It’s also become an ideal companion for cloud gaming on mobile. Slotting in the phone and leaping into Xbox Cloud Streaming is as smooth as you’d expect, with a simple Bluetooth connection keeping everything going.
We did notice that there was some mild latency between the controller and streaming, but for Android and PC gaming, we found no faults.
There’s just no love from us for the smaller pad option. The cramped feeling we got from using it for an extended period of time just didn’t justify the portability. We can see the argument for its inclusion, but it just never felt right. The rest of the palm sits awkwardly while using it, and when you begin to introduce the additional weight of a phone, it has slipped quite easily out of our hands.
This said, it’s fascinating to see the rise of “pro” controllers and the various methods of including back paddle buttons. These sit on the outer shell and while they don’t feel great, are a definite boon to have on board for more complex games.
We used them in Path of Exile, mapping certain functions to them to ensure a more comfortable play session while on a controller. This is where the MOGA XP-Ultra really shines, as while we don’t particularly like one of the modes, having the option open is vitally important in 2023.
Gaming performance
Power-A isn’t known for rocking the boat entirely. A lot of their hardware is bog-standard kit and the XP-Ultra is no different. If you’ve used an Xbox controller in the last 10 or so years, you know what you’re getting.
The D-Pad, while offering a less-than-stellar feeling, is pretty accurate and we had no issues. Swapping between the smaller pad and the larger one was essentially seamless, and we appreciate having a USB-C connector for ultimate flexibility.
Every game we tested further confirmed that this is just a standard controller. Destiny 2, Call of Duty, and our usual buffet of go-to testing games never highlighted any issues, nor really wowed us.
There’s just nothing to write home about here, it’s a fairly standard Xbox controller with a few additional gimmicks on top. That’s maybe its biggest issue when you reconsider the pricing of it.
The Verdict: 3/5
The Power-A MOGA XP-Ultra is an incredibly average entry into the collection of controllers we’ve racked up over the last year. It rarely stands out, nor do we enjoy using two of its four advertised modes.
It works as you’d expect and is seemingly hinging its potential success on its gimmicks. While handy to have around, this is not worth the $129.99 asking price. For the money you could get the infinitely superior Xbox Elite Series 2 Core controller, or, if you were just playing on PC and mobile, cut your costs by half and grab the 8BitDo Ultimate controller.
If Power-A were to be a little more realistic with the pricing, we’d probably recommend it. However, the less-than-premium feel and overall nuisances that crept up while using the smaller pad mode leave this as a fairly expensive, average controller.
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