PS5 developers reveal how their games use DualSense’s adaptive triggers and haptic feedback

Multiple PlayStation 5 developers have revealed how their games make use of the DualSense controller’s adaptive triggers and haptic feedback.

The creators of titles including Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Demon’s Souls, Gran Turismo 7 and Deathloop discussed how the new features impact gameplay in a PlayStation Blog post released to accompany the first PS5 TV advert, which focuses on the DualSense controller.

Spider-Man: Miles Morales creative director Brian Horton said haptic feedback will reflect the hero’s spider senses. “We’ll be hinting to players which direction attacks are coming from by providing haptic feedback from the appropriate direction on the DualSense wireless controller”.

He added: “Because of the high resolution of DualSense wireless controller’s haptics system, we can really push the dimensionality of the feedback. For instance, as you hold down Square to do a Venom Punch, you feel Spider-Man’s bio-electricity crackle across from the left side of the controller, culminating in the right side on impact.”

Dinga Bakaba, game director of Arkane’s recently delayed first-person shooter Deathloop, said haptic feedback is being used to make weapons feel distinct. “One I like is blocking the triggers when your weapon jams, to give to the player an immediate feedback even before the animation plays out, which prompts the player in a physical way that they have to unjam their gun.”

Further Reading

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Ad welcomes viewers to “a new world of immersion”

Gavin Moore, creative director at SIE Japan Studio, said haptic feedback will make combat “feel grittier, darker, and deadlier” in Demon’s Souls. “That extra sensory feedback through the controller allows you to know your attack hit home and your perfectly-timed parry was a success, so you can react faster and more decisively.”

Astro’s Playroom, which will come pre-installed on PS5 when the console launches this holiday season, is a showcase for DualSense’s features. “We use haptic feedback throughout the entire game,” said Nicolas Doucet, studio director at Japan Studio. “The most striking are the surfaces because players will notice within the first few seconds. Astro’s steps can be felt running on plastic, metal, sand, and even splashing in water.”

And Polyphony Digital president Kazunori Yamauchi said: “I think the most effective use of the adaptive trigger [in Gran Turismo 7] is for representing the operation of the antilock brake system (ABS) while braking. A typical ABS releases brake pressure intermittently while the driver applies pressure to the pedal. The adaptive trigger is suited for recreating this pedal feel, and it will allow the player to accurately feel and understand the relationship between the braking force they want and the tire’s grip.”

Simon Rutter, PlayStation’s EVP for Europe, said in June that Gran Turismo 7 will “benefit from almost every single technological enhancement” included in Sony’s next-gen console.

Further Reading

Watch: First PS5 DualSense controller hands-on with Astro’s Playroom

Geoff Keighley offers initial impressions of the next-gen pad and PS5 launch game