Over the past five months, I’ve had a lot of time to mull over my thoughts and opinions on the Byowave Proteus Controller, simultaneously the most customisable and most expensive accessibility controller currently being mass produced for home console gaming. From initially rough first impressions, to delays, to final retail hardware, I’ve had a fairly chaotic journey with the device.
However, now the dust has settled and I’ve had some time to let the Proteus controller become a standard part of my gaming setup, I can say with confidence that I think the Proteus controller is a hugely important addition to the gaming accessibility controller landscape, even if its $300 entry price is going to be a prohibitive barrier to easily recommending it, and it occasionally lacks some of the polish and reliability one would expect from such a premium device.
At its most basic, the Proteus controller is a wireless controller for use on PC and Xbox, made of a series of customisable cubes. The faces of each cube feature customisable ports where input faces can be placed to create a small, compact, and deeply customisable controller layout. Button functions generally don’t need to be manually programmed, with the cubes automatically recognizing which button faces have been connected, and setting up their functions within a few seconds. Cubes can be customised in real time during play without having to fiddle around in settings menus to remap their functions, allowing for tweaking controller layouts with minimal friction.
The Proteus controller’s key strength is in how much its layout can be customised, how well it’s suited to enabling one handed setups, and how little menu fiddling is required while trying to find a compelling setup during gameplay.
So, a little context for this review – Back in late August 2024, I purchased a Byowave Proteus Controller in person at Gamescom, Europe’s largest video game convention. This was a few months before preorders for the controller were due to ship, and while I already had a unit preordered, I picked up one of these early units to get a head start on coverage for work. However, these early units featured a hardware bug which caused issues powering on the controller. While I was ultimately refunded for this Gamescom unit, it did allow me to get some initial play time logged with the device.
I’ve since received my initial main batch preordered controller, and the issues I experienced with the initial Gamescom unit do seem to be resolved. For anyone who read my initial preview impressions of the controller back in 2024, be aware that the power cycling issues I was encountering have been resolved. By the time my finalised unit arrived in December, setup was a far smoother experience. Not flawless or frictionless, but much closer to what I had expected given the price point.
The Proteus Controller ships out of the box with two power and communication cubes, two analogue stick cubes, two 45 degree angle adaptors, one triangular adapter, a D-Pad, a face button interface, two bumper and trigger interfaces, one additional analogue stick module, two additional programmable buttons, two wing handles, one charging port connector, one USB dongle, and a series of magnetic caps designed to protect open connection surfaces not in use in a given controller setup.
These cubes and circular modular components can be connected together in basically any configuration, as long as it contains at least one power cube, with new components fairly easy to assemble. When connecting two cubes together, users push the cubes into place as they would like them oriented, and move a plastic clip into a locking position. When connecting modular components onto face cubes, users will need to insert the component at a slight angle offset, then rotate it to lock it into place. Generally speaking there are no other steps involved in setup as the controller handles recognising which component has been connected, and in which orientation. The exception to this is if you’re using the optional unprogrammed large additional button modules or if you wish to remap things like analogue stick north directions, which will require the use of an app to set those up on PC, or system remapping on Xbox.
Additionally, creating a split handed control scheme will require use of co-pilot mode, recently renamed Xbox Controller Assist, but we’ll discuss that setup orientation a little later.
I was honestly pretty impressed with how simple setup was for the Proteus Controller. There’s a little bit of manual dexterity required in assembly – some of the inputs are a little stiff to move into the locked position, and rotating components to lock them into place can be a little bit fiddly on occasion – but generally speaking everything was very intuitive to connect, and not needing a software side program to register the controller mapping was really appreciated.
If you find yourself needing to adjust the configuration of the Proteus Controller during play, you can do that, and I do really appreciate Byowave’s approach to that process. If you disconnect or connect a component or cube while the controller is switched on and connected the controller lights will start to cycle in rainbow colours briefly, during which time any inputs pressed on the controller will not register. This allowed me to, with confidence, not stress about accidently pressing inputs while adding a new component onto the controller and causing myself issues in game, as well as giving me a clear signal of when new components had been successfully connected and I’d had gameplay control returned to me. This solves a big issue that I have with the PlayStation Access Controller by comparison, where switching inputs often comes with the stress of trying to not accidentally activate those inputs while swapping out keycaps.
In terms of use cases for the Proteus Controller, here’s what’s worked for me so far, and what hasn’t translated well from concept into practicality.
If you’re looking to create a one handed controller setup for use on Xbox or PC, the Proteus is a pretty great kit for that use case. It can be configured in a number of different one handed configurations ranging from a Wiimote or Joycon style remote form factor with all of the necessary buttons arranged wherever is most convenient, or something more akin to the 8BitDo Lite SE, as a square or rectangular controller with most of its inputs arranged on the top face, able to be placed flat on a table or desk and manipulated almost like a custom gaming keyboard of sorts. I found the remote style single handed control method particularly useful out of those two layouts.
It works well as a condensed size standard controller if you just need your inputs closer together, but in a still somewhat traditional form factor layout.
The Proteus also works well if, like me, you have trouble with resting your fingers on the triggers and bumpers of a standard game controller. For me, being able to move these inputs from the top of a controller onto the back face of the device made them much easier for me to reach in my natural, slightly claw-like controller gripping position.
They’re also really convenient if, like me, you find your hands becoming painful or fatigued and less dexterous after playing for extended periods of time with your hands in a single position with a traditional controller. One of my favourite setups currently for the Proteus is very much like a standard Xbox controller, but with a 45 degree upward angle between the lower and upper inputs. This allows my hands to sit in a slightly different position, with slightly less stretch involved in reaching lower inputs, which I really appreciate as an option.
Now, at this point, I want to talk about spitting your controls between two separated hands.
Out of the box, the Proteus controller contains two cubes capable of powering the controller and transmitting data. With that in mind, the first setup configuration I tried to set up for the Proteus Controller when I got my initial Gamescom unit was a Nintendo Switch style setup, with half of my controls in one remote shaped controller and the other half in the other hand, using Xbox Controller Assist Mode to turn the pair back into a single controller on the software end. This was my dream Proteus Controller setup as one of the many things I struggle with when using a traditional controller is pain and discomfort from holding my hands together, near each other, fixed in position in front of me. Being able to have my hands untethered from each other hugely improves my ability to play games comfortably, and the idea of a split handed Xbox controller setup is something I’ve been hoping would become a reality for years. I’ve even made videos on this topic before about both Xbox and PlayStation.
Now, there’s good news and bad news about my dreams of this kind of setup using the Proteus controller.
Let’s start with the bad news. Out of the box, this isn’t possible with the Proteus Controller. The issue is that, while there are two power and transmission cubes included in the package, there’s only one USB dongle, and each dongle will only sync to one controller cube at a time. You also can’t just directly bluetooth connect to the cube, as seemingly the dongle handles part of translating the cube signals into controller inputs.
A split handed control scheme with the Proteus Controller is possible. The issue is, you need a second dongle to make that work. They’re $30 each, an additional 10% cost on top of an already very pricey accessibility controller.
Now, I don’t know Byowave’s financials, maybe an additional USB dongle really does cost $30 for them to produce, but that price feels really steep. It does feel a little like they’re being sold at a bit of a markup, which if accurate is kind of disappointing given the already high price point of the base device kit.
Xbox Controller Assist mode is pretty easy to set up on an Xbox console, and works exactly how I’d hoped it would (in theory). Once set up, my two Proteus controllers registered as a single Xbox controller, and with zero software side button mapping required my two handed Proteus controller setup was up and running. I was able to play with, in essence, an Xbox controller split into two halves that I could hold comfortably separated apart from each other.
I did initially have some issues with connection reliability when using the Proteus controller this way, which took a little bit of time to trouble solve. Best I can tell, the initial issue was related to the overall strength of the signal output by the USB dongles. I had both my dongles in the back of my Xbox, with a PS5 sat between the Xbox and my playing position. Seemingly, the dongle signal being blocked by both the Xbox and PlayStation was just a little too much for my connection to be reliable. The problem hadn’t been present when I was playing with a more traditional single controller setup, as using just the front USB port on the Xbox seemingly was unobstructed enough for a decent connection. I fixed this by repositioning my setup a little to reduce obstacles, and it seemed to improve the reliability of my experience. The Xbox Series X unfortunately only features one USB port on its front face, but I might consider getting a USB multi port to be able to place both dongles facing the front of my console, toward my playing position.
So, problem solved, right? Well, not really. Even with this issue out the way, I wasn’t quite out of the woods.
Even once I had general connectivity sorted I found that on occasion my right handed controller would start cycling rainbow lights, indicating either disconnect from the dongle or a belief that inputs on the cube faces were being changed, for short periods of time at unpredictable intervals. I could not work out exactly what the cause was, and ultimately resorted to just praying and hoping that these moments wouldn’t be too frequent. The biggest issue was if I accidentally moved the analogue stick during one of these disconnects, registering an incorrect new centre upon reconnection, which would cause analogue stick drift and require disconnecting the analogue cube briefly to reset the stick’s neutral position.
I don’t even know if the issue is specific to my split handed setup, or if I’ve just been unlucky and experienced it more in that orientation. It’s not a consistent issue, I might play for several hours without it occurring, but then it might persistently crop up again for a while.
Part of the problem that I started to experience with the Proteus Controller, the more time I put into using it, was a lack of clarity when trying to troubleshoot these kinds of inconsistency issues. Was the issue one of connectivity to the dongle? Was it that one of the inputs somewhere on my right handed controller wasn’t quite connected correctly and was registering as being disconnected during use? Was the issue my controller being unsure which of the two dongles to connect to? I would move my console, move my dongles, dismantle the controller, put it back together, and for a while the controller would work perfectly again.
But because there’s only a single rainbow lighting pattern used to signal everything from a component being disconnected to a disconnect from the dongle, when small inconsistencies pop up it can be really tricky to know quite what went wrong, and as a result to know how to fix the issue when it crops up. It is possible to show other colours of light to communicate issues, red for example is used to communicate that the battery on the Proteus controller is low. The problem is too many things are communicated via the rainbow flashing light, and that lack of explaination paired with the controller’s inconsistency is frequently a point of minor frustration when using the Proteus, no matter what configuration you’ve ultimately settled for.
I don’t think my initial experience with the Proteus controller back in August is helping with my opinion here. For better or worse, my first few months with a Proteus controller were one that had a serious hardware flaw that required units to be refunded or replaced. When my new retail unit arrived several months later and I continued to experience little inconsistency problems without a clear cause, whether fair or not, it did feel like once again I might have been working with a controller that simply hadn’t had enough time in development to smooth out edges and find problems before being sold to the customer.
While the Proteus does feel like a premium controller when it’s working as intended, it’s lacking the consistency and reliability seen when using any of the first party developed accessibility controllers on the market. At its price point, it is disappointing that I am experiencing as many unexpected disconnect issues as I am, without a clear sense of how best to troubleshoot and permanently squash the underlying issue.
At the end of the day, price and consistency are the biggest barriers when it comes to recommending the Byowave Proteus Controller at present. I cannot deny that it’s an engineering marvel, and being able to switch between configurations has a lot of benefits, but this does come at a premium, and it isn’t going to be the go to accessibility controller that I suggest to every disabled gamer who asks me about their options.
There are some use cases I think this is a great fit for. If you’re a developer looking for an accessibility controller you can make available at conventions for your demo booth, the customizability of this controller is going to allow a lot of flexibility for different people to be able to play your demo without needing to bring a lot of additional wired inputs with you. If you’ve got limited suitcase space when travelling to a convention, it’s a small, compact, and highly customisable option easy to find space to bring along with you. If you’re someone whose needs as a gamer fluctuate, being able to reconfigure this during play is fantastic. If you’re someone like me who struggles with cognitive load when handling an accessibility controller setup with a lot of wires involved, this avoids a lot of that stress. If your accessibility issues would be best solved by a more compact or single handed controller setup, this is a great option. There are a lot of use cases in which this might be the best accessibility controller out there for someone.
But if you’re looking for a flat controller with all inputs on the top face, maybe the 8BitDo Lite SE for Xbox would be a better fit. If you’re looking just for split handed controls on Xbox and don’t mind wires, you might have a cheaper option on the horizon in the coming months in the form of Xbox’s wired nunchuck style Adaptive Joysticks, which will hopefully feature more reliable connectivity to the console.
I think this controller is going to be amazing as an optional part of wider accessibility setups, at least on paper. If you’re someone who uses the Xbox Adaptive Controller to play with your feet, this could be a fantastic one handed option for your remaining inputs for example. There’s a bunch of setups I can imagine this being useful in, and I already have a number of configurations that are going to be useful for me going forward.
But, at the end of the day, a $300 entry price plus an additional $30 if you need a second dongle makes this the most expensive of the mass produced console accessibility controllers out there today, and that is a hurdle that makes this hard to casually recommend. I think you need to have either a firm idea in mind of a use case that this will serve that none of the other accessibility controllers on the market currently fits for you, or have an opportunity to try one out at a convention, before committing to the price tag it has attached.
For all my thoughts on price when it comes to the Xbox Adaptive Controller, PlayStation Access Controller, and even the Hori Flex for Nintendo Switch, none of them is quite this expensive to get your foot in the door with and try out as part of your gaming setup. The Xbox Adaptive Controller is £70 plus maybe an additional £30 if you want the Logitech Adaptive Gaming Kit with it. The PlayStation Access Controller is comparable, with the ability to get an entry setup below £100. £300 is the kind of price that really demands that you know up front if this is going to work for you. You need to be confident that it’s going to be a worthwhile investment up front.
Despite my feelings on price, I don’t want to end my impressions on an overly negative note. The price is steep, and it’s worth acknowledging that, but if you can overcome that hurdle I do think the Proteus is a really exciting accessibility controller, and one I honestly have a lot of love for.
The controller often feels really premium, the setup options do allow for a really good variety of ways the device can be tweaked, and I do genuinely believe this is going to become my default controller for Xbox and PC, if I can work out the weird disconnect issue. I know I acknowledged that the upcoming Xbox Adaptive Joystick will be a cheaper way to achieve my desired split handed control setup, but now that I own the Proteus controller and an additional dongle, I can say that the convenience of wireless connection does make this a lot more appealing for me to use, when it’s working. Even beyond price and wireless connection, on the Proteus I’m able to have my triggers and bumpers moved, and my controller at a slightly more comfortable angle in my hands, and that is ultimately going to be more accessible for me.
I know I’ve spent a lot of this review talking about pros and cons a little bit in isolation, but I want to end on some thoughts that are a little more personal and a little less analytical.
I’m lucky that my job makes picking up something like the Proteus Controller a little easier to justify than it might otherwise be. I have a work incentive to pick this up for coverage, and that somewhat offsets some of the price maths that go into justifying grabbing one. It’s expensive, but that’s less likely to be a barrier for me than it is for most.
In all honesty, I kind of love the Proteus controller. Being able to swap my controller’s shape between two different angles with relative ease, a way to mitigate hand pain and fatigue, on a controller where my triggers can be in a non standard position, is already making a really big impact on how I play. Trigger and bumper position is just one of those standardised aspects of controller design I’d become so used to that I hadn’t thought to question. I wasn’t ready for how big a difference that would make until I had a controller that made changing it possible.
That’s the magic of something like the Proteus controller. It’s the little tweaks that, until possible, you might not even consider. It’s the ability to open your eyes to the fact that there’s a barrier that controllers could remove to make play easier, suddenly made possible when every input position is modular, and that is pretty special indeed.
The price is steep, but I do think the Proteus Controller is something special when working correctly. It’s not going to be the accessibility controller I recommend to everyone, but for specific use cases this thing is truly magical, and I am incredibly glad it exists.
I wish I knew why it occasionally disconnects the right hand in my split handed controller setups, but that’s something I think I’m okay living with in order to access the control layout options the Proteus controller is providing me.
Whether you personally are willing to have that kind of unreliablility in such an expensive controller, that’s for you to decide.