While Astro is deservedly known for their high quality audio products, like the Astro A50 wireless headset, I didn’t expect them to ever branch out into controllers. The C40 is designed as a high-end tournament controller that features removable thumbstick and D-pad units. The goal behind these removable parts is to make them easy to swap out after rough tournament playing. This always ensures the most accurate response possible for the tournament player or gamer that always demands the best out of their equipment. These swappable parts have also allowed Astro to design the controller to allow for changing the left thumbsticks position between the normal PS4 positioning and an offset layout found on the Switch or Xbox One controller. The C40 also features 2 programmable rear buttons and trigger locks to make firing quicker. The Astro C40 has been on the market for just over 3 months now and has been receiving great responses. Needless to say my controller loving self couldn’t wait to get my hands on it and I finally got my chance at E3 2019!

The first thing I noticed when picking up the C40 was the weight, despite the size the C40 packed in a good amount of heft. The next thing I noticed was how good the C40 felt in my hands. Having larger hands I have always found the DualShock line of controllers to be uncomfortable but that isn’t the case here with the C40. The controller fit wonderfully into my palms and all of my fingers were able to hold on to the handles with ease. The whole controller also feels solid and premium with a nice soft touch finish and rubberized grips. Thumbsticks also felt amazing with great resistance making them very precise. The thumbsticks can be swapped out for a normal height, tall height or domed stick. Like other pro style controllers, the C40 also comes with a swappable D-pad with a normal or fighting style being available. The D-pad is also felt like it was made of metal and was awesome to use!

While I wasn’t able to really put the C40 through a full test suite at E3 but the first impression was great. The C40 is usable on PC and PS4 in both wired and wireless configurations and even comes with its own PC software to give users full control over the customization of buttons and thumbsticks. If you are a fan of pro style controllers take a look at what Astro has crafted and keep an eye out for our full review!