Kontrolfreek Galaxy & Inferno (Hardware) Reviews

It’s a tag team of Kontrolfreek FPSFreek accessories, with reviews of the Inferno and Galaxy thumbstick extenders.

If you’re not a console gamer (or a PC gamer who prefers a controller) and you’re not using KontrolFreek’s products… well you need to have a look. I’ve had the good fortune to have field tested a few of their fantastic creations and they actually do make a difference in play. Let me explain why in this look at both the Inferno and the white version of the Galaxy’s.

Using a pair of FPSFreek stick-extenders really couldn’t be simpler. All you have to do to outfit your controller of choice (they come in both Xbox and PlayStation versions) is snap them on. Nope, there’s no disassembling of anything or popping anything off your pad, just snap the extenders on top of the sticks that already come with the controller.

We’re looking at the Xbox One versions of the two products at hand here in this twin-review, but I’ve used a PS4 version of a previous item as well, and it’s the same in form and function. And by that, I mean that they look cool and improve your game.

FPSFreek Galaxy

First up, we’ll have a look at the Galaxy, the white Galaxy to be precise. There was already a version of this set of ‘Freeks on the market cast in purple, but the white ones stand out nicely against the black Xbox One controller, and actually nicely recall the days of the original white Xbox 360. They did for me anyway.

The top-seller for the company, Galaxy gives you a few things that other sticks from KontrolFreek don’t. The Galaxy’s are lazer-etched more deeply than the rest of the catalog, which is done in an effort to maximize control. Simply put: the promise of the Galaxy is that your thumbs won’t slip or slide around as much when you play, and it really does work.

I played the Doom Beta with them, as well as a little Halo multi, and played through a fair shake of Quantum Break, and found them to perform as advertised. My left thumb in particular tends to slide off the stick as I play, and there was nothing of the sort here. The bumpiness of the stick, and way more concave design than normal, gave me a relatively slip-free time of things.

It’s also worth a note that the Galaxy’s offer a pair of differing heights. The left stick has a short, nubby feel to it and is meant to allow for pure comfort while moving in the game’s world. On the right though, you’ll find a more extended stick-cover, which is to give you a better range of vision, and an improved aim. And again, that’s just what you’ll get as there’s less movement that you need to make to tilt the stick, changing your view (and aim) with much slighter movement than normal.

They also feel much sturdier than the Call of Duty: Black Ops III set which I was using previously. I kind of chewed those up a bit, but the Galaxy seem thicker and tougher. We’ll see though, as I’ve been using the CoD set since last November and the Galaxy’s for only a few weeks.

It’s easy to see why these are the best-selling pair of KontrolFreek stick-extenders.

FPSFreek Inferno

While I sort of knew what I was getting into with the Galaxy set, the FPSFreek Inferno’s were an unknown quantity for me. The reason? They’re both the same height. For that alone, I wasn’t really sure what the thought was behind them, since the Galaxy (and every other KontrolFreek product I’ve used) were of differing heights, with each one having a purpose.

Well it turns out that there’s a definite reason behind the equal heights on these bad boys, and that’s that they’re more meant for any kind of general action game. So while the Galaxy’s are more suited to FPS’, with the enhanced aiming in the right stick, the Inferno’s are made to give you an all-around better experience in third-person titles (though they work well-enough for FPS’ as well).

Using the etching of KontrolFreek’s Vortex stick-extenders (which are also pretty great), you’ll find that same level of excellent control and comfort that you’re used to getting from those, but with the lessened height on the right stick. Honestly, it’s not a massive difference, though I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t one.

I actually do find that the almost doubled height that the Vortex’ offer is a bit too much for a third-person game. You just don’t need it to the degree that you do in an FPS. Not to mention the fact that loads of different kinds of games can make use of them too- way more than what the more FPS-centric designs can lend themselves to. Whatever you play will pretty much get a bump, especially with the comfort of these.

Final Thoughts

There isn’t a loser in the pair of stick-extenders that I reviewed here. Seriously, both the Inferno’s and the Galaxy’s are great, so it’s tough to pick a winner. Which one you’d want to get completely depends on what kind of gamer you are.

Do you play a a lot of FPS’? Then you’re more than likely to find the Galaxy a great set for you. Do you play a mixture of games (with FPS thrown in)? The take a look at the Inferno’s, you’ll get a ton of use out of them.

Either way you go though though, these are winners, and two very easy ways of upgrading your existing controller (no matter which system you have) without any fuss or muss.