God of War Sons of Sparta Unironically Makes Great Use of the PS5 DualSense Controller

It’s no surprise when a PS5 game makes good use of the console’s DualSense controller features, but surprisingly few actually take full advantage of everything it’s capable of. Haptic feedback is often reduced to little more than a light rumble, the controller speaker goes unused, and the built-in microphone is almost never used for gameplay. God of War Sons of Sparta, however, has a different philosophy. Despite being a retro-inspired spin-off, the game integrates the PS5 controller’s unique capabilities in ways that aim to connect players to the experience and make it more immersive. From tactile combat feedback to small puzzle interactions that see players physically engaging with the controller, God of War Sons of Sparta unironically makes great use of the PS5 DualSense.

What’s so interesting about God of War Sons of Sparta‘s fairly extensive DualSense features is that the game itself otherwise looks like it could have come from an earlier console generation. It makes sense to expect an incredibly detailed, modern game like Horizon Forbidden West, for example, to incorporate the controller’s unique features into nearly every aspect of gameplay. But for a 2D action-adventure side-scroller like God of War Sons of Sparta, there’s naturally a different set of expectations.

God of War Sons of Sparta Takes Full Advantage of the PS5 DualSense Controller’s Unique Features

The DualSense has been around since the PS5 launched in 2020, but developers have continuously taken wildly different approaches to it. Sony’s own tech demo, Astro’s Playroom, famously showcased the controller’s haptics, adaptive triggers, and speaker audio in creative ways, but many other, even bigger games have only minimally used those features. God of War Sons of Sparta seems to land somewhere in between, not necessarily turning the controller into a full-on gameplay gimmick, but integrating several of its unique features into the experience that other PS5 games don’t.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)

God of War Sons of Sparta’s PS5 DualSense Features

BLOW MICROPHONE PUZZLE – Players must blow into the DualSense microphone to clear dust off a statue head and trigger puzzle progression.
TACTILE COMBAT HAPTICS – Haptic feedback delivers physical sensation during spear strikes, blocks, and enemy impacts.
ENVIRONMENTAL VIBRATION FEEDBACK – Controller vibrations change during platforming, climbing, and environmental hazards.
CONTROLLER SPEAKER AUDIO – Certain sounds and cues play directly through the DualSense speaker for environmental immersion.
ADAPTIVE TRIGGER RESISTANCE – The triggers apply varying resistance during attacks and interactions to simulate weapon tension and impact.

The microphone puzzle in God of War Sons of Sparta is probably the most memorable example of the game’s use of the PS5 DualSense controller. At one point, players encounter a statue whose face is covered in dust, preventing them from being able to activate it. Instead of pressing a button or finding a nearby item, though, the solution sees players blowing into the microphone to clear the dust away. A more recent game to do something similar was Ghost of Yotei, which allowed players to blow into the controller microphone to help start a fire if they wanted to. Apart from that, very few games have made use of the microphone in such an immersive way.

God of War Sons of Sparta also uses haptic feedback more frequently than many other side-scrolling games do. Players can feel the weight and impact of combat encounters with subtle vibration patterns in the controller that change depending on what’s happening on the screen. Landing a heavy attack, blocking an incoming hit, or colliding with the environment can all produce slightly different tactile responses through the DualSense.

The microphone puzzle in God of War Sons of Sparta is probably the most memorable example of the game’s use of the PS5 DualSense controller.

Ironically, God of War Sons of Sparta‘s retro presentation is part of what makes the controller’s integration stand out so much. Generally, side-scrollers don’t use the DualSense this extensively, as it’s typically the bigger 3D titles that do. For the most part, 2D games use much simpler feedback, like a basic rumble and perhaps some light haptic feedback. God of War Sons of Sparta, on the other hand, is very close to what games like Astro Bot and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart accomplish with the controller.

Since it was revealed, God of War Sons of Sparta has had to fight back negative first impressions, and yet it accomplishes something a simple glance isn’t enough to notice. When players put their hands on the controller, the PS5 DualSense brings them into a game that might look simple on the surface yet does something many other games similar to it do not. If nothing else, that just goes to show that sometimes it’s the games players expect the least from that end up making the most of the tools they have.