The PDP Riffmaster’s analog stick could change the game for challenge runners
At a glance, the new PDP Riffmaster looks like an average guitar controller. In many ways the $129.99 controller which comes out in April is exactly what you expect. But aside from the familiar strum bar, whammy bar and clusters of colored frets, it has a hardware feature that could make it desirable to an audience that has no interest in playing music games.
PDP inserted a Joy-Con-like analog stick near the top of the controller’s neck, right next to where your thumb naturally rests when you hold the guitar. Although the advertised purpose is mainly for everyday things, such as navigating menus Rock band 4it opens a box of possibilities for speedrunners and challenge runners who like to use guitar controllers for non-music games.
For over a decade, many have used guitar controllers to play (and sometimes, incredibly, play) games, especially games that are difficult even with standard controllers, such as Dark souls. The finesse some of them exude while playing is remarkable, as they move the character without an analog stick, while also controlling the camera lock-on function, attacking and performing a range of other commands with a very unintuitive button layout. Benjamin “Bearzly” Gwins Control schedule for hitting Dark souls back in 2014 with a guitar controller is something to see.
Noted non-traditional controller enthusiast, mudder and engineer Louis Hamilton (AKA SuperLouis64 on YouTube) Polygon told Polygon that he expects the Riffmaster to shine by helping the player with camera lock and general movement. Reflecting on his time with previous guitar controllers, he said, “Every time the lock-on system would take out a boss mid-battle, I would say to my chat ‘GG’ as I rushed to hit the reset/lock-on button on the camera. on my guitar hoping I can see the boss again.
Hamilton is also excited about how the Riffmaster’s analog stick could make it possible to “challenge other genres that practically require two sticks,” such as first- and third-person shooters. He ready earlier Halo 3 on Legendary difficulty when using a different guitar controller, but with a modified control scheme so punishing that I wouldn’t wish this challenge on my enemies. He used the orange fret to switch between button assignments, with most buttons serving a dual purpose. “I pretty much had to line up my shots with the guitar and then move, so it felt like I was playing a pseudo-turn-based game while my enemies weren’t,” Hamilton told me. While he doesn’t expect the Riffmaster to make non-music games easier to play on a technical level, he hopes it will require less work to tweak the controls.
To address Hamilton’s hope, the Riffmaster is apparently easier to adjust. After plugging it into my PC and enabling Steam Input for all supported controllers, it “worked” without any adjustments on my part in Capcom’s remake of Resident Evil 4. Anyone trying out a challenging version of the game would likely want to fine-tune the controls to their preferences with control-mapping software (the analog stick didn’t move Leon like it would with a traditional controller), but it was an encouraging sign that getting Use of the Riffmaster analog stick is not limited to the games it was designed for.
It’s hard to say whether the Riffmaster will lead to a resurgence of guitar controller-based speed runs and challenge runs. But its very existence is a good thing. At $129.99, it’s not cheap, but it’s much cheaper than most used guitar controllers offered on Amazon and eBay. Perhaps the lower price will attract more players to join the community. If nothing else, I’d love to see some of the old guard put the Riffmaster to the test on Twitch.