How many PS5 Access controllers does one player need?

1. Write down one difficult moment

Pick a sequence you want to play. Perhaps you can move through a scene and turn the camera separately, but the game asks you to do both while holding another button. Write down the actions that have to happen together. Include any input you need only occasionally, such as a swipe to open a menu. A setup that covers every combat action can still leave you stuck at that menu.

Look at the game's own control options before counting controllers. In The Last of Us Part I on PS5, Naughty Dog documents custom mappings for commands including touch pad swipes and controller shakes, as well as camera assistance. If a remap handles your particular obstacle, cross it off the hardware list. Check the options in the game you actually plan to play.

2. Give one Access controller a defined job

Sony's kit has a single stick on an adjustable arm and swappable button caps. Decide where the stick and your most frequently used buttons should sit. A PS5 profile can change button assignments, make a button stay held after a press or assign two button inputs to one press. If holding a button is the obstacle, a toggle is worth considering before a second unit.

Keep the console menus in your plan. Sony identifies cross, circle, options and left-stick or directional-button input as necessary to navigate the PS5. A game-specific profile can leave some of these out, but then you need the base profile or another controller to reach those functions. For first-time setup, Sony also says the PS5 should already be set up and paired with a DualSense.

3. Choose two Access units for a second control surface

Two Access controllers can act as one virtual controller. This makes sense when you want a separate stick or another group of buttons within reach in a different position. Sketch the job of each unit before buying another. For a game that uses movement and camera controls together, identify how you intend to operate both, then check its mapping options.

Sony's two-controller setup assigns both units to the same PS5 user. The first unit shows one controller indicator light and the second shows two. Sony also lets you assign a profile to one or both controllers. Give the profiles names that tell you which arrangement to use when you come back to that game.

If you're arranging couch co-op, count players separately. Sony allows other people to play on the console, but only one player per PS5 can use its Access controller or controllers. Two Access units sharing that user's controls will not give two people separate Access-controlled characters.

4. Keep a DualSense for the feature the game uses

An Access controller can supply a touch pad button press. A finger swipe across the touch pad is a different input. Sony lists swiping, motion sensing, adaptive triggers and vibration among the functions the Access unit itself does not supply. Check whether the game demands a gesture, uses it optionally or lets you map it to a button.

For a gesture you want to keep, Sony supports one or two Access controllers alongside one DualSense. A DualSense Edge can take the DualSense's place. Plan who will operate that extra controller and keep it within reach for the exact moment it is needed. A partner helping with a swipe is contributing to the same player's controls.

Your controller plan