Last month, we had the chance to check out PDP’s Fall 2023 line-up of gaming peripherals. One product pairing that caught our eye came in the form of the PDP Xbox Series X|S & PC Bundle Pack. This bundle pack features the Rematch Glow Advanced Wired Controller & Airlite Glow Wired Headset in matching color schemes for $59.99. The PDP Rematch Glow features button remapping, analog dead zone control, and customizable profiles. The controller even has functionality for controlling the audio on connected wired headsets on the fly. This of course plays nicely with the PDP Airlite Glow Headset,which houses an onboard volume dial and a flip to mute mic.
With bundles coming in both Space Dust and Blue Tide color schemes, the Rematch Glow Advanced Wired Controller and Airlite Glow Headset looks to bring both style and functionality to the table.
Let’s dive into the PDP Xbox Series X|S & PC Space Dust Bundle Pack to see exactly what you get for $59.99.
Build, Looks and Feel
This bundle, featuring the PDP Rematch Glow Advanced Wired Controller and PDP Airlite Glow Headset, comes with a removable 8-foot USB-C to USB-A cable for the controller.
The Rematch Glow is a wired controller with a general silhouette closely resembling that of Xbox’s own Wireless Controller. It is compatible with the Xbox One family of consoles as well as PC. As you would expect, you have all the standard face buttons, dual analog sticks, d-pad, bumpers and triggers in the traditional Xbox layout.
On the back you have two paddle buttons where each paddle can be remapped to any single controller button. On top, you have the USB-C port for the included removable cable while on the bottom you have a 3.5mm jack for connecting the Airlite Glow or any other wired headset.
Going beyond the basics, the PDP Rematch Glow Controller also features a “Function”, which allows you to control various aspects of your connected wired headset. Double pressing the button toggles mic muting on and off. However, by holding this button and using presses of the d-pad, you can control the headset’s master volume as well as the game and chat balance of the incoming sound. The d-pad on the Rematch Glow features symbols that help indicate what each direction controls.
The Airlite Glow Wired Headset is a very straight-forward product with a simple yet still appealing appearance. The headset is held together by a flexible polypropylene head band. Under that head band and on the ear cups you have light breathable mesh cushioning. All of the headset’s controls and functions are on the left ear cup. Here you have a master volume dial, and the headset’s boom mic, which flips up to mute and flips down to unmute.
Finally, you have the “glow” component of this PDP Xbox Series X|S & PC Bundle Space Dust Pack, where both the controller and headset feature glow-in-the-dark color sections.
On the surface, the PDP Rematch Glow Controller has the look and feel of a standard Xbox controller. As the controller has such a close to home shape, it takes no time whatsoever to develop muscle memory for the placement of its various controls. The grip surface on the back also allows for a pretty solid grip while keeping your palms cool during long gaming sessions. The controller simply feels as familiar as Xbox controllers get, allowing for great ease of use and handling.
The Airlite Glow is indeed as light a headset as its name suggests. Its light weight and breathable mesh cushioning allowed it to remain comfortable for the entirety of my five-to-six-hour gaming sessions. The tension of the headset is just tight enough to remain secure on your head without putting too much pressure on it. Since the ear cushions are of mesh, some of the louder external sounds in my background did occasionally leak in while I was playing. However, those sound leaks never got to the point where they would disturb my gameplay.
Both the Rematch Glow Advanced Wired Controller and Airlite Glow Headset get solid marks in the build, looks and feel department.
Features and Performance
Through the PDP Control Hub App, you can experience all of the levels of customization that the PDP Rematch Glow Controller has to offer.
Starting with what was mentioned already, here is where you can map the controller’s back paddles to the singular buttons of your choice or disable them altogether. You can even remap the face buttons if you choose. You can set the dead zones of the triggers and analog sticks as well as control the intensity of the controller’s vibration strength. There is also a screen for controlling all of the audio settings of your connected headset, which now includes Mic Monitoring (aka Side Tone).
Going even deeper, the app has a diagnostic feature where you can test and recalibrate buttons and audio. You also update the controller’s firmware through this app. Lastly, all of the above settings can be saved into profiles that you can swap between as needed.
As far as features go, the PDP Rematch Glow Controller offers a wide variety of customization options. The feature set on this controller is quite robust and the free companion app is pretty straightforward to use. Through the PDP Control Hub App, you can truly personalize this controller to match the kind of behavior you would want from any controller out today.
As for its performance, it is as straightforward an Xbox One controller as it gets. If you are good with a standard Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S controller, you will continue to perform well and feel right at home with the Rematch Glow. With no muscle memory learning curve whatsoever, I easily pulled another flawless run in Trials of Osiris (Destiny 2) weeks ago.
Of course, that same ease of use was also present in Apex Legends. There, I continued to collect wins in Battle Royale and other various modes.
Interestingly enough, when I first saw and felt the d-pad on the Rematch Glow, I thought that it would not handle well in fighting games. That is because the “plus sign” was not as pronounced as I would normally like when performing command inputs. Nevertheless, I took the Rematch Glow into King of Fighters XV. Fortunately, I was still able to pull off all of the command inputs and combos that I was used to. Overall, the controller handled well in all of the gaming genres that I usually dive into. Solid performance all around.
Being a stereo headset, as opposed to most of the surround sound ones I review, I adjusted my expectations when it came to vetting the Airlite Glow. I did not expect to get 360 degrees of positional audio queues when using this headset. However, I did get a balanced and clear-enough sound which allowed for audio enjoyment and a good degree of success in PVP matches. The Airlite Glow gives you a very nice sound with distinguishable highs. If you lean your audio balance mostly on game as opposed to chat, you will quickly pick up gun shots, reload sounds and the footsteps of your enemies. This sound presentation came in handy during those Apex Legends Battle Royale matches.
What really impressed me the most about this headset was actually the mic quality. My gaming setup is very close to my living room TV. I always have to consider the volume of the TV when I am in a party chat with teammates and friends. Yet, the noise-cancelation on this mic did a great job at filtering out louder than normal ambient sounds during my gaming sessions. I found myself unnecessarily apologizing to teammates for loud sounds coming from my background that they could not even hear. Meanwhile, they reported hearing me loud and clear. I really appreciated the mic on the Airlite Glow.
Final Thoughts
For $59.99, the PDP Xbox Series X|S & PC Bundle Packis a solid and cost-effective controller and headset pairing.
The Rematch Glow Advanced Wired Controller plays just like any standard Xbox Series X|S controller. However, you also get a very nice amount of customizability for a price that is less than that of the standard wireless Xbox controller. Sure, it’s wired. However, eight feet of cabling should be more than enough to cover the distance of most console gaming arrangements. Not to mention, being wired makes any perceivable input latency a non-factor.
The Airlite Glow Wired Headset is straightforward and gets the job done. You have good sound, a comfortable build, very simple controls, and a solid mic. While the breathable mesh ear cups gave way to some minor sound leakage, what you gain in comfort is worth the cost. The max volume could be a pinch louder to allow for more variation in game and chat balancing. However, that does not take much away from an otherwise solid product for its cost.
You can check out the PDP Xbox Series X|S & PC Bundle Pack for yourself by clicking here for the Space Dust version or here for the Blue Tide version. You can also buy each product from the bundle separately if you choose. The Rematch Glow Advanced Wired Controller goes for $37.99 while the Airlite Glow Wired Headset is priced at $24.99.
† As usual, there are no affiliate links contained within this post. We were provided a PDP Xbox Series X|S & PC Bundle Pack for review purposes and were not compensated for this review.
