The Catch 22 (PS5 Interface) is a controller interface from OneSwitch that allows you to create a customised PlayStation 5 (PS5) controller set-up, by connecting compatible USB joysticks and accessibility switches with a 3.5mm jack connection. These joysticks and switches are purchased separately, enabling players to choose the joysticks and switches for their personal requirements. For instance, this may be low-force inputs that are needed or inputs that have larger targets and require more resistance to activate them.
For some players, this custom set-up may include inputs for many of the button, trigger and joystick inputs that you would find on a PS5 DualSense wireless controller, whilst for others, it may just include the inputs that are required to play a specific game.
For some background, the Catch 22 uses the open source HID Remapper v6 by Jacek Fedoryński, part of the open source HID Remapper project. This is a project that has seen other interfaces like the HID Remapper v7 and HID Remapper v8 created and which shares information, software and files to have a HID Remapper board manufactured yourself.
However, like the v7 and v8, OneSwitch have created their own version of the v6 device, that has been made available to purchase as a finished product — the Catch 22. There is also a version of the Catch 22 available for Nintendo Switch consoles, but in this post we will be looking at the version for PS5.
Update Nov 2025 – We now have a video giving an overview of how the Catch 22 can be used, here: Catch 22 PS5 Interface | Video
Switches
The Catch 22 is an alternative to the PS5’s Access controller, that allows you to use more switches than the four that an Access controller does (or the eight, when two are paired), allowing for up to 18 digital accessibility switches to be used, with a 3.5mm socket available for many of the button and trigger inputs that you would find on a PS5 DualSense wireless controller.
Each switch port is preset as an input and has the button or trigger input written above it, so you can plug your switch in and it is ready to be used as the input assigned to it. The inputs with the arrow icons are the up, down, left and right directions on the Left Stick (not the D-pad directions).
Compatible switches that we use at SpecialEffect include AbleNet’s Spec Switches and Buddy Buttons, Atec’s Ultra Light HD switches and the digital switches from the Logitech G Adaptive Gaming Kit (ie the ‘light touch buttons’, the ’small buttons’ and the ‘large buttons’).
Joysticks
There are four USB slots on the top of the Catch 22. There is a slot for the Left Stick, Right Stick and/or D-pad. When you plug your compatible USB joystick into one of the slots, it will automatically control the function assigned to it.
Compatible USB Joysticks that we use at SpecialEffect include OneSwitch’s Zik-Zak Joysticks, the UltraStik and the Celtic Magic Feather Joystick. We are also able to use the 3.5mm joysticks that we use with other controller interfaces, via the OneSwitch HID Remapper v8, a 3.5mm to USB adapter.
The fourth USB slot (marked, ‘help’) allows you to connect a standard compatible game controller, such a PlayStation DualShock 4 or DualSense controller. This could be used either to incorporate a game controller into your set-up to use part(s) of it yourself (alongside connected joysticks or switches), or for another player to play alongside you, cooperatively.
Additional Controllers
In addition to connecting game controllers via the ‘help’ USB slot, you can also pair some through the console itself. You can pair a DualSense 5 controller to the same player using the Catch 22 wirelessly, by using the PS5’s ‘Assist Controller’ feature on the console. This would allow you to use some of the inputs on the controller alongside switches and/or joysticks connected to the the Catch 22, or have someone play alongside you, sharing the controls.
You could also add one or two PlayStation Access controllers to a set-up, if, for instance, you wanted to use the Access controller’s joystick, buttons and/or 3.5mm switch/joystick inputs, alongside a Catch 22 and its joystick and switch inputs. As an example, players may wish to use the 3.5mm inputs on the Access controller, to be able to use switches for the D-pad, to use analog accessibility switches, such as the ‘Variable Triggers’ from the Logitech G Adaptive Gaming Kit for Access controller, or to use a joystick with a 3.5mm connection.
Connecting to PS5
To use unsupported controllers on a console, you often need to use an adapter to enable it to be recognised as a compatible controller. To enable the Catch 22 to work on a PS5, the PS5 version of the Catch 22 comes supplied with a Brook Wingman FGC2 adapter.
At the time of publishing this post, the Catch 22 via the Brook adapter is allowing us to access the PS5 console with a range of connected peripherals. However, future device or console updates may alter this, so players must follow any methods using unlicensed controllers at their own risk.
Additional Information
For players looking for additional features, such as using fewer inputs to do more actions in-game, the Game Control Mixer Deluxe upgrade is also available for the Catch 22. More information on this can be found on the Catch 22 product page. More information on compatible peripherals can be found here, also.
For more information on accessing the PS5 console with alternative controllers, please use the ‘PS5 Access‘ tag on the GameAccess site. For more information on accessibility switches, you can use the ‘Switches‘ category. And for more information on joysticks, you can use the ‘Joysticks‘ category.