Axisray Lab’s BASH Controller Wants to Replace Analogue Sticks With Soft Optical Controls

BASH Controller Replaces Analogue Sticks With Soft Optical Controls

Many premium controllers promise to improve the analogue stick, but Axisray Lab would rather rethink what sits beneath your thumbs. The company’s upcoming BASH controller replaces conventional mechanical stick structures with GumiTap, a flexible silicone control surface that uses optical sensing to interpret movement.

Instead of only tracking direction across the X and Y axes, GumiTap can also detect how deeply a player presses into the surface and when they twist it. That means one control can potentially handle regular movement, pressure-sensitive actions and rotational inputs without relying on the familiar stick mechanism found inside most gamepads.

BASH made its public debut at Gamescom before appearing at Tokyo Game Show, and Axisray is now preparing another batch of early-access hardware for external testing in November. A wider launch is currently planned for Q1 2027.

GumiTap Turns Pressure and Rotation Into Inputs

GumiTap began as a much smaller experiment involving silicone, optical sensors and algorithms designed to interpret how the material changed shape.

Axisray Lab comes from a robotics hardware background, and the team says the idea gradually evolved as its prototypes became capable of reading directional movement, pressure and rotation. The company explores more of that process in its breakdown of how GumiTap developed into BASH.

The potential goes beyond simply replacing a traditional analogue stick. Axisray uses pressure to charge actions, control acceleration, or alter sensitivity, while twisting the surface can serve as a steering input. Its own Ashen Sea prototype was created partly to explore those interactions, including actions built specifically around squeezing and manipulating the controller rather than pressing another button.

Axisray also argues that removing a conventional mechanical centre can reduce the dead travel and wear associated with traditional stick assemblies. That puts BASH on a very different path from recent premium controllers such as the Genki Manta and its adjustable TMR sticks or the 8BitDo Ultimate 3E and its own TMR-based approach.

Packs More Than Its Unusual GumiTap Controls

The rest of BASH is considerably more familiar, although Axisray has packed plenty into the controller. Dual-stage triggers combine Hall-effect sensing for longer analogue travel with a microswitch for shorter activation, while four rear inputs can be remapped around different playstyles. It also includes six-axis motion sensing and dual linear haptic motors.

Connectivity includes USB, 2.4GHz wireless, and Bluetooth, while an onboard display lets players switch profiles and supported control protocols directly from the controller. PC software offers deeper configuration, plus macros and custom scripts.

The GumiTap system is modular, with different silicone softness levels and alternative control surfaces under development. Axisray has even discussed releasing open-source design files so players can experiment with creating their own modules.

Perhaps stranger still, BASH has enough processing capability to run built-in 3D games directly on its display and accept keyboard and mouse peripherals. Axisray describes the broader idea as a “computer built for play”, although the controller is primarily designed for PC gaming at launch.

Targeting a Q1 2027 Launch

BASH remains development hardware, not a finished retail product. The November early-access units are intended to provide players and creators with hardware close to the planned production version, giving Axisray another round of feedback before mass production begins.

Several specifications are therefore still subject to change, including battery performance and aspects of its modular design. Pricing has also not been announced. Axisray Labs currently touts an 1800mAh battery, three-way connectivity, and four rear inputs, while still describing battery testing as ongoing.

The planned Q1 2027 launch leaves plenty still to prove, particularly once more players can compare GumiTap directly against the increasingly capable Hall-effect and TMR controllers already on the market. Still, while much of the industry is trying to build a better analogue stick, BASH is asking whether we need the traditional stick at all.