Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller Review

There’s lone truthful overmuch you tin bash to amended connected a tried-and-true plan of a controller, and making changes for the involvement of it mightiness conscionable unfastened it up to caller flaws on the way. Such is the lawsuit with the caller Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller, which sticks to what works and doesn’t veer acold disconnected the beaten path. That begs the question: wherefore not conscionable support utilizing the archetypal Pro Controller if you person one? Well, you can, and you wouldn’t miss retired connected too much, if you’re not swayed by immoderate of the Switch 2’s caller features. I inactive person my gripes with Nintendo’s authoritative gamepad, including the leap successful price, but the Switch 2 Pro Controller remains a well-built gamepad that does immoderate things amended than most. And for those who play docked, it’s an indispensable Switch 2 accessory arsenic it’s miles up of adjacent the caller Switch 2 Joy-Con successful presumption of show and comfort.

Switch 2 Pro Controller – Fundamentals

There isn’t overmuch to the package; you get the controller and a five-foot USB-A to USB-C cable. I bash privation it came with a longer cablegram to marque it easier to some complaint and usage the controller astatine the aforesaid clip successful location theatre setups, and truthful I’ve relied connected a inexpensive 10-foot USB cablegram for my ain setup. The Switch 2 Pro Controller pairs similar immoderate different – you conscionable spell to the “Pair New Controller” enactment successful the Home menu, clasp the pairing fastener connected apical of the gamepad, hold for the LED to commencement blinking, and deed the bumpers erstwhile prompted. Or conscionable plug it into the Switch 2 with the USB cable.

Looking astatine the controller itself, you’ll announcement immoderate carnal changes from the erstwhile Pro Controller, similar the airy grey accents of the analog instrumentality mounds and the topside parts wherever the USB-C port, pairing button, triggers, and bumpers are located. The assemblage of the controller is made with a grippy matte achromatic texture that feels bully successful the hands, avoiding the inexpensive integrative consciousness of immoderate little costly controllers that mightiness creak oregon get slimy from usage. I bash miss the rubberized worldly connected the aged one, but this isn’t a atrocious alternate astatine all. It’s a dense and durable controller that makes for a premium feel.

One happening I’m not a instrumentality of, arsenic was the lawsuit with the archetypal Switch Pro Controller, is that the existent handles you grip to clasp the controller are inactive rather small. Compared to the DualSense, Xbox controller, oregon astir full-sized third-party options, the Switch 2 Pro Controller doesn’t capable the thenar of my hands. These thinner handles assistance the controller support a slimmer profile, but it’s astatine the disbursal of due ergonomics and semipermanent comfort, particularly for those with bigger hands.

All the different fundamentals of the Switch 2 Pro Controller are fantastic. The B, A, Y, and X look buttons are ample and balanced, feeling brushed to the interaction and responsive capable for accelerated inputs. Perhaps my favourite facet is the creaseless analog sticks that person a accordant absorption on their afloat scope of question that I’d begrudgingly picture arsenic “creamy” (Though my 1 gripe is the RS and LS stick-click inputs are a tad excessively stiff, taking a spot excessively overmuch effort to property downward). I recovered the directional pad to beryllium a flimsy betterment – though it feels precise akin to its predecessor, I’ve anecdotally experienced less errant inputs since it’s amended astatine distinguishing the directions I was pressing, which is important for galore of the 2D action-platformers that thrive connected Switch.

The bumpers and triggers are airy to the interaction with easy-going tactile feedback, arsenic you would expect from the Pro Controller. However, it’s disappointing that Nintendo inactive hasn’t adopted analog triggers, which limits its versatility (especially if you privation to usage this arsenic a PC controller, too). Granted, the hair-trigger feeling of ZL and ZR is ace responsive and works truly good for astir games that often trust connected them, but thing that has immoderate benignant of acceleration oregon pressure-based input mechanic is going to request immoderate benignant of game-side workaround.

Switch 2 Pro Controller – New Features

The Switch 2 Pro Controller brings programmable backmost buttons – a hallmark of galore high-end gamepads – to a first-party Nintendo controller for the archetypal time. Marked arsenic GL and GR, these backmost buttons let you to reflector the input of immoderate different button, giving you the quality to usage look fastener actions, for example, without having to instrumentality your thumb disconnected the close thumbstick. Although you can't representation them done the controller itself, you tin bash truthful swiftly done the Switch 2 strategy menus. You simply clasp the Home fastener and alteration the fastener assignments determination by pressing GL oregon GR, past the fastener you privation assigned. These assignments are besides recorded connected a per crippled ground for added convenience. Many third-party Switch gamepads person immoderate signifier of backmost fastener inputs, but it’s bully to spot Nintendo seamlessly incorporated them into its ain controller this time.

Something arsenic basal arsenic a 3.5mm audio jack built into the controller seems similar communal sense, but lone present bash we person a Switch Pro Controller with one. I’m not present to praise Nintendo yet catching up to the crowd, but it does marque utilizing wired earbuds oregon headphones truthful overmuch easier than having to usage thing with a cablegram agelong capable to scope your Switch erstwhile playing docked.

There’s 1 much caller fastener connected this updated Pro Controller: the C fastener connected the bottommost halfway accesses an exclusive Switch 2 function: Nintendo’s caller GameChat. This fastener jumps you consecutive into the system's GameChat app, giving you speedy entree to setup a chat country oregon configure its options. Those who program to beryllium much societal successful multiplayer settings with their Switch 2 volition find this fastener overmuch much convenient than flipping done menus to acceptable up oregon fiddle with GameChat, which you’d person to bash if you’re utilizing a previous-generation controller.

Another crushed to upgrade – and I americium going to springiness Nintendo grief for this – is that you can’t aftermath up your Switch 2 with the previous-gen controllers. It’s a insignificant inconvenience, but conscionable annoying capable to ever truthful somewhat propulsion america to bargain the caller controller.

Switch 2 Pro Controller – Performance

The Switch 2 Pro Controller does immoderate things exceptionally good and somewhat misses the people successful different respects, but erstwhile it comes to the existent gameplay experience, it’s arsenic large arsenic you’d expect from a flagship first-party gamepad. More importantly, it’s a monolithic betterment implicit utilizing the tiny and unergonomic Joy-Con 2 with their packaged grip attachment.

The GL and GR backmost buttons travel successful clutch successful respective games with analyzable power schemes, specified arsenic The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Setting sprint to GR and limb prime to GL helps support my thumbs connected the sticks astatine each times, and successful aggravated combat scenarios, the controls felt a batch little clunky. The aforesaid rule applies to immoderate crippled with important actions acceptable to the look buttons that besides necessitate right-stick camera controls, and erstwhile you get utilized to relying connected backmost paddles successful this way, it’s hard to spell back. As idiosyncratic who has reviewed plentifulness of aftermarket controllers successful the past, I’ve recovered that manufacturers often conflict to get the actuation right. That’s not the lawsuit present – Nintendo nailed the feel. They’re casual capable to deed successful the vigor of the infinitesimal and I didn’t deed them by mishap astatine immoderate point, either; they beryllium flush with the controller’s handles truthful they don’t protrude oregon get successful the mode of a earthy grip. I conscionable property my mediate digit inward somewhat and get a bully tactile response.

I can’t accent capable however buttery-smooth the question of the analog sticks feels whether I’m whipping my kart astir corners erstwhile drifting successful Mario Kart World oregon taking purpose with a bow successful Tears of the Kingdom earlier relying connected gyroscope question controls to fine-tune my shot. I’d spell arsenic acold to accidental that I similar Nintendo’s plan of the analog sticks implicit the Xbox controller and DualSense. And comparing the Joy-Con to the Pro Controller is nighttime and time erstwhile it comes to shooters, going from astir unplayable to astir perfect arsenic acold arsenic gamepads spell – truthful if you’re playing Cyberpunk 2077 connected Switch 2, for example, the caller Pro Controller volition service you well.

The large question that won’t beryllium answered by a week’s worthy of usage is however good (or if astatine all) Nintendo has addressed the menace of instrumentality drift. Given that this caller Pro Controller uses the aforesaid mechanisms arsenic the erstwhile 1 and hasn’t adopted the progressively communal Hall Effect magnetic plan (which has shown to beryllium little faulty), it whitethorn beryllium susceptible to the aforesaid benignant of deterioration and malfunctions implicit time. Out of the box, though, these are immoderate of the champion sticks I’ve utilized connected a controller, Nintendo oregon otherwise.

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