If you're looking for a new gamepad to complement that brand-new Switch 2, Ninty's new Pro Controller can fill the void, assuming you can stomach the extravagant price. Mind you, there's a lot here: customisable rear buttons, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a 45-hour battery life chief amongst 'em. Even so, it still just falls short of living up to its price, with the original Pro Controller presenting more bang for your buck.
-
Design
-
Features
-
Build
-
Battery
-
Value
You haven’t been truly annoyed until you’ve tried to use the original Nintendo Switch Pro controller on Ninty’s latest console: the Nintendo Switch 2. Yeah, it works just as well as it did on the old hardware, but with one major flaw: it can’t wake the Switch 2. That means trudging up to the console to turn it on physically. Over and over.
We get it; first-world problems and all that, but after you’ve sunk into the couch for what feels like the hundredth time, only to get right back up in a huff, that Switch 2 Pro controller starts to look a little more appetising, even at the absurd R2,300 asking price. Nintendo’s gone to, uh, some lengths to make it worthy of the price bump. We’re talking customisable back buttons, an audio jack, new sticks, and a new “C” button.
Whether it’s actually worth that ridiculous price is another matter entirely.
Sweeping dust under the matte
Nintendo hasn’t gone for a dramatic design shift, even if the controller does feel a little smaller in our overlarge hands. That’s not to the Switch 2 Pro Controller’s detriment. In fact, the new design comfortably slots into our hands better than the old one ever could, with our fingers resting easily on the ZL and ZR triggers — with just enough reach for our thumbs to hit the A, B, X, Y, and D-Pad comfortably.
Still, it can’t quite beat the old look. Nintendo’s gone for a matte black coating this time around, ditching the see-through plastic of the old model that we truly loved. It’s technically more comfortable in-hand (even if it is a bit of a dust magnet), but we can’t forgive Nintendo for ridding itself of this one bit of 90s nostalgia.
It’s still got all the buttons you’d find on any Nintendo Switch controller (Pro or third-party), but with two new ones added into the mix. Those are the customisable ‘GL’ and ‘GR’ buttons on the rear and the new “C” button we’ve successfully avoided thus far. It’s more difficult to avoid those rear buttons, although that’s kinda the point. Unfortunately, despite their satisfying clickiness, these got in the way more often than not.
It might not look it, but Nintendo has upped the size of all those face buttons, and the difference really shows in use, particularly when dealing with the little ‘+’, ‘-‘, home, and capture buttons huddled around the controller’s middle. Where they were once sunk a little too deep in the original Pro Controller, their size and pronouncement make a difference in gameplay, even if they aren’t often used.
Nintendo’s moved the connection LEDs to the top of the controller right in front of the returning USB-C port — all to make room for a new 3.5mm audio jack. This is arguably the most important inclusion — at least for us — but really is a feature that should’ve been standard even on the original Pro Controller. Still, hooking this up to Beyerdynamic’s dedicated MMX 330 Pro gaming headset inside of Tears of the Kingdom was a special treat.
Stick(s) the landing
It was, in fact, the Switch 2 Pro Controller’s sticks that eventually got us to pick one of these up for ourselves. Having put it (briefly) to the test at the Switch 2 launch event, we wanted to see if these were just as slick on other games as on Mario Kart World. We’re glad to report that they are everything we hoped for.
Don’t get us wrong. Whatever the original Pro Controller packs in the stick department is still great, and we’ve yet to experience any sort of drift after nearly five years of use — but there’s something about the Switch 2 Pro Controller’s almost weightless sticks that just makes you feel like they (and you) are floating. They feel incredibly similar to the new Joy-Con 2 sticks, but with a whole lot more room for your fingers to play.
These offer such a significant improvement over the last iteration (and pretty much every other controller we’ve tested, including the DualSense Edge) that they’re almost worth the bonkers price. We wish we could say the same for the triggers, which feel largely unchanged, if a little deeper. More impressive were the new shoulder buttons, which provided an incredibly responsive and satisfying clickety-clack.
What should have been the star of the show and the main reason you’d want to drop R2,000+ on a controller are the new customisable GL and GR buttons on the rear. Mapping them is as easy as holding down the home button while the controller is connected and tapping the button you’d like each to mimic. That’s the good bit.
But in use… these didn’t quite live up to our expectations. Not only do they feel slightly out of place and prone to accidental touches (especially for a new player who didn’t know they were there), but they feel largely unnecessary for a console like the Nintendo Switch 2. We’re typically lining up to play more chilled games that don’t rely on any extra inputs to stay alive. Call us when Call of Duty finally turns up on the new hardware.
More impressive were the upgrades to HD Rumble. It’s not up to the standard of the haptics on even the regular DualSense, but it’s worthy of your hands, whatever the game. It’s definitely most noticeable in games like Donkey Kong Bananza and Mario Kart World — Nintendo’s first first-party games for the Switch 2. Go figure!
Nintendo reckons you’ll get roughly 40 hours of use from the Switch 2 Pro Controller — around the same as the last one — but our tests put this closer to the 45-hour mark. That’s more than worth the three-or-so hours it takes to fill up the tank all the way from zero. Oh, and it’ll wake the Switch 2 up from across the lounge.
Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller verdict
That said, while the Switch 2 Pro controller surpasses its sibling in every way, it does still fall short of that R2,300 price tag. Easily some of the best sticks we’ve ever used, and a too-late addition of an audio jack really is nice, but when the original Pro Controller and countless other third-party efforts can be had for fewer bucks at the expense of a little more effort, the choice is clear. Got cash to blow, though? Nintendo’s latest is a delightful treat.
