Nintendo Switch Pro Controller - Review 2022

Out of the box, the Nintendo Switch is a remarkably functional game organization thanks to its Joy-Con controllers. They're a pair of wireless gamepads that can adhere to the Switch's sides for portable use, or be held separately when the Switch is docked and connected to a Telly or sitting on a table. They also form a good approximation of a conventional gamepad with the included Joy-Con Grip, though they don't feel quite every bit solid every bit a one-piece gamepad similar the Xbox One Wireless Controller.

For that experience you need to get the optional $69.99 Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. Like the Wii U Pro Controller before it, information technology provides a satisfyingly familiar gameplay feel that y'all don't quite go out of box. $70 for a controller is pretty pricey ($10 more than the standard Xbox One or PlayStation four wireless controllers), but it's too $10 less than getting another pair of Joy-Cons.

Design

The Pro Controller feels very solid in the hands, comparable with the Xbox One's gamepad in size and just a pilus heavier at 8.3 ounces (the Xbox I controller is 8 ounces with two AA batteries). If you tried to identify the 2 solely by their outline, y'all'd think they were the same. This means the Pro Controller is pleasingly dense, if not quite as rock-solid as the 12.iii-ounce, $150 Xbox Aristocracy Wireless Controller. The Pro Controller is currently merely bachelor in black, with matte black grips and a translucent black shell over the controls.

Like the Wii U Pro Controller, the Switch Pro uses an Xbox-style button configuration, with the 2 analog sticks offset rather than parallel from each other. A digital direction pad sits just below and to the right of the left analog stick, and four face buttons (A/B/Ten/Y) sit just above and to the correct of the right analog stick. Small, circular capture, home, plus, and minus buttons sit between them, arranged around a Nintendo Switch logo. The top of the gamepad holds two shoulder buttons on each side (L/ZL and R/ZR), a USB-C port for charging, an indicator LED that shows when the gamepad is plugged in, and a small pairing button. The bottom of the gamepad holds four status LEDs that show it's connected and which player it'south set to.

According to Nintendo, the Pro Controller can last up to twoscore hours between charges. A five-foot USB-C cable is included, and yous can easily plug it into a USB port on the Switch Dock.

Nintendo Switch Pro Controller

More than Than Buttons

The Switch Pro Controller is packed with almost of the various tricks Nintendo put in each pair of Joy-Cons; the just deviation between them is that yous can't split the Pro Controller into two halves like the left and right Joy-Cons.

The gamepad features motion controls, Hard disk drive rumble, and Amiibo functionality (the Switch logo is an NFC zone, and works with both Amiibos and Skylanders figures), like the Joy-Cons. The motion sensors work very well, and I could easily target enemy weak points in The Fable of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The controller lacks the right Joy-Con's infrared camera, but that characteristic seems very specifically designed for motion-based games where your hands are separate and not gripping a unmarried controller.

I enjoyed playing Breath of the Wild with the Switch Pro. Its actress heft and solid build felt more substantial than the Joy-Cons in the included grip or the optional Joy-Con Charging Grip. That said, the Joy-Cons feel perfectly fine on their ain, and if I didn't take admission to the Pro Controller, I don't call up I'd peculiarly miss it. Playing on the Switch with such a beefy gamepad is dainty, and you tin't practice information technology out of the box, but I don't find it completely necessary.

Should You Go Pro?

You don't really need the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller when you have 2 Joy-Cons and the grip, but it's notwithstanding an splendid gamepad. It's a conventional controller for an anarchistic game arrangement, and information technology makes games that don't rely on the novelty of the Joy-Cons' modular design experience that much more familiar. If you plan to play more traditional games like Breath of the Wild and Skyrim rather than 1, 2, Switch and Snipperclips, or if the Joy-Cons feel a scrap pocket-size and light in the grip to y'all, it's a good investment.