Review: Nintendo Switch Pro Controller

The Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons, they’re great little controllers for the vast majority of games, but sometimes, you need something more akin to a classic controller. A controller like the Super Nintendo gamepad. This review will cover the various aspects of the Pro Controller, the feel, the grip, the buttons, the price, the battery and finally I will give an overall opinion.

The feel of the controller is honestly quite good. It’s sleek and doesn’t really have any ergonomic issues. The shape is rather nice and both of my hands could grasp it well.

The grip of the controller is great, I feel like it won’t break down easily, compared to many other main system controllers. I’d say that if you want a controller that you can take anywhere, the Pro Controller fits the mold.

The buttons of the controller are the controller’s only real shortcoming, at least for 5 of them. The sync button, located on the front of the controller, is somewhat difficult to press, so when you’re pairing it, it can be a hit-and-miss process. Then we have the dpad, and compared to the PS4 controller, it falls very short. It’s very stiff and it can be hard to direct the controller to have your character move in a diagonal direction, such as up-forward or down-forward without really mashing it. The rest of the buttons, however, are great and feel just fine.

The price was $70 USD, which is a lot for a controller. I’d say that’s not too bad for a controller, considering how much they cost these days, but I think it should’ve priced like $20 cheaper, given that unlike the pair of Joy-Cons, you only get a single control pad.

The battery life is supposed to be 40 hours if I recall. That’s honestly really good battery for a wireless controller, although you can plug it into the USB-C port if you have the Switch docked and not have to worry. I’ve had no problems with it so far regarding battery.

Overall, I’d say that for the price, it’s a bit of letdown, and the buttons can cause issues when using the dpad. If you’re looking for a serious controller for the Nintendo Switch, it’s rather hard to find one that will be supported compared to the Pro Controller. I hope that Nintendo will put out a revision for serious players who want precise control in their games. I’ll give it a 3/5 because of the issues highlighted above. The dpad issue I find to be very serious, at least for me.