I want to replace my old GameSir G3s with a controller preferably under €70-75. Initially I wanted an european gamepad but the only 2 options (ready2gaming and snakebyte) was so non existent or questionable that I had to swallow my EU nationalism.
Gaming style:
- Only use controllers where it’s highly recommended
- Preferred genre for controllers would be arcade racing and JRPGs mostly
- Will only play on wireless (2.4ghz)
Preferences:
- Either TMR or high quality HE sticks
- Doesn’t look boring (preferably it has some amounts of LED / RGB)
- Xbox stick position layout (I want to try it out)
- Linux compatibility (don’t care about consöles)
- Doesn’t have a shit QC (8bitdo’s are apparently like that)
- I have larger hands, so maybe not a small controller
Currently these are some controllers that seems to be in my range. I’m interested if you know about even better controllers.
- GameSir Cyclone 2
- GameSir Supernova
- FlyDigi Direwolf 4?
For around twice that I’d go with a razor wolverine v3 wireless controller, comfortable back buttons, adjustable trigger draw, 2 shoulder buttons and a trigger per side, it’s basically my dream layout.
https://www.razer.com/console-controllers/razer-wolverine-v3-pro
For within the price range one of the ones you mentioned or maybe a switch pro controller
I have a FLYDIGI Direwolf 4. Great controller for the money, seems at least as good as the big console ones. Probably better and was plug and play with Linux (SparkyLinux rolling).
I own the Speedlink Rait NX RGB, which works fine under Fedora.
TMR, Transparent RGB, 2.4GHz, dirt cheap and good build quality. Even has 2 programmable macro buttons on the back, no software needed.
I have a Gulikit KK3 Pro (NS38) and a KK2T (NS09), both are great and while I got them for free in giveaways, they go around 40€.
The KK2T is Bluetooth only, the KK3 Pro came with a dedicated 2.4GHz dongle (but Bluetooth is available as well)
Both have the Xbox stick layout, but the button layout is Nintendo (they are also switch compatible). Apparently, the buttons can be replaced, but I couldn’t find a place that has the Xbox button layout in stock - at least not in my specific colorways.
The KK2T is plain black without any LEDs, the KK3 Pro I got is DMG Gameboy themed: Beige plastic, pink buttons and LED rings around the sticks that have different lighting modes (reactive to stick movement, solid, reacting to trigger pulls etc.)
I’ve owned 3 different 8bitdos, and they have some of the best QC on the market.
With that, the ultimate 2 is a brilliant wireless 2.4g controller with a dock. Works out of the box, no config required.
I have 4 8bitdo Ultimate 2C gamepads. 2 Nintendo layout and 2 Xbox layout. They feel better than the Series X standard gamepad I had before. My oldest is 2 years old. Durable for me but I don’t smash the buttons and sticks anywhere near as hard as possible like I’ve seen other people do when gaming. Like video game road ragers
Really? My 8bitdo outlived any other controllers I have owned, minus some features lacking
Not necessarily, I might have been just misinformed or got influenced by the negativity bias. It might actually be good in QC.
Aren’t they Bluetooth rather than 2.4ghz? Not sure why you would want that instead though, isn’t Bluetooth a better choice?
8bitdo does both. Even though bluetooth is also 2.4ghz and combined with the wifi board these days, I find it struggles more with physical objects worsening the signal or being far or in different rooms like when I used to have my office on the opposite side of the wall the tv is mounted to and used one pc for everything.
Their quality control has gotten worse though. I have an ‘ultimate’ that had the back paddles crack and fall off, and a pro 3 that had the face buttons shatter right before the end of a perfect attempt at the last berserker fight in god of war ragnarok
Years ago I bought both a Steam Controller1 and a Logitech F310. The steam controller struggled to work at all outside of steam, was uncomfortable to use for any extended time and half the games I owned needed a ton of setup to be playable.
Despite being cheaper the Logitech worked with everything, required zero setup and is comfortable for hours. I sold my steam controller and am still happily using the F310.
Based F310 enjoyer. Your dedication is respectable.
Kingkong 3. Do not get the 8bit do if you have large hands everyone who recommends it is a troll.
We use a pre-owned PS4 controller and it’s amazing, heavily recommend
I own a couple of 8bitdo Ultimate 2, they’re excellent and seem to tick all the boxes, but they’re on the smaller end I guess.
Do you feel that it’s a bit too small for you?
Oh, and I can’t speak for Linux compatibility personally, I’ve only read that it works fine.
No, it’s perfect for me, but I don’t have particularly big hands. For a point of comparison, it’s every so slightly tinier than my Xbox Series controller, and holds better than it. I always found that one tends to slowly slip forward out of my grip (=towards my belly) because of its tapered shape.
In contrast the Ultimate reminds me a little of the Gamecube controller, because it’s slightly more concave below, where the ring fingers come to rest, and that helps stabilize it.My single gripe with it is the dpad, which coming from the Xbox Series feels like a bit of a downgrade : not clicky, a tad mushy. I’ve known worse, but it’s not the best. Fortunately that’s not a dealbreaker for me as I don’t use it often
I seem to have minor compatibility issues with most controllers on my EndeavourOS PC, but it seems to vary more with the games than with the different controller brands themselves. Seconding 8BitDo being pretty tough though.
Now the real question is, has anyone designed an open source controller (not fightstick/hitbox), that is purchasable? Like Ploopy or Tindie or something?
I have a ton of 8bitdo stuff and have never had any issues. They’re my favorite controllers.
Doesn’t have a shit QC (8bitdo’s are apparently like that)
Can’t confirm. I own 3 controllers, a keyboard, a numpad and a mouse by 8bitdo. None of them have any hardware issues. Only issue is that the software is meh and Windows/Mac-only. But it’s a plug-and-play controller, so you really don’t need the software unless you want to do stuff like define macros (which you can just use Steam input for).
They have software? Had a couple of them for a while and never even considered a need for any software.
Also came here to suggest 8bitdo, it is genuinely higher quality than any official Xbox or PS controller I’ve owned. Not sure what OP is on about.
Yeah, 8bitdo’s also have official SteamOS support too, which is a plus point.
Be warned it only seems to work in Bluetooth mode for some reason, via the dongle I don’t get the back paddles to show up. That being said I want to echo the fact that I also have an 8BitDo and has had great quality. Also they work out of the box in Linux, so no worries there.
Is that all of them or just some? Got a couple of the wireless 2C currently and probably going to get a few more at some point. Not sure how others compare.
Hmm do you mean other possible controller alternatives that I was able to find? If you care about latency you can check out this site, which lists off a lot of controllers and you can search for only TMR and HE controllers too. https://gamepadla.com/
I owned both GameSir and 8bitdo controllers. All my GameSir ones have fallen apart (stick drift, trigger broke off), while the 8bitdo ones are still alive despite my kids’ best efforts.
I have two 8bitdo controllers and they’re both great. I’m not sure what makes you think they are shit. I’ve only ever heard good things and that’s been my experience. I intend to get a third one to replace my dying ps3 controllers.
Well you may be right, I’ve just read comparably more complaints on faulty 8bitdo Ultimate 2 controllers compared to the Cyclone 2 (these 2 controllers are frequently being compared to eachother) and whilst I don’t trust too much in TrustPilot but the ratings of these 2 brands are far away (2.2 and 4.0 basically) which was sus. So it seemed to me that their QC isn’t as strict as GameSir’s is.
Chiming in. I have several 8bitdo products including the Ultimate 2. Love them all.
Maybe it is one of those “victim of their own success” situations. Hey have more complaints than some other brands because they sold so many more products that theres bound to be someone with a problem somewhere by statistics alone.
I have two 8bitdo ultimate 2c controllers (the cheaper Xbox style controllers) and they’ve been great. The only thing they’re missing is RGB, other than that they tick every box. I use them for my steam deck and on my bazzite PC and they work flawlessly, have held up very well in the ~8 months of regular use they’ve seen. My one (minor) gripe is battery life. A charge lasts several days, but my Xbox one controllers lasted about a week, sometimes more when I was using them. They’re USB-C, charge pretty quick, and you can use them while they’re charging so it’s not a big deal but still worth mentioning
Ultimate 2 actually fits all of the boxes if I’m lucky with QC because it has some tasteful RGBs in there and it looks beautiful honestly. Battery life isn’t a problem if you use the dock tho. Did you buy it without the dock?
Those led rings were part of the selling point for me, but honestly I turn them off all the time. It’s nice that they’re there, but they’re so bright and, well, I’m not looking at my hands when playing.
The 2C doesn’t have the connection points for a dock, that’s part of the features they cut back on for the budget option. It also doesn’t have the RGB or the buttons on the underside of the controller. I’m happy with my choice but I’ve also been tempted for the higher end version for all of that stuff too
On the QC thing, the 8bitdo controllers are less “refined” than a dual shock or an Xbox controller. The abxy buttons have a little play side to side in them and minor stuff like that. They’re slightly lower build quality than the big name controllers, but not in any way that will affect gameplay or responsiveness. The joysticks have tuneable dead zones, you can test the pressure sensitivity in the triggers, and fully configure the layout to suit your needs. They connect without a hitch and the 2.4g is very low latency. I watched a few vidoes comparing controllers when I was looking and the QC thing came up too. I was a bit apprehensive but pulled the trigger and, with the experience I’ve had (on cheaper controllers no less) I feel that a lot of professional reviews place an undue emphasis on their QC. They may have been lower quality in the past, but I genuinely haven’t had an issue with them and they’ve held up great so far
+1 on that. I own an old SN30 pro+ and a new ultimate 2c (which has amazing value for 30$). Both are flawless.
I have a SN30 Pro and i havent used it much since probably '18 or '19 but the rubberized sticks completly dissolved already. I have 30 year old PS1 controllers in the basement where the rubber held up better. You can buy replacements for a few bucks though! Not too happy about it but its okay i guess all things considered.
The 8BitDo Ultimate Wireless 2 has been perfect for me and fits all your criteria.
I know they had QC issues with their dpads on their earlier controllers but it seems they’ve long fixed that as I don’t see people reporting it anymore on their subreddit.I know they had QC issues with their dpads on their earlier controllers
Anecdotal: I just had a trigger on an 8BitDo Ultimate Bluetooth fail. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a button or trigger fail on any other gamepad I’ve ever owned, so that was a bit disappointing.
Letsgooo! One last question. Do you have big hands and does it fit good on you? Ultimate 2 seems less wide than other GameSir controllers.
I have big hands. Ultimate 2 is awesome and the gyro worked in Linux after I set it up under windows since it stores the config in the controller. It’s been my main controller for a year.
