8Bitdo Pro 2 Bluetooth Controller for Switch/Switch 2, Hall Effect Joysticks, 2 Pro Back Paddle Buttons, Wireless Gaming Controller for Switch, PC, Android, and Steam Deck & Apple (Gray Edition)

I loved the SN30 Pro+, so I had to pre-order the 8-bit do Pro 2. One new addition is the addition of back buttons, which will prove really useful in games where the only way to use gyro in a game is to map inputs to keyboard and mouse using Steam. The only game I've found where this is actually needed is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, I used the Steam controller to play the single-player since the Steam controller has back buttons. Now we have another controller with gyro that has extra buttons. Granted, I haven't tested to see how it actually works yet, but there's always a way to emulate buttons on a gamepad. Another nice addition is the addition of a switch that let's you quickly put it into PC/Android/Switch/MacOS mode. The old method of doing this was annoying. The d-pad, analog stick, and gyro all feel a bit different than the SN30 Pro+, clearly 8bitdo is listening to feedback and trying to improve their gamepads-- it would sure be nice if Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo did this. So I did some really quick, mostly unscientific performance tests to see how the features of the Pro 2 controller work.I'm more of a casual gamer, so this analysis will be more useful for people who don't play as many games.I'll start with the gyro aka tilt controls or motion controls, this will be really important if you play Splatoon 2, or would rather use a gamepad on PC than a kb/m but want more accuracy. Gyro only works in Nintendo Switch mode. Even though the PC recognizes it as a DS4 in Android mode, the gyro will not work. You can't use it in basic PC mode, though, because it recognizes it as an Xbox One controller which has no gyro. For those who don't know how to get gyro controls working on PC, I'll explain. If your game is on Steam, you're good to go. You'll have to enable Steam to detect Switch Pro controllers and then go into controller configuration and configure it for each individual game. The little unlabeled button that most people would miss, right below the controller, allows you to use gyro. Unless the game doesn't recognize gamepad inputs, you're probably going to want to set it to mouse joystick, otherwise set it to mouse. This way you'll be able to aim by tilting the controller, like in Splatoon. If the game is not a Steam game(say Epic Games store or Windows Store), you can use a free program called DS4Windows which will recognize input from the DS4, Switch Pro, and Joy-cons, and convert them to kb/m or xbox inputs, allowing you to use them in almost every game in Windows. Note that the original version was abandoned and picked up by someone else, and is now up to version 3.0. Don't download the old version.Since I used Aimlab for my tests, I had to tell steam to recognize the Pro 2's inputs as a mouse. This may have led to an issue. In short, you'll want to specify a dead zone on gyro controls. If it's too low you won't be able to hit anything because the cursor will be wobbling everywhere. If it's too high, your cursor will just stay there when you're trying to make precise movement. I could not get it to have enough of a dead zone to prevent wobbling, making it hard to line up a precise shot. Strangely, it wasn't an issue with the DS4. And I don't remember this being an issue with the Pro+ a while back. I'm thinking the drivers that DS4Windows installed recently somehow messed up mouse emulation throughout Windows, because I'm having all sorts of issues with DS4Windows and even Steam is having minor issues, like occasional drifting on multiple gamepads. Hopefully the next version will be out and fix that soon. I could have easily fixed this deadzone problem if I was able to configure gyro with DS4Windows, but I have to make do with Steam for now.So as for the resultsOn spidershot precision, which is where gyro aiming really excels I got 70 hits and 3 misses as a high score on a mouse after trying a few times. That was about a 50k score. I know that's really bad, but it's mainly because I haven't been playing shooters much recently.With the Pro 2 I got 65 hits and 4 misses - 43.6kWith the Switch Pro I got 58 hits and 8 misses - 38kThe day before I had gotten exactly 43.6k with the DS4 and 42k with the Sn30 Pro+While the DS4 tied the Pro 2, the lack of a good dead zone was causing me to miss on the Pro 2. When I'm able to fix it, I think the Pro 2 will surpass it. Worth noting is that I've used an adapter to play Splatoon 2 with a DS4, and it felt inferior to the SN30 Pro+, but better than the joy-cons. That's just based on instinct, though. I've also done Aim Lab with the Steam controller's tilt controls and the joy-cons, but the scores were *much* lower than the other gamepads, so I didn't bother with them this time.I did gridshot as well, the high scores were129 hits 6 misses - Pro 2166 hits 3 misses - MouseAnd for the heck of it, I tried an Xbox One controller with an Analog stick, the results were64 hits 1 missNote that when I was doing more practice with a mouse I was able to hit 220 targets with 95% accuracy, almost twice that of a gamepad with gyro, though I have noticed that my performance with gamepads goes up proportionally with my performance with a good mouse, as well as my performance with a cheap mouse compared to a good gaming mouse. So maybe it's learning the game, rather than learning the hardware.Okay, conclusion, I did best with a Pro 2 and a DS4, and think with proper mouse emulation, the Pro 2 would surpass the DS4. I'd go with the Pro 2 over the Switch Pro controller in Splatoon 2 myself, but if you like the Switch Pro, then you can probably stick with that, since the differences were not night and day. But I prefer the 8Bitdo gamepads.So for gyro 10/10The rest of my tests were less scientific. I liked the feel of the d-pad on the Pro 2 more than the Pro+. It felt a little more SNES, whereas oddly, the Pro+ felt more NES. I tried out Contra with a vintage NES controller and a Pro 2, Ninja Gaiden(NES) with a Pro 2, and Contra 3 with a Pro 2. Contra seemed to feel better on an NES controller, but I actually got further with the Pro 2. Ninja Gaiden and Contra 3 felt great on the Pro 2. I'd say you probably can't beat using the gamepad the game was specifically designed for, but the Pro 2 is a great device for retro games if you don't have adapters for the old game padFor D-pad 9/10So to test the analog stick I did Touhou 15: Legacy of the Lunatic Kingdom on lunatic mode(yikes). I didn't get very far, naturally, since I would normally play SHMUPs on normal difficulty. I tested the M30(an 8bitdo controller with an 8 directional d-pad based off the Saturn controller), Xbox One controller, a DS3, and a Pro 2. I got the furthest with the M30 and it felt the best, no surprise there. Xbox One and Pro 2 were about equal, not really a huge surprise because modern Analog sticks are all made by the same company. To my surprise, I did the worst with the DS3, it seemed harder to do precise movements, which is weird because it seemed to do great in stealth games. But SHMUPs are generally not pressure sensitive, so maybe it's not that weird. I thought the Analog stick on the Pro 2 felt really good, but it didn't translate to significantly better performance, but I didn't really do enough tests to get an accurate impression. I'm going to go out on a limb, though, and say that as far as analog sticks go on modern gamepads, they're pretty interchangeable. Many people in the SHMUP community swear by the DS2, though, so analog sticks may have been better in the past. For now I'm sticking to the M30.As far as the analog stick goes, I'm giving it a 7/10.In conclusion, I'd say the Pro 2 has a really good d-pad, and gyro and analog sticks that are at least on par with the official gamepads. Plus it's cheaper and has more features. It also has pressure-sensitive triggers and a PC, so you can use it for Forza Horizon 4 on PC without problems. Don't hesitate to get this gamepad, even over the Switch Pro controller. It's good that 3rd parties are trying to make high quality controllers now, instead of just cheap knockoff controllers. Maybe one day 8bitdo will make a $150 gamepad designed for eSports, much like the high-end mechanical keyboards and mice they have on PC.

This remains my all-time favorite controller, but it isn't perfect. I started with the ALPS Pro 2, switched to an Ultimate, now I'm back to the Pro 2 with the hall effect variety. I also like their Ultimate, but this one has some SERIOUS advantages over it, which I'll be mentioning.Pros:-The battery life.The battery easily lasts through a marathon session, and if it happens to die you can swap it out for AAs easily. It's something you don't see in enough controllers now- the ability to change the battery without prying open the controller. It means that even after the battery starts to deteriorate, the controller will still be usable. That's an advantage it has over the more expensive Ultimate.-Customization:Full disclosure: the 8bitdo software is wonky as heck. It doesn't resize properly for different size screens, and sometimes you'll have to move the window around your screen to access buttons at the bottom of the window. This is is an ongoing issue that they need to get on, cuz it's super annoying. That being said, it does everything it promises. Download and run the software (which is self-contained, so you don't need to install it) and it just works. No driver installs, no fiddling, nothing. Within 60 seconds you can go from downloading the software to having finished your customizations. You can remap any button on the controller, change the vibration level, adjust dead zones for the sticks and analog triggers (WONDERFUL), and set macros. You can set and save up to 3 custom profiles to the device itself, and switch between them and the unaltered layout by pressing the button between the sticks. As a use-case example, I use my controller mainly on PC but also on the Switch. I have the paddles mapped so they perform the same action as pressing the sticks, which helps prevent soreness in games where you trigger things like sprinting or sneaking (looking at you, Skyrim...) using the stick. Additionally, I increased the dead zone on the analog triggers to prevent accidental activation because I can be a bit twitchy.-Build Quality8BitDo's whole thing is mimicking classic controllers. This philosophy seems to extend to the build quality; this thing is as tough as the Game Boy that its buttons ape the design of.Now, onto the cons.-The battery life, again.Now I know what you're thinking. Didn't he say that the battery life was amazing, and listed it as a pro? Well, yes. It lasts a super long time. But here's my issue with it: the only indication you get when the battery is low is the charging light flashes. The charging light is on the top of the controller, so it is fully facing away from you when it's in use. There are 3 lights on the face of the controller (which are used to indicate which profile you're using) and an additional FOUR on the bottom facing you. I wish that those were utilized to indicate a low battery. I've had a few instances where the controller died on me midgame because I didn't realize it was low.-DesignNow this is a super minor thing, but 8bitdo please bring back the snes face design! The game boy one is cool and all, but I loved how the snes controller had concave buttons for x and y. In made it so easy to orient yourself without looking down at the controller.