Hori Nintendo Switch Split Pad Pro (Daemon X Machina Edition) Ergonomic Controller Review

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I've always been partial to using my Switch in handheld mode.

The portability and added bonus of not monopolizing the living room Boob tube has led to a serious increment in my viable gaming hours.

But handheld way just can't cut it while playing certain games. Shooters are particularly tough. Fifty-fifty with gyroscopic aiming, playing a shooter in handheld style means relying on atomic analog sticks and a form factor that feels similar it wasn't designed with this sort of game in mind.

I don't just struggle with 3D shooters like 2016'southward DOOM. Any game that requires constant manipulation of the right analog stick can atomic number 82 to mitt strain and pain after an hour or and so. It's i of my least favorite parts of the hardware.

I've experimented with a number of potential solutions, including this comically-large plastic attachment from Satisfye. While that came close to fixing the issue, its bulk made it tough to justify when playing games that weren't shooters, or that didn't require ongoing employ of the right analog stick.

I think I've finally found a much better solution.

What is this thing?

A Nintendo Joy-Con controller next to one half of the Carve up Pad Pro

Photograph: Russ Frushtick/Polygon

Hori released the Split Pad Pro Daemon 10 Machina Edition back in 2019. The game it was tied to was forgettable, but the hardware itself has lived on as one of the best third-party accessories for the Nintendo Switch.

Have the Switch Pro Controller, chop it in one-half, and so slide those two halves into the slots where the Joy-Cons would unremarkably go when in handheld mode. It's as simple as that, but that change makes all the deviation. Thanks to the ergonomics of a full-sized controller, in that location are actual grips on the Carve up Pad Pro. Rather than having to pinch the Switch between your pollex and forefinger — as y'all would when using Joy-Cons — you tin can at present hold the grips as you would a traditional controller. It's much more comfy, and it feels much more natural.

Aslope the improved ergonomics are full-sized analog sticks, confront buttons and triggers that experience very close to what y'all'd detect on a traditional controller.

Keeping my pollex on the right analog stick no longer feels like a strain; it feels like it's resting exactly where it should. I recently played through all of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel with this zipper on my Switch and had no problems with hand strain or aiming.

Information technology was like I was playing on my Boob tube, with a traditional controller in hand. Even classics similar The Legend of Zelda: Jiff of the Wild were made easier cheers to improved accuracy when aiming arrows or directing the photographic camera. It'southward an instant boon to anyone who plays almost exclusively in handheld mode and has felt the hand strain that often comes with it.

It's also worth mentioning: The Split Pad Pro has assignable back buttons, and then if yous wanted to keep your thumbs on the sticks while striking the reload push in a shooter, you have that choice. You can also set any of the face buttons into "Turbo" mode, which treats holding downward a button as if it's being repeatedly tapped. (This proved surprisingly handy when skipping through excessive dialog in Beast Crossing: New Horizons.)

In that location are downsides

At that place are some drawbacks to the Split Pad Pro, however. The Joy-Con replacements have no wireless connectivity and must be slotted into the organization to work. You tin can't snap these off and paw them around the room if you have a few friends over to play Mario Kart. They're merely chunks of plastic when not connected.

They also have no rumble features, which means you'll miss any kind of haptic feedback built into the games you're playing. This may be a deal breaker for some, but I didn't discover the loss likewise devastating. It might be incommunicable to play any game that relies on rumble to requite the thespian necessary information, nevertheless, but these are rare.

The controllers also accept no batteries of their own, which ways they're powered by the Switch console's internal bombardment. I oasis't washed rigorous battery testing, but if there is an touch on on battery life, it hasn't been significant plenty to discourage me from using the hardware. It still may be worth keeping in mind if you're planning a long trip without many charging opportunities, nevertheless. (Merely who is taking trips these days, am I correct?)

The concluding thing to consider: Your Nintendo Switch is going to look very, very lightheaded once the Carve up Pad Pro controllers are attached. The increased bulk of the controllers may experience more than comfortable and make games easier to play, but it as well makes your Switch wider and objectively goofier-looking.

Functionally? The added bulk is perfectly fine and even fits into the dock without a problem. But it will besides make your console look similar an off-brand Batman gadget.

Should you get it?

Hori's Split Pad Pro definitely isn't for everyone. It'due south an easy accessory to skip if you lot're mostly playing Switch games with the console docked.

But if you find yourself constantly playing in handheld style and detect that a few games are as well much for your thumbs to handle, this will solve well-nigh of your bug at the price of rumble. Bold y'all tin can get over the aesthetic abomination of your new Switch, your hands will definitely cheers.

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| Photo: Hori

Hori Split up Pad Pro

• $49

Prices taken at time of publishing.

While Hori's larger gamepads add bulk to the Nintendo Switch Console, they brand for one of the most comfy experiences when playing Monster Hunter Ascent handheld.

• $49 at Amazon
• $l at All-time Buy

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Source: https://www.polygon.com/2020/7/22/21333317/hori-switch-split-pad-pro-review-impressions-nintendo-hands-on

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