Nintendo made it difficult for third-party Switch controllers to really shine, as they will struggle to work in all the different situations the Switch console itself can find itself in. Some Switch controllers may try to offer flexibility or just rely on a wireless connection, while others will try to mimic the Switch Joy-Con. Hori’s new Split Pad Compact controllers fall into the latter camp. They also follow up the Hori Split Pad Pro with a more colorful design and reduced size. Ultimately, they serve as a size and capability upgrade to the Joy-Con while coming in at a lower price. Unfortunately, there are some trade-offs that prevent them from being a complete substitute for Nintendo’s original controllers. Let’s dig in.
Hori Split Pad Compact – Design and Features
The Hori Split Pad Compact acts just like Joy-Con at the base level. They slot right into the sides of a Nintendo Switch where Joy-Con would go, and they draw their power right from the Switch. The grips bring a bit of Switch Lite color to the standard Switch consoles, with an Apricot Red model as well as onel that combines a light gray front with what I can only describe as a kind of sickly yellow back.
Don’t be fooled by the “compact” in the name, though. These controllers offer substantially more room for bigger hands than the actual Joy-Con. They provide larger shoulder buttons and triggers, and the thumbsticks are taller, bigger around, and textured. For me this extra size is a considerable improvement for comfort compared to the cramped Joy-Con. There’s still room to go larger in my mind, (I’m 6-foot-3), but the size here will likely prove more comfortable for most adults and even teens.
That size increase has some bigger implications for Switch owners, though. For one, good luck fitting your new Switch and Split Pad Compact combo into a Switch case if you already picked up a form-fitting one. The Split Pad Compact also won’t fit into the Joy-Con grip, though it wouldn’t work even if it could fit, because it only supports a direct connection to the Switch itself – no USB, no Bluetooth, no wireless.
Continuing on the theme of things the Split Pad Compact doesn’t offer, you won’t find HD rumble (or standard definition rumble, for that matter), an NFC reader, an IR camera (though when does the Joy-Con really ever use that anyway), or a gyro sensor. Rumble is convenient to have, sure, but the gyro sensor can be critical for certain games. For instance, you’ll never beat all of the shrines in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild without that gyro, and aiming arrows may prove more difficult.
The Hori Split Pad Compact offers something to make up for what it lacks, though. Around the back of each grip, there are two buttons that can be mapped to any of the face buttons on the corresponding grip. While useful, that does unfortunately mean you can’t map any of the ABXY buttons onto the left grip’s back button, nor D-pad buttons onto the right grip’s. Hori tops this off with a Turbo button on each grip that can automatically, rapidly repeat an input while a button is held down.
An interesting little extra on the design of the Split Pad Compact controller is a small piece of plastic that extends to overlap with the back of the Switch itself and bumps out from the back. This piece likely aims to protect the controller trigger when the Switch is set down on a table while also reducing the likelihood of damaging the Switch’s controller rails with the extra leverage the larger controllers provide.
Hori Split Pad Compact – Gaming and Performance
The Hori Split Pad Compact is a competent set of controls that offers a performance upgrade over the standard Joy-Con controls. The extra room to move on the joysticks makes delicate and precise movements far easier to execute. Playing Breath of the Wild, I didn’t find myself as frequently veering off course while teetering along the edge of some escarpment – something that happened often with the Joy-Con’s clunky joysticks.
The face buttons are larger and easier to land on with a quick thumb press, and all of the buttons have a little more play before depressing than those of the Joy-Con. They have a bit of resistance without feeling mushy to press down, but they can wiggle about a little bit. This doesn’t make them any less dependable in the throes of combat. Though the triggers have a bit more room to move, Hori stuck with non-analog ones that lack sensitivity.
The buttons on the underside Split Pad Compact are an effective extra tool in the arsenal. They’re easy to map to a face button, and let me keep my hands on the analog sticks for consistent control. In Breath of the Wild, I was able to combine them with Turbo on the right controls to pull off the infinite running trick which normally entails holding down on the D-Pad and repeatedly tapping B – a maneuver that’s terribly tricky to accomplish normally without having to let go over the thumbsticks.
Though the Hori Split Pad Compact improves on the basic controls, its lack of certain control features holds it back as a complete replacement for the original Joy-Con. Not being able to aim or control the game with a gyroscope proved troublesome, and I found myself having to switch back to the Joy-Con to complete challenges (FWIW: it’s possible to use a Split Pad Compact grip on one side of the Switch and a Joy-Con on the other to get some of the benefit of Hori’s controls while retaining gyroscopic aim). Since the Split Pad Compact also only works while connected to the Switch, they’re no use while the console is docked.
Purchasing guide
The Hori Split Pad Compact is available from Best Buy for $49 starting October 2nd.
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