Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller Review

There’s only so much you can do to improve on a tried-and-true design of a controller, and making changes for the sake of it might just open it up to new flaws along the way. Such is the case with the new Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller, which sticks to what works and doesn’t veer far off the beaten path. That begs the question: why not just keep using the original Pro Controller if you have one? Well, you can, and you wouldn’t miss out on too much, if you’re not swayed by some of the Switch 2’s new features. I still have my gripes with Nintendo’s official gamepad, including the jump in price, but the Switch 2 Pro Controller remains a well-built gamepad that does some things better than most. And for those who play docked, it’s an essential Switch 2 accessory as it’s miles ahead of even the new Switch 2 Joy-Con in terms of performance and comfort.

Switch 2 Pro Controller – Fundamentals

There isn’t much to the package; you get the controller and a five-foot USB-A to USB-C cable. I do wish it came with a longer cable to make it easier to both charge and use the controller at the same time in home theater setups, and so I’ve relied on a cheap 10-foot USB cable for my own setup. The Switch 2 Pro Controller pairs like any other – you just go to the “Pair New Controller” option in the Home menu, hold the pairing button on top of the gamepad, wait for the LED to start blinking, and hit the bumpers when prompted. Or just plug it into the Switch 2 with the USB cable.

Looking at the controller itself, you’ll notice some physical changes from the previous Pro Controller, like the light gray accents of the analog stick mounds and the topside parts where the USB-C port, pairing button, triggers, and bumpers are located. The body of the controller is made with a grippy matte black texture that feels good in the hands, avoiding the cheap plastic feel of some less expensive controllers that might creak or get slimy from usage. I do miss the rubberized material on the old one, but this isn’t a bad alternative at all. It’s a dense and durable controller that makes for a premium feel.

One thing I’m not a fan of, as was the case with the original Switch Pro Controller, is that the actual handles you grip to hold the controller are still quite small. Compared to the DualSense, Xbox controller, or most full-sized third-party options, the Switch 2 Pro Controller doesn’t fill the palm of my hands. These thinner handles help the controller keep a slimmer profile, but it’s at the expense of proper ergonomics and long-term comfort, especially for those with bigger hands.

All the other fundamentals of the Switch 2 Pro Controller are fantastic. The B, A, Y, and X face buttons are large and balanced, feeling soft to the touch and responsive enough for rapid inputs. Perhaps my favorite aspect is the smooth analog sticks that have a consistent resistance along their full range of motion that I’d begrudgingly describe as “creamy” (Though my one gripe is the RS and LS stick-click inputs are a tad too stiff, taking a bit too much effort to press downward). I found the directional pad to be a slight improvement – although it feels very similar to its predecessor, I’ve anecdotally experienced fewer errant inputs since it’s better at distinguishing the directions I was pressing, which is important for many of the 2D action-platformers that thrive on Switch.

The bumpers and triggers are light to the touch with easy-going tactile feedback, as you would expect from the Pro Controller. However, it’s disappointing that Nintendo still hasn’t adopted analog triggers, which limits its versatility (especially if you want to use this as a PC controller, too). Granted, the hair-trigger feeling of ZL and ZR is super responsive and works really well for most games that frequently rely on them, but anything that has some kind of acceleration or pressure-based input mechanic is going to need some sort of game-side workaround.

Switch 2 Pro Controller – New Features

The Switch 2 Pro Controller brings programmable back buttons – a hallmark of many high-end gamepads – to a first-party Nintendo controller for the first time. Marked as GL and GR, these back buttons allow you to mirror the input of any other button, giving you the ability to use face button actions, for example, without having to take your thumb off the right thumbstick. Although you can’t map them through the controller itself, you can do so swiftly through the Switch 2 system menus. You simply hold the Home button and change the button assignments there by pressing GL or GR, then the button you want assigned. These assignments are also recorded on a per game basis for added convenience. Many third-party Switch gamepads have some form of back button inputs, but it’s nice to see Nintendo seamlessly incorporate them into its own controller this time.

Something as basic as a 3.5mm audio jack built into the controller seems like common sense, but only now do we have a Switch Pro Controller with one. I’m not here to praise Nintendo finally catching up to the crowd, but it does make using wired earbuds or headphones so much easier than having to use something with a cable long enough to reach your Switch when playing docked.

There’s one more new button on this updated Pro Controller: the C button on the bottom center accesses an exclusive Switch 2 function: Nintendo’s new GameChat. This button jumps you straight into the system’s GameChat app, giving you quick access to setup a chat room or configure its options. Those who plan to be more social in multiplayer settings with their Switch 2 will find this button much more convenient than flipping through menus to set up or fiddle with GameChat, which you’d have to do if you’re using a previous-generation controller.

Another reason to upgrade – and I am going to give Nintendo grief for this – is that you can’t wake up your Switch 2 with the previous-gen controllers. It’s a minor inconvenience, but just annoying enough to ever so slightly push us to buy the new controller.

Switch 2 Pro Controller – Performance

The Switch 2 Pro Controller does some things exceptionally well and somewhat misses the mark in other respects, but when it comes to the actual gameplay experience, it’s as great as you’d expect from a flagship first-party gamepad. More importantly, it’s a massive improvement over using the tiny and unergonomic Joy-Con 2 with their packaged grip attachment.

The GL and GR back buttons come in clutch in several games with complex control schemes, such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Setting sprint to GR and weapon select to GL helps keep my thumbs on the sticks at all times, and in intense combat scenarios, the controls felt a lot less clunky. The same principle applies to any game with important actions set to the face buttons that also require right-stick camera controls, and once you get used to relying on back paddles in this way, it’s hard to go back. As someone who has reviewed plenty of aftermarket controllers in the past, I’ve found that manufacturers often struggle to get the actuation right. That’s not the case here – Nintendo nailed the feel. They’re easy enough to hit in the heat of the moment and I didn’t hit them by accident at any point, either; they sit flush with the controller’s handles so they don’t protrude or get in the way of a natural grip. I just press my middle finger inward slightly and get a nice tactile response.

I can’t stress enough how buttery-smooth the motion of the analog sticks feels whether I’m whipping my kart around corners when drifting in Mario Kart World or taking aim with a bow in Tears of the Kingdom before relying on gyroscope motion controls to fine-tune my shot. I’d go as far to say that I prefer Nintendo’s design of the analog sticks over the Xbox controller and DualSense. And comparing the Joy-Con to the Pro Controller is night and day when it comes to shooters, going from nearly unplayable to almost ideal as far as gamepads go – so if you’re playing Cyberpunk 2077 on Switch 2, for example, the new Pro Controller will serve you well.

The big question that won’t be answered by a week’s worth of usage is how well (or if at all) Nintendo has addressed the threat of stick drift. Given that this new Pro Controller uses the same mechanisms as the previous one and hasn’t adopted the increasingly common Hall Effect magnetic design (which has shown to be less faulty), it may be susceptible to the same type of wear and malfunctions over time. Out of the box, though, these are some of the best sticks I’ve used on a controller, Nintendo or otherwise.

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