Search hard enough and you’ll find that there is no shortage of third party controllers available for the Nintendo Switch. However, when stacked against the company’s own official Switch Pro Controller, very few compare in terms of features and overall quality.
Still, if you’re not willing to spent £60 for the real deal then there are some decent, cheaper alternatives on the market, one of the newest being Gioteck’s WX4.
Boasting the same core features at a fraction of the Pro Controller’s price, this is a great option for those who only play their Switch docked occasionally or fancy a secondary controller for local co-op which isn’t going to break the bank.
The WX4 is a no nonsense piece of kit that only costs £24.99 and can be used either wireless via bluetooth or by connecting a USB cable. Syncing up to the console for wireless is as simple as plugging it in with USB, and you’re good to go.
Gioteck’s gamepad will feel familiar to Switch players, rocking an asymmetric stick layout that matches a pair of Joy-Con, Switch Pro controller, or anything Xbox flavoured. Its button placement is easy to adjust to, but it has the advantages of featuring an actual D-pad that the Joy-Con lacks and triggers with analogue travel instead of the button-based triggers on Nintendo’s controllers. Those could be pretty key additions for racers, shooters and fighting games.
It ticks all the boxes, with rumble, motion control and a decent 12-hour battery life, but the WX-4 understandably isn’t as high quality or fully featured as Nintendo’s own Pro controller. There’s minor if understandable points like not having NFC support for amiibo or Nintendo’s excellent HD Rumble, but the Pro Controller boasts over three times the battery life, and you’ll have to have a microUSB cable to charge it (one of which is included) when the Switch and Nintendo’s accessories have all jumped over to USB-C.
The material choice here is also pretty basic. That won’t matter to most causal or younger gamers, but if you’re more serious about your Switch gaming, you might want something with a bit more heft and a more textured grip.