8BitDo Professional 3 overview: higher specs, extra customization, minor faults

So far as I’m involved, 8BitDo’s Professional 3 is the last word controller. You might already know that it makes a mannequin actually referred to as the Ultimate controller, nevertheless it performs second fiddle to the brand new Professional 3 in some key methods. It’s extremely customizable, permitting you to vary the face buttons, joystick caps, and extra.

Let me clarify: like most different 8BitDo controllers, it’s made to work on a number of platforms, however the Professional 3’s swappable ABXY face buttons permit it to truly remodel as wanted, say, should you’re going from Swap to PC, or vice versa. You possibly can simply pull off the buttons, which all however requires the included magnetic suction device. It may well’t simply be completed by hand, a perk for somebody like me who has a child at house. I really feel snug realizing that they received’t simply pop off when my child smacks it round.

One other enjoyable addition is you could swap the usual joystick caps in favor of vibrant, shiny arcade stick-like nubs. That’s the very first thing that I did after unboxing the controller. How important they’re to your moment-to-moment gaming will come all the way down to style and the sorts of video games you need to play. Taking part in Soulcalibur II through the Swap On-line GameCube library felt higher (or at the very least extra enjoyable) than with different controllers. The arcade stick caps are greatest for video games that require fast flicks. They’re too slippery for video games that require you to carry the sticks in a path for a very long time. I felt the necessity to swap them out for Swap 2 video games like Donkey Kong Bananza and Mario Kart World.

Like 2021’s Pro 2 earlier than it, the Professional 3 feels nice in my medium-sized fingers. It’s a protected choose for many who need a dependable D-pad that’s straightforward to succeed in, and preferring the symmetrical PlayStation-style joystick format. Whereas I’ve grown accustomed to the $84.99 Swap 2 Professional since getting the brand new console, there’s one thing concerning the Professional 3’s design that matches like a glove for me, despite the fact that it has been a very long time since I final grabbed a DualShock.

The Professional 3 prices $69.99, a $20 value enhance over the earlier era. Nevertheless, its added options simply warrant the upper price, until you’re a discerning Swap 2 participant who’s on the lookout for a 1:1 matching of options with the Switch 2 Pro. I’ll get into the place it misses the mark under, however the Professional 3 has higher set off and stick know-how. The highlights embody the shift to TMR joysticks, that are improved over the already-great Corridor impact sticks and are extra energy environment friendly. It additionally consists of extra correct Corridor impact triggers as an alternative of the linear ones in its predecessor. These specs ought to guarantee an extended lifespan than controllers that fall quick by comparability.

The Professional 2 was among the many preliminary wave of acclaimed third-party controllers to undertake customizable again paddles, and the Professional 3 builds on that with new L4 and R4 macro buttons between the triggers and its USB-C charging port, similar to on the 8BitDo Final 2. I like having extra buttons, and these are unobtrusive in case you’re the sort who expects to by no means contact them.

Practically all the things on the gamepad may be personalized in 8BitDo’s Final V2 PC app. You can also make as much as three profiles, every with its personal button assignments, joystick sensitivity, and extra, and swap between them with a devoted button positioned between the joysticks. Alternatively, should you simply need to shortly assign a one-off command or combo to one in all its further inputs, simply maintain the specified button you want to assign to, then concurrently press the unique one(s) you’re copying and press the star button. It sounds sophisticated, nevertheless it will get simpler with apply.

Along with the 2 units of customizable buttons and magnetically-attached face buttons, this new mannequin additionally options adjustable set off distances through two switches. Toggling the change shortens the gap you need to push to actuate it. This function can be obtainable within the 8BitDo Final 2.

8BitDo’s advertisement controller is appropriate with a ton of units through Bluetooth, together with the Steam Deck, Home windows PC, Mac OS, Android, Apple TV, Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional, and different merchandise. You possibly can toggle between three modes as wanted with a change on its again: D enter (DirectInput), X enter, and S enter (Swap). Each the Swap and PC additionally assist a 2.4GHz mode, enabled by a dongle built-in into the modern charging dock that comes with buy. With the ability to situate the charging dock wherever I appreciated ensured that I used to be capable of get higher wi-fi vary than I sometimes get with a DualSense related over Bluetooth to my PC.

I’ve primarily used the Professional 3 with my Swap 2. The built-in movement controls work nice, however there are a few issues holding it again from being my major controller. Specifically, its rumble results really feel imprecise and hyperactive. I actually get pleasure from rumble, significantly in first-party Nintendo Swap video games, so I used to be disenchanted that turning it off was the one method I might get pleasure from taking part in Swap video games with the Professional 3. It can also’t wake the Swap 2 from standby mode, which looks as if an oversight since a few of 8BitDo’s competitors claim to have figured it out. Nevertheless, it may possibly wake the unique Swap from standby mode, in addition to the Steam Deck OLED (however not the LCD mannequin).

The Professional 3 isn’t value upgrading to you probably have one in all 8BitDo’s current controllers. However should you’ve been ready to interchange your Professional 2, this new mannequin is suitably filled with sufficient options to warrant the upper price. Even for many who haven’t tried this line earlier than, it is a extremely customizable gamepad that’s nice for a number of platforms, particularly since its face buttons may be switched round. I feel it’s a unbelievable PC controller. However should you plan to make use of it primarily on Swap 2, like me, its perks and cheaper value aren’t interesting sufficient to sway me from the extra feature-complete Swap 2 Professional controller.

Pictures by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge