HORI HORIPAD Wired Controller for Nintendo Switch - Turbo Functions, Detachable D-pad, Precision Analog Sticks, Fast-Action Shoulder Buttons

There's a lot of discussion about various kinds of directional pads on Switch controllers and their respective strengths and weaknesses. I personally rather like the Switch split d-pad, and when I saw the Horipad offered something similar for a low price, I decided to take the plunge. An additional controller would be helpful for multiplayer as well as allowing me to leave the Joycons attached to the system (for single player), but even if the Horipad let me down I wouldn't be out much cash.First, I have to note that the separate directional buttons did not live up to expectations. They have far too much travel and are too far indented into the controller to make their use practical. I gave up on them the first day and put the conventional d-pad attachment back on.And used in that fashion, the Horipad is actually quite good. Sure, there's no rumble or motion controls, but I could just go back to the Joycons if I actually missed them (I don't). It's not wireless, but the cord is plenty long (and sturdy). And yes, the plastic feels less premium than the Pro controller and it's possible to tilt the d-pad in such a way that an "unexpected" diagonal or perpendicular direction is registered, although you'd almost have to go out of your way to make that happen. But for the most part, this is a reliable, comfortable controller, and one I'd easily choose to use over the standard Xbox One (S), PS4/DS4, or Switch Pro controller in any sort of environment where I didn't need to go wireless.

It’s a sturdy, decent looking, perfectly well performing wired controller with a very functional turbo function for $20. You really, really can’t go wrong. And it works on Switch and PC.For people confused about PC (Xinput!), it’s not plug and play. Each time you plug it in, you have to hold +, -, screenshot, and home buttons all at the same time for about a second or two. Your PC will make the “bee boop” sound of a device being connected and it will show up in device manager as “Xbox 360 Controller”. Works perfectly after that, including the turbo function.If you need something really good, wireless, and with more features (rumble and gyro), obviously you’ll want to look elsewhere. But for the price, you get a solid extra controller that you’re not going to very very upset about beating up.

Works great to AFK in Fortnite Lego mode. Been using it for quite a while now.

It's no big secret that the official Pro Controller for Switch has a d-pad that isn't so great. While a lot of people claim that the d-pad issues that people experience with the Pro Controller are due to defective units, I'd argue that the flaw is in the design of the d-pad itself.Enter the HORIPAD for Switch. I don't have any fighting games to test this controller (although I'll revisit my review when I do), but I have to say that my Pro Controller gripes are largely addressed with the HORIPAD. It's not quite perfect, but I have a feeling that the fault there lies more so in software than it does with hardware (as I'll explain later).I've tested the HORIPAD with Puyo Puyo Tetris, a Switch game that I was really looking forward to, since I'd previously imported the Xbox One version and wanted an English localized version. Since I don't own a PlayStation 4, the Switch version seemed like the way to go, despite my initial concerns about the Switch's lack of a d-pad on its pack-in controller.Puyo Puyo Tetris plays very well with the HORIPAD, which is more than can be said of the Pro Controller. The problem with the Pro Controller is that its d-pad's cardinal directions only read as the proper directions if you're very careful so as to not press one of the cardinal directions slightly off-center. If you press left or right slightly off-center, for example, then you'd sometimes inadvertently trigger up or down, instead. In a game like Puyo Puyo Tetris, pressing up when you intend to press left or right can be absolutely disastrous.While playing Puyo Puyo Tetris with the HORIPAD, I rarely stumbled upon the aforementioned issue. The d-pad on the HORIPAD is interesting in that the d-pad actually consists of a removable d-pad overlay that fits on top of separate buttons that're simply recessed slightly into the controller. When I first saw this in early previews of the controller online, I had my doubts that it'd work well, but I was pleased to realize that the d-pad on this controller feels absolutely fantastic (maybe a bit too firm, though). It's important to note that it feels like a d-pad, not like a d-pad resting on top of separate buttons. Specifically, it feels like a floating d-pad, similar to the style of modern Xbox controllers, but with much better accuracy. That actually makes sense, though, because a floating d-pad rests on four separate trigger points.My only potential issue with this is in how software handles inputs from controllers, regardless of how good a specific d-pad is. You see, if a game happens to be designed with four separate buttons in mind for directional input, then it's possible that such a game doesn't take into consideration the likelihood of two such buttons being pressed at the same time in the appropriate manner. I suspect that this is the issue with the HORIPAD as I've experienced it thus far, since I still trigger up on occasion (albeit much less often) when I'm trying to press left or right.In either case, this controller feels fantastic. The buttons are nice and responsive, and the build quality easily matches that of first-party hardware from any of the console manufacturers. Definitely recommended if you want a better d-pad, although it remains to be seen if other Switch controllers with proper d-pads will do the job better.

I mostly got this to have a cheap alternative to the pro controller. But actually, this is way more comfortable than the dual joy-cons in the grip that comes with the switch. The analog sticks are actually a proper height, and the button arrangement and overall shape is better for gripping.Lack of wireless is fine for an officially licensed product at this price point. Lack of rumble, eh, Dualshocks have had it for ages but I'm not really complaining too much. Just a little annoying when games like Mario Odyssey use it as a mechanic to help you find stuff, but at least in that game you can just wander randomly sometimes. Lack of gyro is also a little annoying in games that use it gratuitously (again, Mario... There were more face buttons you could have used instead of mapping them to the same things...) but otherwise I don't miss it at all.This controller is now my preferred controller for couch sessions. I'm probably gonna get another to have a set of 4 with the 2 joy-cons, these are way better than traditional third party controllers that you get just to pass off to guests. I honestly prefer mine over the joy-cons.