Switch Split Pad Compact (Apricot Red) by Hori

I owned an original HORI Split Pad Pro a couple of years ago which was great. This is also..... Good, however the main appeal for me was the idea that it would be "compact" in some way or form. Smaller, slimmer, whatever - in SOME way; and yet it manages to feel even larger than the one I previously owned.The joysticks have a VERY wide tolerance, and seem to protrude out a bit.The D-pad is too soft and broad to be very accurate; actually, all the functions are like this. Everything sticks out a bit too much, and there's no resistance when pressed. It makes for very inaccurate gameplay.The assign-able buttons are a good idea, but again, not really in a great spot; far too easy to accidentally hit, and too clumsy to use when you actually need them.

Two things that I have always wanted on my Switch since launch are a proper d-pad and better ergonomics. I tried a few different grip cases and those d-pad caps that stick onto the individual arrow buttons but those grip cases never were dockable (even when claimed to do so) and the stick on d-pad cap always felt pretty cheap.Then there's the giant sea of third party joy cons online - many with mixed reviews. I came upon this one as it has been the most promising. I've had it for less than 24 hours but the dpad is excellent and the ergonomics are greatly improved. All the buttons have a satisfactory tactile push and click to them. The analog sticks are wonderful and leaps and bounds ahead of the standard joy con sticks. I played a few hours of Dead Cells and ... MoreTwo things that I have always wanted on my Switch since launch are a proper d-pad and better ergonomics. I tried a few different grip cases and those d-pad caps that stick onto the individual arrow buttons but those grip cases never were dockable (even when claimed to do so) and the stick on d-pad cap always felt pretty cheap.Then there's the giant sea of third party joy cons online - many with mixed reviews. I came upon this one as it has been the most promising. I've had it for less than 24 hours but the dpad is excellent and the ergonomics are greatly improved. All the buttons have a satisfactory tactile push and click to them. The analog sticks are wonderful and leaps and bounds ahead of the standard joy con sticks. I played a few hours of Dead Cells and Shovel Knight and having the d-pad feels like a game changer. I also tried the analog sticks out on the retro FPS game DUSK and it was a lot of fun and felt a great sense of precision and control.The biggest thing keeping this from being a 5-star review is no rumble. That haptic feedback can be not only satisfying in games, but feels crucial in certain first party games where rumble is used to indicate a hint (i.e. Super Mario Odyssey or Breath of the Wild). It's also fairly wide so you'll need to buy a case specific for these if you plan to travel with and want to protect them. I tried removing each side and putting them into the upper zippered compartment of my large Fintie Switch case with the screen seperate on the bottom but they are too large. Since these are not wireless or battery powered, I suspect this is why they had to add the Assign & Turbo buttons on both sides which I never plan to use and take away from what could have been a sleeker device.In summary, if you're someone like me who has been wanting a proper d-pad or improved ergonomics, this should be at the top of your list. The analog sticks are large and very fun to handle. Just know there are some sacrifices. For some that will be gyro aiming or portability, for me it's not having rumble. With those omitted features, I feel this product would be more fairly priced at $40, not $50 as $50 starts to encroach into joy con pricing territory.

This will be a very short review just to hammer-in some things I took note of: Pros -all the buttons have a nice softness -the extra joystick room makes any game on handheld feel so much better to play -dpad unlike the procon doesnt have any issues with inputing unintended directions Cons: -the dpad feels bad for fighting games. After a short amount of use it felt like it was burning my thumb. Thankfully the joystick feels surprisingly great for fighting games when I always just use the dpad instead. -the left controller would dig into my hand after about 8 minutes of playing, having to make me adjust my positioning, which is never ideal.