CHOC 2.0 SAKURA WARRIOR Metal Shell Bluetooth Gaming Controller

This is my second controller from PB Tails, so I had a good idea what to expect. I really do love the design and shape of the Choc. It fits easily in your pocket, which is nice for a portable system like the Switch. Gripping the angular back of the device always reminds me of the low-poly N64 titles I played as a kid and I love the nostalgia.

With that said, I wouldn’t call this comfortable to hold, but I never notice it being uncomfortable during gaming sessions. I thought I was going to hate the odd placement of shoulder buttons but after you get used to them, they turn out to actually be a highlight of thd Choc’s design as they click in a satisfying way and you can press them both without having to adjust finger position. I was thrown off by the choice to make the inner buttons ZL and ZR instead of just L and R. It intuitively felt like those should be switched but you get used to it. Many people will dislike the short stick height, but that’s a trade off you have to make if you want a portable controller. I only ever find it noticeable if I play shooting games. The biggest downside for me is the D-Pad.

The main reason I bought this controller is for the split D-Pad. The Choc 1.0 had a D-pad much like the Switch Pro Controller which was mushy and inaccurate. When I saw the D-pad on this thing is 4 buttons I thought it would be just like the Joy-Con controller which is somewhat bad for 2-D fighters but excellent for all other uses due to being very precise. I was wrong. For one reason or another these D-pad buttons are unresponsive; sometimes you press them repeatedly and they just don’t register an input. This is especially egregious for the down button where you have to press either very hard or on the bottom edge of the button to make it work. This makes the controller virtually unusable for games that utilize D-pad for more than just navigating menus. I’m not sure how this can ship with such a fatal flaw or why the face buttons don’t suffer from the same issue. I had a theory that maybe the metal casing was slightly too thick for some buttons to press down all the way but maybe there is another cause.

In all, I do get a strange sense of joy from using this controller, but I’m sad that it can’t be my go-to in all situations. I hope PB Tails continues to refine their products going forward and put out something truly outstanding with their next offering.