8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless Controller with Charging Dock

The triggers on this controller change personality with a switch: linear Hall Effect triggers or non-linear tactile triggers, depending on the game. That’s the detail that sells the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 to anyone who cares how a controller feels, and it comes with a charging dock and an RGB Fire Ring that lights up around the sticks.

The joysticks use TMR sensors, which 8BitDo says are more sensitive, more precise and more durable while drawing less power. There are two pro-level back buttons, extra bumpers, tactile bumpers and D-pad, 6-axis motion control, turbo and vibration, and all of it can be remapped in 8BitDo’s Ultimate Software V2. Over its 2.4G 8Speed wireless it hits a 1000Hz polling rate with latency as low as 1 millisecond and a 10-meter range, and it keeps the same 1000Hz polling when wired. A 1000mAh battery and a USB-C adapter round it out.

It suits a teen who plays on a Windows PC or an Android phone and is ready to retire whatever controller came bundled with something else. The dock also gives the desk a proper home for it, instead of a tangle of cables.

The catch: compatibility is narrow. It works with Windows PCs over 2.4G or a cable and with Android over Bluetooth, so it’s the wrong pick for a teen who only plays on a console.