8BitDo seems to answer my gaming prayers over and over. A little earlier this year it did so with the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C, which I got my grubby little mitts on just a couple of months ago and have been enjoying the heck out of ever since.
Rocket League’s been my primary stomping ground, but I’ve tried the controller in a few other titles, too, and in all cases, I’m genuinely stumped. Even for its full retail price, I can’t seem to figure out how 8BitDo can sell such a fantastic-feeling, -performing, and -looking controller for so cheap. And then it knocks a few dollars off and sells the Mint version for $25 at Amazon, to boot.
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First, let’s go over what this controller has, objectively speaking: Hall effect sticks to prevent stick drift, Hall effect triggers, a 1,000 Hz 2.4 GHz connection, Bluetooth connection, USB-C charging, and extra bumper buttons.
That’s a lot of features for such an inexpensive controller, don’t you think? Especially comparing it to some more expensive mainstream competition such as, for instance, the standard Xbox controller, which is our current pick for the best gaming controller overall. The latter isn’t rechargeable, meaning you have to go all old-school and replace its batteries, and you have to get its (expensive) wireless dongle separately, too.
There’s none of that with the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C—it’s rechargeable and comes with its dongle, which is no slouch thanks to its 1,000 Hz polling. There are other controllers that offer most of this for a cheap price, too, such as the GameSir Nova Lite, but the Nova Lite doesn’t have the extra shoulder buttons and has only half the battery life of the Ultimate 2C.
Even on paper, then, the Ultimate 2C is simply fantastic compared to the competition. But in addition to this, it feels well above its price tag, more in line with the Xbox controller than something cheaper.
I spent a good long evening going back and forth between air dribbling (okay, attempting to air dribble) in Rocket League with the Xbox controller and with the 8BitDo. The Xbox one is a little heavier and feels a little more premium, but it’s really not far off, you know. The triggers feel great, and the ABXY buttons feel much better than on the Xbox controller, IMO. The DPAD is nowhere near as satisfyingly clicky, though—presumably, it’s membrane—but it still feels pretty nice.
Then, of course, there’s that dashing mint and orange splash of colour with a somewhat pinky-peach underside. I’m not usually one for colourful gear but even I can’t say no to that. If you prefer a different colour scheme, just bear in mind you’ll have to pay the full price right now (which is still just $30).
Yeah, if I had some change left over from Black Friday and wanted to treat myself for Cyber Monday, the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C is what I’d go for, I think.
