8BitDo Ultimate 2 wireless review
Image: PJ O'Reilly / Nintendo Life

Note. Before we begin, it's worth clarifying that the controller reviewed here is the Ultimate 2 Wireless Controller, featuring an Xbox-style button layout and originally designed for Windows and Android. However, there is also an Ultimate 2 Bluetooth variant, which is more readily out-of-the-box compatible with Switch and features the standard face button arrangement for Nintendo's system.

A compatibility update for older 8BitDo controllers enables Switch (2) functionality as described below. Head to 8BitDo's website for the relevant instructions and downloads.

We've been putting a procession of 8BitDo controllers through the review process since Switch 2 launched. I've covered their excellent Pro 3 controller, whilst Ollie has been all over the new Arcade Stick for Switch + Switch 2 and the Ultimate 2C, which is the budget-friendly version of what I'm taking a look at today - the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless.

First and foremost, for anyone who doesn't gel with the shape of the Pro 3 controller, what you've got here is one that suits those lovely, soft, Xbox-controller-shaped paws you've developed over the years. I know for some this can be a dealbreaker, especially with how the thumbsticks sit horizontally aligned on the Pro 3, so if that has been holding you back, this may be the pad you're after. Things under the hood aren't showing a lot of difference otherwise.

Indeed, my main positive talking points remain much the same as with the Pro 3. 8BitDo has put a lot of emphasis on having the latest tech in its gear recently, and here we once again get all the big 2025 buzzwords from the exciting world of controllers. TMR sticks make the cut — a feature which still usually sees the cost of a controller rocket — and they are a joy, giving you the smoothest sticks around with all of that fancy magnetic magic that goes into making them free from the bane of stick-drift.

For the triggers, we're looking at snazzy Hall Effect magnetic jobs, too. So you've got all the quality included with regard to sticks and triggers, exactly the same as with the Pro 3, which makes for a solid core. The d-pad sticks to the same style as the Pro 3, too, chunky and responsive and sitting out nicely as it clicks through all of its input points.

Sticking with similarities between this and other 8BitDo products, the number one drawback is, of course, that these controllers don't have the ability to wake the Switch 2 up. There have been some rumblings that they're working on a solution, and the pad received an update to make it compatible with Switch 2, so this is something we could see down the line, as some manufacturers have already managed it. However, for now, I feel like I'm capping review scores for pads that make me walk to my console to an 8 out of 10. Not out of laziness, you understand; it's a function that simply should be there.

If you can make peace with this — if you can somehow work around the pain of turning the console on "manual-style" — well, there isn't really much more for me to follow up with in terms of negatives. If I had to get picky, NFC support isn't there (something that doesn't interest me at all, but it will do some), and I feel as though the extra programmable 'L4' and 'R4' shoulder buttons up top make the pad a tiny little bit clicky and less solid in form than it could be.

It doesn't feel bad at all. In fact, it feels much like the official Pro Controller 2 from Nintendo, and even beats it out in having nice grippy textures on the back of the pad, but they can occasionally feel a bit loose in comparison to the rest of the inputs. You do get a total of four programmable buttons out of this, mind, with two paddles on the grips, so all in all, a very minor issue.

The Hall Effect triggers can be switched between regular and macro-switch modes and there's some snazzy RGB lighting in the rather unfortunately named "RGB Fire Rings" around the bases of the sticks. I'm not a huge RGB guy, as hard as it may be to believe, but these are fine in my opinion - they give off a warming glow and can be switched on and off and cycled through colours and modes via the 8BitDo software available from their site.

Now, speaking of this software, you need to update the controller, should you pick one up, in order to have it work on Switch 2, so be aware of this and know that you'll need a laptop or whatnot to connect for a small download. Once in the 8BitDo app, you can also then set your lighting to whatever colour you want, switch it off, have it follow and change colours to your touch, and so on.

When both your dongle and controller have updated via the app, you can then connect to the Switch 2, just make sure to hold down Y and the power button when powering it up and you should be connected.

This controller also comes with a big brutalist charging dock, which I have to say I kinda love. Just like the Pro 3's base, here you find your all-important USB-C receiver tucked away in a compartment, and the dock has the same slick little bar of light running along its underside, which is a lovely detail in a darkened room.

Before I wrap up, and with regard to battery life, I drained my controller in about 14 hours, and I believe I could have got a bit more out of it if I had turned off the RGB. So, word of warning, it's not the very best battery out there, and those lights make it ever-so-slightly worse.

Otherwise, in terms of specs and price point ($59.99 / £49.99), features, comfort and design, it's all gravy, even if the budget 2C wins in the value department. Yes, it could be easier to update, there's a tiny little bit of clickiness out of the 'L4' and 'R4' buttons, and the battery is weaker than I'd like, but overall this is still a premium-feeling pad, stuffed full of the latest wizardry, at a reasonable price compared to some competitors.

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Thanks to 8BitDo for supplying the sample used in this review. The 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless Controller is already out there and available to buy.