8BitDo Ultimate 2C
Image: Ollie Reynolds / Nintendo Life

It’s no secret that 8BitDo is one of the premier manufacturers of third-party Switch accessories, with the firm making waves over the years with the likes of the SN30 Pro Gamepad and the M30. Its latest Switch pad, the Ultimate 2C Bluetooth Controller, is another slam dunk, offering up a compelling alternative to Nintendo's Pro Controller with minimum concessions at half the price ($29.99 / £24.99 / €29.99).

Available in pink and two shades of blue, the Ultimate 2C rocks most of the functionality you want in a Switch pad. You’ve got gyro support, Hall effect analogue sticks, a proper D-pad, roughly 15 hours of playtime on a single charge, and rumble (not HD), with an extra pair of remappable ‘L4’ and ‘R4’ shoulder bumpers thrown in for good measure. The only major missing component is NFC support for your amiibo; a shame, for sure, but potentially not a dealbreaker for many.

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We were sent the light blue and pink variants for review, and first impressions were very strong. The colours are pleasantly muted, with 8BitDo opting for a pastel approach for a more subtle presentation. We’ve not seen the dark blue model in person, but our opinion based on images alone is that it’s not quite as attractive as the blue and pink.

The ABXY buttons, D-pad, and analogue sticks are slightly darker than the shell, while flipping the pads over reveals an even lighter backside marred only by four small screws and an unintrusive sticker displaying product information.

Wrapping our hands around the controller for the first time, it's very comfortable. The grips are a little more ‘vertical’ than the official Pro Controller or an official Xbox pad, so there may be a slight readjustment required if you’re used to grips that stick outward a bit more. As for the feel, the plastic has a subtle, yet pleasant texture, though it certainly doesn't come across as 'premium'. We fear that one drop on concrete or even vinyl flooring might result in a crack or two.

With average-sized mitts, our index fingers rest comfortably on the triggers while our thumbs can easily reach all required positions on the front. The offset analogue sticks take inspiration from the Pro Controller, and switching between sticks and face buttons feels as comfortable and natural as you'd hope; certainly a huge improvement over the likes of the CRKD Nitro Deck and Nintendo’s own official Joy-Con.

The only downside to the overall feel is the weight, or lack thereof. This is very much a budget device and is quite a bit lighter than your average pad. The Ultimate 2C comes in at 225g, the Switch Pro Controller is a bit heavier at 246g, the PS5 Dualsense is 280g, and the Series S|X controller 287g. Ultimately, this will come down to personal preference, but this writer likes his controllers to have a bit of heft to them, although while knee-deep in a Tears of the Kingdom session our concerns with the 2C’s weight melted away.

Initial setup is easy: You simply head into the 'Change Grip/Order' section of the controller settings on your Switch, press the home button on the Ultimate 2C, and briefly hold down the small pairing button next to the USB-C slot. The power light will flash quickly for a few seconds before pairing, and that's it.

8BitDo Ultimate 2C
Image: Ollie Reynolds / Nintendo Life

Now for specifics. The Hall Effect analogue sticks work very well, offering up significantly more 'travel' than the sticks found on the official Joy-Con for added precision. They include a textured rim and metal joints that 8BitDo states will help reduce general wear and tear. Meanwhile, the SNES-inspired D-pad feel satisfyingly clicky, with light presses required for input; it works wonderfully with retro classics on NSO, more modern side-scrollers like Animal Well, and fighting games such as Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics and Guilty Gear -Strive-.

Moving to the top of the pad, the triggers have a bit more travel than those found on the Joy-Con along with a slightly softer click to them. They feel great though, and the same can be said for the bumpers, though the latter are quite loud when clicked.

What’s not quite so hot are the extra remappable bumpers. These sit on the inside of the triggers and are roughly the same size as the ABXY buttons, albeit with a more rectangular shape. It's good to have accessibility options and remapping is easy enough — you simply hold down both buttons and choose which input you'd like to configure — but remembering that they’re there in the first place requires you to tap into your muscle memory in a way that might prove uncomfortable. Then again, ignoring them entirely is easy.

Finally, the 'Star' button found below 'Home' and ‘+’ is used to assign Turbo Mode to any button aside from the D-pad. Again, it’s easy enough to implement and clear instructions are included if need be, but how much use you’ll get out of this is going to vary drastically depending on your needs. Still, it’s a good thing to have, even if most people probably won’t make use of it.

8BitDo Ultimate 2C Bluetooth Controller Review - The Verdict

Considering its relatively budget price, it's difficult to fault the Ultimate 2C controller. 8BitDo has certainly cut back in a few areas, resulting in an accessory that's unusually light with casing that feels like it may break apart after a couple of drops. That said, almost all of the important bits are present and correct, including Hall effect analogue sticks, gyro support, an excellent D-pad, and rumble. Sure, NFC is missing, but we'd argue that's a nice-to-have feature, rather than an essential.

Features like the extra bumpers and Turbo Mode feel somewhat unnecessary to us, but that'll come down to personal taste. Ultimately, we're not going to lament their presence on a device that already costs half the asking price of a Pro Controller. This is a strong alternative to Nintendo's first-party offering, and if you're looking to save a bit of cash, it's a remarkably comfortable and feature-rich pad that punches well above its weight.

The samples used in this review were supplied by 8BitDo.

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