Available on Amazon for $29.98.
For one, I am reviewing not a game today, but a peripheral; the Hycarus Switch Controller, provided by Hycarus for review. The typical review format will go differently this time around, but we’re still answering an important question: should you get it?
The Hycarus, for short, is a Switch controller with the layout of a typical PlayStation DualShock pad. Compared side by side with a DualShock 4, the Hycarus is less wide and feels slightly heavier, but is still comfortable to hold in your hands. Like the DS4, the Hycarus has lights across its build, mainly over the face and home buttons, as well as individual player indicator lights in the center. Not much else to say about the design, other than that it’s solid. It feels like a Switch Pro Controller even if it really isn’t one.
Once you’ve paired the controller as detailed in the instruction booklet, you’re ready to go. Apart from a good design, what’s likely to sell someone on a controller should be the fact that it works. To that end, I used the Hycarus on several games to evaluate its performance on each, and all footage for this video was recorded playing with it.
Good motion controls are an obvious selling point to people who don’t want to pay full price for a Pro controller but still enjoy games which use it heavily and can’t stand the Joy Cons. I’m happy to say, then, that the motion controls work great with compatible games. I don’t use motion controls outside of portable mode a lot, so any overly sensitive movement seen in the footage is due to that, but those who do use motion controls on a controller will feel right at home here. The motion controls do what you want them to; I’m just not that good at using them in this case.
Standard use of the joysticks felt tight and highly responsive with no input lag at all, feeling just like using the regular Joy Cons, so no worries about precision. This likewise goes for titles which have movement options that lightly tap the stick, so no worries there.
Perhaps the controller’s most noticeable downside is one of its key features: the turbo function. While a neat addition in theory, it ended up being something I had to force myself to use, and even then, it wasn’t very efficient. For all its worth, the turbo was surprisingly practical to set up in a pinch, as one only needs to hold the desired button followed by a press of the turbo button to use it, and deactivating it is just as simple, and the Hycarus’ layout makes it rather easy to do. But it’s actual speed is slower than what you can achieve with human presses. There’s probably some hidden niche to it in a game that I don’t own, so it probably has selective uses; if you could somehow find a scenario where the slow presses are beneficial, then have at it, but otherwise it’s not the best function.
Overall, there’s not a whole lot to say about it; the Hycarus fares well as a secondary Switch controller or Pro Controller substitute. It held up well in comparison to other controllers I own, mainly the Joy Cons. If you exclude the turbo function, it’s basically a Switch Pro Controller minus the NFC functionality, so unless you use amiibo on a very frequent basis, it’s a negligible downside. The Hycarus Switch Controller is available for $29.98 or your regional equivalent.
