Crkd Nitro Deck 2 Review: Switch 2 Controller With an Awkwardly Placed Right Stick
A Verge reviewer tested Crkd's Nitro Deck 2 accessory, made for both the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. It has useful features, but the right stick's position gets in the way of the ABXY buttons.
The Verge has published a hands-on review of the Crkd Nitro Deck 2, a clip-on controller that replaces the Joy-Con controllers on the Nintendo Switch and the larger Switch 2 console. Reviewer Cameron Faulkner concludes that the device comes close to being good, but one design choice holds it back significantly.
How it differs from the original
The original Nitro Deck cost $59.99 and helped consoles suffering from stick drift, where analog sticks wear out and register movement on their own. It offered Hall effect sticks, so users did not need to open up their Joy-Con for a complicated repair. The Nitro Deck 2 continues the idea of having better sticks than Nintendo's, though these are not Hall effect or TMR. In the reviewer's view, the new model feels less essential than the first.
The main problem
The biggest complaint concerns the layout of the ABXY face buttons and the right stick. The reviewer writes that the stick makes the buttons hard to press comfortably, forcing his thumb into an awkward angle. He sees this as a step down from the original Nitro Deck, and especially from the Nitro Deck Plus, which has a symmetrical, Steam Deck-like stick layout. He describes the difference as just a few millimeters.
The original's slide-in mount was replaced by a vice-grip design so the device would fit both newer and older consoles. A twisting mechanism on the back can be loosened, tightened or locked. The reviewer's Switch 2 did not feel wobbly during testing, but he finds the approach inherently less secure and would have preferred a slide-in design made specifically for the Switch 2.
The positives
Both sticks have adjustable tension, so they can return to their resting position faster or slower. The bulkier body makes the console more comfortable in handheld mode for medium-size hands. The device also has several customizable buttons: four on the back and one near the triggers.
The author notes that few similar accessories exist so far, and another one he tried, the abxylute N6, was not very good either. He plans to test Mobapad's latest Joy-Con alternative soon. For handheld comfort, he also points to the Dbrand Killswitch 2 and the Mechanism Basecase.
