PowerA Advantage Wired Controller for Nintendo Switch 2 Review

One of the key benefits of the Nintendo Switch family of consoles are the built-in controllers, packed with all the knobs and buttons to play out the box. Fancy a quick zoom around Mario Kart World five minutes after carefully unpacking the hardware and, of course, dissecting the safety pamphlet? Entirely possible and a huge part of what made Nintendo’s 2017 release a game changer.

So, is there really a need to splash the cash on separate controllers? Having sampled the delights of the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller at launch, it is a thing of game controller beauty. Comfort and precision in spades, a benchmark for any third-party to try to contend with (yes, it is rather good!). Comfort, more traditionally sized sticks and buttons are the appeal of a standalone controller versus the stock Joy-Con.

What a lot of non-official options do benefit from is price, naturally, a wad of different designs and extra functionality to sweeten the deal. PowerA Advantage Wired Controller for Nintendo Switch 2 is an officially licensed third-party option that certainly ticks off the price checkbox (this unit picked up for just a tenner) but misses a fair few additional features.

Aside from cost, the allure of this controller and others in the range, are the colourful designs. The cheerful hero of the Mushroom Kingdom leaping into action with familiar iconography? Neat. These designs certainly stand out against the more matt black, premium range that Nintendo and others typically present. There’s a smart consideration of where characters sit, not haphazardly shoved onto a shell for a quick cash grab.

Of course, a controller could look nice and hit all the nostalgia bells in succession, but the most important criteria is: does it handle well? There’s no point in a holding something that looks great but makes your hands look like Voldo from Soul Calibur after a long session roaming Hyrule. Despite the relatively low cost, the PowerA Advantage Wired Controller fits comfortably, coming in at a near identical width and length to Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller, allowing for more than enough travel between the buttons, analogue sticks and shoulder triggers without being too cramped together.

The controller’s four core face buttons are about 1mm smaller than Nintendo’s own, but still sitting alongside the typical full-size controller at 1cm across. Yes, a ruler was used in this experiment, but size is important. The buttons also sit flat, too, allowing for comfortable repeated presses without thumb or joint strain. This reviewer is getting older so the impact, literally, can be more noticeable on some controllers! The same applies to the shoulder triggers; there’s not too much travel, directionally, but a surprisingly smooth tracking, perfect for nippy input in fighting games.

One of the hottest topics for the original Nintendo Switch since launch was the accursed sticks. The word “drift” used to be associated primarily with drifting around those corners in Mario Kart games, but the Switch era saw the term trending due to analogue sticks inadvertently drifting to one side. Hacky and official fixes do work, but it’s not ideal. One newer piece of tech are sticks that use “hall effect” to send directional input to the game. Instead of the more traditional pads that track movement, hall effect sticks use a nifty magnet to prevent getting physical. It allows for a far less chance to drift. Not a cure, per-se, but a far more durable setup longer term.

Despite the budget price, PowerA opt for hall effect sticks. These have good travel, grip and are, most importantly, responsive for those rapid movement games. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a game that’s handy for testing the ol’ sticks, and the Advantage Wired Controller handles movement beautifully. What is slightly off-putting, though, is the sound. Clack, clack, clack, clickity clack. This isn’t a controller to have in play when someone else is in the room having a quiet read or snooze. The issue here is that the controller may have plenty on show on the outside but is a little empty on the inside. The wired and budget setup means that this is a rather light controller; coming in at around 100g lighter than most wireless varieties. It leads to loud sticks; something that may not sit well with some players.

It’s a shame, soft dampening could have been beneficial. The face and shoulder buttons do have a less harsh “thock”, so it is odd how there’s a lack of consistency across the unit. On the flip side, though, the d-pad has a spongier feel – almost too soft and rubbery, which is a shame for those who wish to have more precise directional play.

Beyond the core functionality, the PowerA Advantage Wired Controller for Nintendo Switch 2 does have some nifty extras: programmable extra back buttons, audio controls and a dedicated 3.5mm headset jack. The wired variant does lack motion controls, rumble and NFC – something that is reflected in the budget price offering. There are the useful shortcut buttons included, though, with access to GameChat, home, screenshot and the usual plus and minus fare. These are positioned to the bottom, though, so can feel a bit off if transitioning from the more conventional central layout.

Technical Specification