もっと詳しく

The Hori Split Pad Pro were on my list of potential purchases for the year 2022. After waiting approximately a year (I hesitated since March 2021), I cracked on a small promotion. We are going to be very honest, if I bought this product it is above all to play the game comfortably monster hunter rise during my portable sessions. Not necessarily outside my home, both the Hori Split Pad Pro are big, but when the television is busy or when I feel like playing in bed, for example. Obviously, I tried them on several different games (Minecraft, Rocket League, Warface to name a few)but the main interest for me really lies in this monster hunter game, especially since the extension rise arrives June 30 (and I can’t wait).

Let’s start with what annoys: the Split Pad Pro lacks things

If I start with these negative points first, it is simply because they are the ones that made me hesitate for almost a full year. And they are also the ones who still upset me, even thinking about the comfort provided by the product. The main negative point, and therefore not the least for my humble opinion, is the absence of any vibration. Accustomed to the excellent sensations brought by the Joy-Con and the official pro controller in this field, thanks to technology “HD Rumble“, each game session on the Split Pad Pro leaves me with a slight bitterness on this side. This is particularly the case on Rocket League, where each touch of the ball is supposed to produce a vibration which, personally, helps me to situate myself correctly in my actions. Even if after a few minutes the negative feeling fades, I can’t help thinking about it when launching a game session and regretting this absence.

The rest is, still in my opinion and my gaming experience, less serious. No wireless, no gyroscope and no built-in battery either, all this does not prevent me from enjoying my games. The wireless is not useful to me since I always play with the pro controller when the Switch is in its dock. The gyroscope is more troublesome for games like Breath of the Wild Where Splatoon, but too bad, these are only isolated cases. The absence of integrated batteries will tend to pump a little more the autonomy of my Nintendo Switch OLED, but without ruining the experience either. Well, I have to admit that the thickness and the width of the Split Pad Pro is a little awkward to turn up the sound without completely letting go of one of the controllers, but it’s the backlash of the comfort provided which could not have been possible without getting rid of the format of the Joy-Con of origin.

Outstanding grip and comfort

Now that we have seen what was wrong, I can no longer hide it from you: the comfort provided by the Hori Split Pad Pro is incredibly better than that of Joy-Con. The format and ergonomics of these alternatives offered by Hori are obviously thought out, sacrificing in passing the thinner design of the Nintendo Switch. It’s very simple: when we play on a laptop with these controllers, we simply have the impression of having an official Controller Pro in our hands; the grip is therefore perfect and equivalent to what a remote controller can offer.

Despite their size, the Split Pad Pro aren’t particularly heavy and that’s arguably “Grace” to the absence of integrated functionalities. Inside, there is only a motherboard which connects the buttons to the connectors of the console, neither more nor less, with a lot of empty space. Everything is therefore light and avoids the fatigue of the wrists that one could fear during long gaming sessions. And that’s where Hori was rather clever, since they manage to pass off the lack of functionalities for something studied allowing to keep a maximum of comfort in game. I must admit, it works, even if the addition of haptic motors probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference. And this quality grip simply allows you to enjoy your games without breaking your fingers or mixing up the buttons, things that could happen to me on my sessions. monster hunter rise.

Some welcome (but not always useful) features

The alternatives to Joy-Con proposed by Hori still have something more than the originals (apart from comfort) : turbo buttons and “paddle” triggers on the back. If all this is not essential, their addition is still welcome. The first feature, turbo, allows any action button to be repeated while remaining pressed; handy for spamming an attack for example. The rear triggers will be a simple “doubling” with a key. You can assign the action of another button to it to activate it more easily; although, on my side, my hands are a little too big to enjoy it without twisting my fingers. Everything is configurable quite easily via four small buttons arranged on the bottom of the front of the two Split Pad Pro. If you can’t, the manual is pretty clear about it.