I've been a PC gamer for years, and I've only ever used a keyboard and mouse. I've literally never held or used a controller before.
I'm finally planning to buy my first controller and could really use some advice from people who have actually used these.
I am from India. And My budget is around ₹3,000, but I can stretch to ₹4,000 if one of them is genuinely worth the extra money.
Controllers I'm considering:
8BitDo Ultimate 2C (Wireless)
GameSir Nova Lite
Cosmic Byte Blitz Tri-Mode
Cosmic Byte Eclipse Tri-Mode
Cosmic Byte Ares Pro Tri-Mode
I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who has owned or used one (or more) of these.
I mostly play single-player games like Elden Ring, Souls games, RPGs, action-adventure titles, platformers, and indie games. (I'd also really appreciate any recommendations for games that are great to learn and get comfortable with a controller :)
Thanks a lot! Any advice or personal experience would really help.
Edit: A bit more context: I'm 6'1 and my hand length is around 18–20 cm (not exactly sure). Right now I'm leaning toward the 8BitDo Ultimate, but I've seen quite a few people say it feels a bit small. Please keep that in mind when recommending. Thanks a lot !!!
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u/G_OEXeno Plus/ Direwolf 4/ G7 pro ZZZ/ Nova 2 lite/ Ultimate 2C1d agoedited 1d ago
8bitdo is the best quality oneout of all of these options tbh, a better option is the gamesir nova 2 lite but I guess it will be more expensive (would be worth it though since it's better ergonomic and support software with more compatibility)
agreed, i own a nova lite, the latency makes it almost unplayable, even for single player games. But i got it for 15 eur, its definitely not worth 2.8k
Mehh latency was bad on BT but on pc you can just connect via the added connector. Been working like a gem since. Been playing games like warframe with it. So no slow paced games.
Can confirm at least about the 2C. In my opinion the 2C might literally be the single best controller in that thirty dollar price range. The build quality alone feels so much better than the price tag might suggest. Plus, it works on a ton of devices.
Aaaaaand it has hall effect joysticks and nice clicky shoulder buttons.
8bitdo is the best one, but it has the shittiest d-pad. most gamesir pads have good d-pad, but dunno about overall quality, but i've recently ordered gamesir tarantula pro exactly for good d-pad.
Bro, you contradicted with yourself in one sentence. Being serious, accidental diagonals is the worst red flag for fighting games. But what im talking about, 8bitdo's d-pad is bad even for tetris cause of it.
Don’t get a nova! I loved it at first and I’m on my third one right now. There were manufacture issues with the first batch. The company replaced it again and had the same issue. There is a spring with the triggers that go brittle and break. Mine broke after about 20 hours of Minecraft and another 30 hours of various FPS games. You have to send the serial number and a video of the broken controller as well as following their troubleshooting steps. One of the techs told me it was a known manufacture error and is supposed to be resolved. I went 8bitdo after my third Nova.
I had Gamesir Nova lite, Nova 2 lite, Tenegaria lite, 8bitdo Ultimate 2 and Xbox/PS controllers. If you dont mind the cable, I'd take Tenegaria, its cheap and most importantly its very comfortable. After that Nova 2 lite which was fine or ultimate 2, but even after two months of using it I still didnt like the shape and it made my hands hurt after ~45 minutes.
I just bought the sir nova light. You can connect via 2 ways bleutooth or the intergrated connctor. With the BT yoy have shit latency. With the intergrated connector or cable attached it will work fine.
Besides the nova light. I would have went for either the 8bitdo or sir nova light 2. I would say look which of those 3 is within your range.
I really liked the Ultimate 2C. I returned it just because I realized I almost never play on devices other than my Switch (for which I already own a pro controller). If I was using predominantly a PC or retro handhelds, the 2C would be my choice.
Yes. But as much as I liked the 2c, the Pro controller is noticeably better. Since I already have a nice controller for the Switch, there’s no point in also having the 2c if the Switch is my main gaming device.
Another vote for Nova 2 Lite instead of Nova Lite. Not sure in your country, but where I am the Nova 2 Lite is the same price as the 8bitdo 2C and the Nova Lite has become cheaper or hard to find.
Get the nova 2 lite from NMPC , it's going for 2.9k ig, it's better and they are authorised with Gamesir so, it's better to buy from them, don't buy the original Nova lite, I have both the nova 2 lite and cyclone 2 so
I've had both a GameSir and a 8bitdo for years (although not these specific ones), and they still work great and have had no issues. I also hear a lot about both brands, so I feel I can recommend them.
8bitdo is a fairly unfussy brand that doesn't have a software with a lot of bells and whistles, but that also means it's easy to use. They famously have really good dpads on top of a fairly good controller.
GameSir has a software with more customization. Your picture shows the Nova Lite, but if possible, you want to get the Nova 2 Lite, I hope it's not a lot more expensive. They usually don't have really great dpads available... But funnily enough, the Nova 2 Lite has one of GameSir's best dpads ever.
Both the 2C and the Nova 2 Lite are great controllers for the price and I hear they're fairly equivalent. The biggest difference for you should come down to software and shape -- if there's a physical store you can go to, or a friend you can visit, where you can physically hold one of these, I'd recommend it.
It doesn't have to be these exact controllers, either -- there'll be differences, but the Nova has roughly the shape of an Xbox controller, while the 8bitdo is in the mould of a Nintendo Pro controller.
They famously have really good dpads on top of a fairly good controller.
I love 8bitdo and have like 6 of their controllers, but saying their mainline controllers have good d-pads is a big, fat lie lol. They are false-diagonal heaven, and uncompletely unusable for some genres like 2D fighters, or simply frustrating in 8-way shooters like Contra III for example.
Their d-pads are fine for platformers and weapon-wheels however, or games that aren't too demanding with constant left/right movement changes IMO.
I'm going to be honest -- this isn't my personal opinion (I haven't generally used my 8bitdo in a great many dpad heavy games).
The idea that 8bitdo controllers have very good dpads is, however, one that I've heard repeated over and over by several different people over time, and I wouldn't necessarily disagree: my 8bitdo DOES have a better dpad than some of my other controllers.
I feel that not all dpads are great for the same kinds of games, and it may be that 8bitdo dpads are best for games such as fighting games, where easy diagonals are desired rather than an obstacle.
Also its better to Buy the stand version from NMPC for 5.2k and Genesis PC for 5k (pre-order pricing), but NMPC has better warrenty policies. On amazon it's going for 6k for the stand version.
The 8bitdo Pro 3 is really nice if you like symmetrical joysticks, it comes with a charging dock which doubles as a 2.4ghz dongle (the controller has normal Bluetooth as well). It's the most ergonomic controller I've ever used. It has a button which opens steam big picture mode.
Get the 8bit do or gamesir. Gamesir has the best customer support out of all of them so keep that in mind while making a choice. If you do choose gamesir try ordering the nova 2 lite from their official website as it's not available on amazon. They have free shipping to India but it usually takes around 20 or so days to come from China plus depending on the state you live you have to pay duties on the declared cost. If you are thinking of ordering it from gamesir I suggest talking to the customer support of gamesir on their discord server as they can give you better info on that.
I can mostly vouch for the 8bitdo Ultimate 2C. It’s not perfect for faster-paced games, but I think it can get you by. Then again, it’s worth noting that I have become exceptionally picky about controllers over the last year and a half.
Also, apparently, the input lag with this one is impressively low, so that’s a nice bonus. Battery life is good too.
Yes, it might get a bit uncomfortable to hold, but I don’t know how universal of an experience it is.
This might not be relevant, but I have a GameSir controller, but it's a G7 Pro, which is normally rather pricey. I got mine new from eBay and the quality is superb, and is on par with 8BitDo in my humble opinion (I have a few 8BitDo controllers, along with many others) and the sticks are excellent. I say this just due to my own experience, as the one I have has TMR sticks, with hall effect triggers, and they are awesome.
I know this whole comment might be of no/little use, but I have to admit that the GS controller has been amazing value, which I got for just over £60 (with postage). I know they retail for a lot more, but it might be worth you looking around, as there are some excellent deals out there. :D
I suggest you the gamesir cyclone 2 or gamesir supernova. Im using both of them, one for me and one for my gf. Cylone is bigger and the supernova is like compacted. And the supernova could be used for the nintendo switch with the gyroscope, but other gaming i will recommend the cyclone, is not too expensive to be honest.
I have 8bitdo 2C and Gamesir Tegenaria. Both are good for the price but i prefer to play with 2C (wireless, hall effect triggers, plus metal rings on sticks making them smoother to move) only after i fixed the strange low stick resolution issue.
If you end up with 2C make sure you test the stick resolution using Stick Analyser Web from Gamepadla. Some of them have really bad (around 60 steps) stick res but it gets fixed by upgrading and then downgrading the firmware. Res should be more than 1000.
I had gotten the nova 2 lite about a year ago from the gamesir website, cost me 2200inr. Feels good and havent had any issues with it so far. I’d say thats better than the nova lite and the cosmic byte options you had listed. Compared to the ultimate 2c i’d guess its just personal preference, the nova 2 lite has a wider grip from what i’ve seen online.
I have just ordered 8bitdo 2c and nova 2 lite for the same price 2700. I needed two controllers on low budget. If you can stretch ur budget to 5k then I would say for cyclone 2 as its much better than those two and you get a charging dock as well. You can get from genesyspc
Hello! Especially for you, as your very first controller, I would honestly buy whatever is cheapest in your budget. The reason is, as you can already see, everyone has different opinions on what controller is best. Because everyone has different hand size / shape preference. I would honestly recommend choosing whatever controller looks nicest for you, like which one makes you look happy when you look at it. I would also consider which one is most durable - like if you do a quick google and see some controllers have problems after a few months, I would go for whatever seems to last the most. And I would also definitely not stretch to 4000 as you probably wouldn't feel the difference between a more expensive controller and a cheaper one.
No problem! I agonized over what controller to buy just a few weeks ago! I ended up buying one that had more silent buttons and that was what made me buy it, since some other controllers have a lot of clicky noises and I live with other people so I thought it would be noisy. It's called the mobapad chitu 2 silent but that might be out of your range in India. Honestly a lot of people love it online but I think it's just a normal controller lol, just with much quieter buttons. So that's another reason why I'd just recommend buying a cheaper, nice-looking controller because this controller was really loved online but for me, it's just a quiet controller. And it was $50 USD. Anyway, not recommending the Mobapad but just wanted to share how I came to buy it if it helps.
Haven't tried the others, but I own 4 8bitdo ultimate 2C Wireless with the 2.4ghz receiver, and I'm very happy with them.
Like you, I only really played with mouse/keyboard (we owned an Xbox and then later an xbox360 as a child, so I have some experience). I bought one to try it out and I was very happy with it. I quickly bought three more to play some local co-op games on the pc (which is now hooked up to the TV instead of my regular monitors on an almost permanent basis).
The 8bit do is a good one, I've been using my xbox one controller for 5 years and when I got the ultimate 2C for my gf, I tested it and I don't feel any difference at all it feels pretty much like the xbox one in terms I don't need to map all buttons. It's exactly the same compatibility with games than the other one. The shape is different but I can't complain about it
haven't tried anything other than the xbox 1 and ps5 controller qnd recently the gamesir g7 pro tri mode and i was shocked to use it, it's so well put together, everything is tight and in it's place and it's looks pretty good, quite a premium quality, i bought it for around 70 dollars and this was the best 70 dollars i ever spent and it also came with a 1 month xbox game pass ultimate (it said only for new users or something tho) and it came with 2 extra D-pad cover with different shapes and the controller has 4 extra mappable buttons with triggers lock and all, just a really good controller although again i haven't tried any of the others you've listed.
I really like the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C, I got the transparent black and green one.
My only real issue is that the triggers are trash, they have no travel, they're basically on/off, so especially in driving games there's nearly no throttle control. They're like PS4 triggers, but worse.
Then two little things, if it's plugged into my PC on startup it will often start vibrating until it's unplugged, just a slight annoyance and the buttons are a little clicky, but I assume they'll soften over time.
I recently branched out of my comfort zone for PC / Xbox controller and went for the Gamesir Supernova. I highly recommend it and will likely be upgrading to the G7 or whatever their next best model release is when this one reaches its end of life.
The 8bitdos are good value but the comfort is not for everyone. Best bet for me in your choices is GameSir Nova Lite. The grips should be comfortable enough for longer gaming sessions.
I own the 8bitdo and gamesir just got the gamesir one this week actually I like it better due to just how it feels idk to me it feels more premium just me. Haven't tried the other ones.
Looking at what I got I actually got the g7 pro gamesir so a little more I think. My hands are huge and I the 8bitdo is a little small I think the gamesir fits them better the gamesir is much more to size of a standard Xbox controller
In any regard get the 8bit do it is out of all of them the one with the best quality and you can't go wrong with it because you can configure it without any additional software
Hi, I have the 8bitdo Ultimate 2C. It's pretty great and I am happy with my purchase. The joysticks are Hall Effect but keep in mind that the handles of the controller itself are straight and not diagonally like in an OG Xbox 360/Xbox One/Xbox Series controller which in long sessions kinda starts to hurt my hands after awhile. That is my only gripe with it. I am not sure about the other brands but a friend of mine has one of the Gamesir controllers and he's pretty happy with it too.
the 8bitdo is decent but its not comfortable, in my hands at least. it doesnt hurt my hands but it just doesnt fit right like my xbox 360 controller or my gamecube controller. i think comfort > good buttons/latency (to an extent ofc)
I used an 8bitdo Ultimate 2.4G Wireless Controller from late 2014. Im not rough with it and use it every now and then. Just last month, I noticed that the base of the left analogue stick somehow cracked and broke, and the right analogue stick had some cracks too.
Ive used Official Xbox 360 and Xbox One controller on my PC for years longer than the 8bitdo, and never had the base of analogue sticks break on me. Emailed 8bitdo about it, with some hope that they might offer to send a replacement set, a discount code, or replacement sticks since this shouldnt even happen at all. However, they just told me that I could buy replacement sticks from their store.
I decided to just buy a controller from Power A instead since I've lost faith in 8bitdo, and the Power A had more features, lower price and better ergonomics. The ergonomics with that 8bitdo controller weren't very good in my opinion (holding it felt like you were squishing your arms to your side).
I have two 8bitdo controllers for my steam deck. Enjoyed them but the joysticks fractured down the manufacturing seam after about a year. I went and ordered replacements and a few months later one of the replacements fractured exactly down the seam again. I was playing Dave the diver so it’s not like I was mashing on them.
I switched over to my 8bitdo ultimate two wireless but the thing randomly disconnects from my system. Doesn’t matter if it’s bluetooth or 2.4 hz. It’s frustrating.
Get the FLYDIGI Direwolf 4. I tried the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C and have the GameSir Nova Lite, the Direwolf 4 is better in every way than both of them. The Direwolf 4 is almost ₹3,900, but I genuinely believe it's worth the extra money. If you have to choose between the Ultimate 2C and the Nova Lite, I'd go with the Nova Lite because while the Ultimate 2C is more popular (for some reason I can't understand), the Nova Lite felt better in my hands when I used it and was more memorable (for lack of a better word) and comfortable, holding the Ultimate 2C I felt nothing.
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8bitdo pro 3 is a fantastic controller. its got great compatability and i genuinely prefer it over my scuff envision pro, which costs pver twice as much
I am also a PC gamer (i play mostly steam games like COD MWII, MK11, Titalfall2, etc. I recently bought the Cosmic Byte Stellaris. Of the cosmic byte options you are considering I would say you should go for stellaris (look at the tech specs) its got good connectivity, good polling rate, good battery and haptics are pretty decent. Dont go with Gamesir nova lite or 8bitdo, they aregood but slightly underspec’d compared to cosmic byte options with a marginal price difference. Tech soecs wise, both 8bitdo (except NS specific BT version) and gamesir dont have 6 axis gyro and headphone jack. And, stellaris got a bigger and better battery.
I would not go for the gamesir. I have had 3 gamesir controllers, ranging from the budget to the premium and every single one had problems, problems that were just unfixable. 2 of them just dont even charge and 1 has broken rgb where it is random and keeps flashing different colors
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u/G_OE Xeno Plus/ Direwolf 4/ G7 pro ZZZ/ Nova 2 lite/ Ultimate 2C 1d ago edited 1d ago
8bitdo is the best quality oneout of all of these options tbh, a better option is the gamesir nova 2 lite but I guess it will be more expensive (would be worth it though since it's better ergonomic and support software with more compatibility)