PowerA Animal Crossing Enhanced Wireless Controller for Nintendo Switch (K.K. Slider Edition) - Review

A few weeks back, we reported that PowerA would be releasing two Animal Crossing themed controllers for Nintendo Switch. We've been fortunate enough to receive a copy of the K.K. Slider themed controller, and have had ample time to test it out!

First and foremost, we'd never heard of PowerA before the Animal Crossing controllers got revealed. However, they are a pretty big company that have released a huge variety of controllers. When we first reported this news, we received two responses that praised this company, hollow--crossing wrote "I own a Pokemon version of these controllers, they’re pretty good", and bebebese added "... from looking at reviews these are some of the best third party controllers out there ... I'm definitely picking one up for local multiplayer", which could only mean good things for this controller.

When it arrived, we were in complete awe at just how beautiful it looks, we didn't even want to take it out of the packaging, and we don't want to admit how many photos we took of it from various different angles (hint: it was over 200!) - and even then, the images really don't do it justice. This is a controller that looks really nice and would impress any Animal Crossing fan. But how does it go for an actual controller?

The answer? Really good! The buttons feel very responsive, and have little to no input lag. Some licensed and third party products don't feel very responsive, but that's not the case here. Both the d-pad and analog sticks work really well, and the additional customizable buttons on the back really come in hand if you're lazy like us and sometimes just want to play one handed! If we had to fault them, the indentation on the analog sticks are a little uncomfortable, but that's likely because we're used to the curvy, convex feel of the joycons analog sticks, rather than this concave design, but in reality that's a minor fault and only comes down to personal preference.

The controller is also wireless, but it runs on batteries, not via recharge. Thankfully, there are two AA batteries in the box, so you can get to use right away and not have to worry about scrounging around some batteries.

The controller itself was easy enough to set up. If you've set up any additional controller with the Switch before, this is essentially the exact same thing - it was very smooth sailing. The controller also has motion controls, and when compared to the procontroller, the only things it's lacking is amiibo support, IR motion, and HD rumble.

If you can't afford the Animal Crossing Switch Edition but still want some Animal Crossing accessories for your console, the PowerA controller is a really nifty controller that wold suit any Animal Crossing fan!

If you're interested in checking one out for yourself, you can view more information over on PowerA's official website, and you can purchase one from The Gamesmen for Australian residents, or Amazon for international readers! A special thanks to PowerA for being kind enough to send us one of these controllers to test out!