u/Patient_Tutor_9948

First off, this is not a full review of the G7 Pro DD2 edition. This is a post comparing and contrasting it to the standard Mech White version. If you are waiting for a full review of this version, that will come later.

Similarities:

The G7 Pro Dragons Dogma 2 edition is a limited edition version of the standard G7 Pro Tri-mode.

It is exactly the same internally as the Mech White and Shadow Ember version of the controller. This means that the DD2 edition is Wired Only on Xbox consoles, and is wireless on PC and Mobile. You won’t be getting Wireless in Xbox like with the Wuchang and the ZZZ editions.

The shape and placement of the buttons are also exactly the same. Same DPad, same sticks, same additional buttons and mechanisms.

Differences:

The Dragons Dogma 2 edition G7 Pro has a couple differences that are noticeable compared to the Standard Tri-Mode colorway versions.

The first one is of course the colorway itself. It’s definitely more of a noticeable red than the Shadow Ember version, which that model is more of a black that fades into a more subtle red. The sticks are still black like on the Shadow Ember though.

The dock on the DD2 edition also doesn’t feature the Gamesir logo, instead featuring the Dragon’s Dogma 2 logo instead.

The font on the face buttons is different than the 2 standard tri-mode colors.

Other than the color, the other noticeable thing was the surface and feel of the face buttons. The ABXY face buttons on my Mech White model has a glossy, smooth surface and feel, while the DD2 edition has a Matte, more rough surface feel.

If you like a more grippy feel for your ABXY buttons, then the DD2 editions buttons are better suited for you. If you like the glossy, easier to roll from one button to another feel of the other
Tri-mode colorways, pick up either the Mech White which I have or the Shadow Ember version.

Other than the face button texture, the only difference is the color and art design. Go ahead and pick whichever one suits your taste and personality the most. All the G7 Pro Tri-modes are all usually at the same price at $80 USD.
I personally really like how the Dragons Dogma 2 edition looks, and is now currently my daily driver controller switching from my mech white G7 Pro.

If you found this helpful, or if you have a different take, go ahead and leave a comment. I’m genuinely interested in what yall have to say.

This post is about my experience with the Gamesir brand, the community, and the controllers from them that I own.

I learned about Gamesir through various TikTok sponsored videos. I saw many of these videos for various different controllers, including the old Tarantula, the G7 SE, and the Super Nova. Eventually, I went with the Super Nova, as I own both a switch and PC, and found the swappable glyphs something interesting. I also liked the Price of $50 compared to some other options.
The controller itself felt nice on first impression. I had never had a controller that had lockable triggers of any kind, so this was a new experience to me. The swappable faceplates was also a unique feature I liked, although I didn’t use it much except to remove it and swap the glyphs. The overall feel of playing with it felt better than my 8BitDo ultimate controller at the time, especially in shape and the Triggers.

Shortly after, I found out about the Gamesir Discord Server. I had an issue where I couldn’t remove a macro on the Super Nova, and they helped me out pretty quickly. I then learned about the other aspects of the server. This server can be used to chat with people, but it can also be interacted with like its own game per se. There is a bot in the server called Tatsu, and it allows you to do many things. It lets you gain points for chatting, play slots with fake currency, have your own tamagotchi style virtual pet, and even use points you’ve earned to redeem controllers!! I’ve had fun chatting with a lot of people in this server, and it’s made gaining the points even more fun than redeeming them for the controllers. A lot of genuinely helpful people are in this server that can help you with a lot of problems regarding your controllers.

After this, my next choice of controller pretty easy. I went with a white G7 Pro as my next controller and it’s currently my daily driver. We’ve upgraded from manual trigger stops on the Super Nova to a full on Microswitch mode on the G7 Pro. The number of additional mappable buttons increases from 2 to 4, and the quality and feeling of the controller has increased by a lot. Sticks feel better, the triggers and shape feel better, everything feels better. I am happy with it and have used it for multiple hours daily.

There is one criticism that many, me included, have for the G7 Pro, and that’s the Dpad. Some G7 Pros had an issue with the Dpad feeling wobbly. Newer batches like mine are less wobbly, but it still feel weird compared to other controllers with a more standard feeling Dpad.

My next Gamesir controller choice was made because of the talk around the G7 Pro Dpad. Every time someone mentions the G7 Pros Dpad, someone else would compare it to the Dpad on the Gamesir Nova 2 Lite. The G7 Pro is $80 USD while the Nova 2 Lite is $30 USD so I wanted to know what the hype was about.

After getting my hands on the Nova 2 Lite, I can safely say the Dpad on the Nova 2 Lite is actually really good. The Dpad on this controller is tactile and responsive, while the G7 Pro Dpad had this weird identity crisis of wanting to be a hybrid of an Arcade Stick and a standard swivel Dpad, resulting in it not being amazing at either. The Dpad on the Nova 2 Lite is simple and focused, which resulted in an overall great, functional Dpad. The rest of the controller is essentially a Super Nova without the Swappable glyphs and faceplates. I’d argue that the Dpad on the Super Nova is worse than the Nova 2 Lite.

If you want a decent, inexpensive controller that’s probably the best Gamesir Controller for Fighting games, get a Nova 2 Lite.

If you want a good All Rounder pick, the Super Nova is pretty decent. (Currently the Cyclone 2 is out, and I believe that is a better option within the same price range as the Super Nova)

If you want an amazing Gamesir Pro Controller under $90 that works for Xbox, get a G7 Pro.

You may have noticed that I said “so far” in the title. That is because I am currently waiting to be able to get my hands on another Gamesir Controller. I am looking at the new Tarantula controllers, as I currently do not own a controller with a Symmetrical Stick Layout that uses Hall Effect or TMR sticks. Once those all come out and I receive mine, I’ll be sure to review it as I did with the G7 Pro and Nova 2 Lite in their own posts.

Sorry for taking so long to get to this, but I wanted to get an accurate picture on how I feel about this controller.

I will be going through each individual aspect of the controller, going through the buttons, the Sticks, the triggers, and the overall feel and experience of using the controller daily.

Let’s start off with the Sticks. This controller has TMR sticks, which is essentially Hall effect sticks that feel more consistent and use less power, resulting in better battery life for the controller. They feel great to use and have been consistently smooth throughout my time with it. I’ve been playing a lot of Forza Horizon 6 and the turning in that game is a good test for the responsiveness and feel of the sticks.

Another aspect of the controller that is very important for Forza is the triggers. The triggers on this controller are Hall Effect, which adds to the consistency and feel of the triggers. Good triggers are very important for a racing game, as they are usually used to speed up and slow down. Bad triggers can absolutely ruin the experience, but the triggers are amazing on this one. The triggers are also great for shooters, as the can be changed to a Mouse-Click micro trigger for quick activation.

Let’s go over to a different game, Tekken 8. This game makes use of the Dpad and Face Buttons. The optical mouse-click feeling buttons on this controller feel great, and the responsiveness is good for competitive play.

Before I got ahold of the controller, I had heard about a lot of gripes with the Dpad. In my experience, it definitely has a different feeling from other Dpads, but I kinda like it. It’s not the greatest Dpad, and certainly isn’t the best Gamesir Dpad (The Nova 2 Lite takes that prize). The best way I can describe it is that it feels like a hybrid between a Dpad and an 8 way fight stick. The clicky feedback it gives feels like an arcade joystick while the actual operation of it is like a swiveling Dpad. It’s not for everyone, but I personally don’t have too many issues with the feel.

Let’s move on to the bumpers. The standard LB and RB aren’t as clicky as the Microswitch mode on the triggers, but they still feel good. I think bumpers should have slightly more ability to be pressed at different angles than the triggers or face buttons, and that was my main gripe with the Nova 2 Lite’s bumpers. The bumpers on the G7 Pro do not have this problem.

Let’s go to the additional mappable buttons. There are 2 on the back and 2 additional bumpers. They can not be used to create macros or turbos, unless you are using the 8K models. The non-8K models have Xbox licensing and use Gamesir Nexus, which are most likely the reasons why they don’t have this functionality. The 8K models use Gamesir Connect and don’t have Xbox Licensing, so this is not an issue for them. The additional bumpers feel clicky and nice, but the back buttons are a little cheaper feeling than the other controllers buttons. It ain’t too much of an issue, and it still feels decent, but is somewhat of a downgrade compared to the feel of the rest of the buttons.

I mainly use the dongle for connection, and the experience is a seamless, almost completely lag free experience. I just turn on the controller to the dongle mode and it connects in less than 3 seconds.

Overall, this controller is a cohesive, well put together package that is going to satisfy most people. If you really care about having the best Dpad Gamesir has, I’d say go with the Nova 2 Lite, but this one is just an overall better controller in every other aspect except for the lack of macro’s and Turbo’s.

Overall score: 9 out of 10

1 point reduction for weird Dpad and slightly lower quality additional back buttons.

In my experience, I have found that although I like the idea of having back buttons and understand the benefits, I usually rarely use them. This is not the case for racing games.

I became more aware of this after using the manual shifting setting on the game. I mapped the Left back paddle to down shift and the Right back paddle to upshift. Allow me to explain why

In certain sports and supercars, they have something called “paddle shifters”, sometimes called Dual Clutch transmissions. Instead of having a stick to shift gears like a standard manual transmission, it has 2 paddles behind the steering wheel that you push toward you when u need to upshift or downshift.

Usually the left paddle is for downshift and the right paddle is for upshift. Setting the paddles on the controller in this same way makes the experience on controller much more immersive in my opinion.

For Forza Horizon 6, using Xbox button layout with manual transmission set in settings, In Gamesir Nexus:

Left paddle mapped to X Button (Downshift)

Right paddle mapped to B Button (Upshift)

This is a review of the controller based off of value for money, quality of feel, and enjoyment over 4 days. In this time period, I spent large, extended amounts of time across 3 games to test specific aspects about the controller. These games are Need For Speed Unbound, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, and Tekken 8. I picked these games to test specific stuff.

Need For Speed Unbound: Trigger Testing

Need For Speed Unbound has a mechanic where you tap the left trigger quickly to drift. This is why I picked this specific racing title to test the responsiveness, linearity, and feel of the triggers. The triggers on the controller have an overall consistent linearity to them, and feel great to press down. Nothing about them feel cheap. The trigger stops don’t feel as bad as the ones on my 2024 Super Nova.

Super Smash Bros Ultimate: Stick testing

Super Smash Bros is a game about quick reaction and quick stick movements. This makes it a good game to test responsiveness, latency, feel, and Snapback. SnapBack is the act of when you move a stick and let go, as it moves to the center, it ricochets to the other side slightly (moving a stick to the left, letting go, and the stick bounces slightly to the right, causing a potential unintended right input). This controllers sticks have no issue with SnapBack, responds quickly, and feels really good to play, especially when it comes to the sticks. My only gripe is the weird feeling bumper buttons but I will get to those in more detail in the next section. In this game, the bumpers are used for grabs

Tekken 8: Button and Dpad testing

Tekken 8 is about combos, quick reflexes, and thinking on the fly. Most players prefer to use the Dpad, so having a good one is especially important. The Dpad on this one is amazing, and is probably one of the best ones I’ve used. Having this good of a Dpad on a $30 controller is a godsend. The button don’t feel cheap either, and it was overall a fun experience playing the game with them.
Now I need to talk about the worst part of this controller, the LB RB bumpers. They feel rather mushy, and I find myself having to hit them in a specific spot at a specific angle to register them. The bumpers are the worst part of this controller by a lot.

Conclusion

Overall, I give this controller an 8.5 out of 10. It’s an amazing option, especially for the price point of $30 with Wireless connectivity for multiple platforms. The bumpers are what is holding this controller back from a higher score. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a good controller for an affordable price point, or are looking for a really good Dpad.

I was born in 2004, and started playing games in 2006. This post is about my journey across my entire life with various different types of controllers. I will then be reusing all of them and giving few quick notes and a score based on personal feel and preference. All images above are in order of when I started using them.

DualShock 2 (PlayStation 2 controller)

Score: 7.5 out of 10
This controller is great for smaller hands in my opinion, mainly due to the handles being much smaller than most controllers I’ve used. This was my first controller, and I was 2 at the time, making the smaller handles great for my hands back then. Right now it feels small but still decent enough. The first 3 DualShock controllers were based on the Super Nintendo controller with some small handles added to the bottom. This controller is decent for fighting games.

Wii Remote (Wiimote)
Score: 9 out of 10

Has great ease of use and versatility. Can be connected to accessories that change the feel immensely. Was very innovative at the time, and I still feel it holds up pretty well. Ergonomically better by itself compared to Joy Cons.

Xbox 360 Controller
Score: 8.5 out of 10

This is a genuinely good controller that is a big improvement from its predecessor. The main issue is how over time the rubber on the sticks rubs off, which results in slipping. Also the battery pack being this big bump made it a little more uncomfortable from time to time. This packs lock in mechanism wore down over time and the battery would disconnect, which was very annoying. The overall controller feel was great, but had some design flaws that held it back from a 9. Overall great controller though.

DualShock 4 (PS4 controller)
Score: 8 out of 10

This is definitely more ergonomic than the previous DualShock controllers, and added the Touchpad and Share buttons. It still feels great in the hand to this day, but this was around the time when stick drift became something I worried about. I had a gold DualShock for that I used for 8 months, until it eventually got serious stick drift going upward and slightly to the left by itself. I had never had this issue with any of my other controllers I had ever used, including my 360 and PS2 controllers sticks. This quality issue is why it has an 8 out of 10.

Wii U Gamepad
Score: 7 out of 10

The controller is genuinely cool. It has so many features packed into it and was really a fun idea. The issues come from the lack of utilization of these features, the massive size of the thing, and the distance you need to be from the console which could result in potential interference causing a disruption in connection. Also the ergonomics aren’t for everyone. Would personally give it an 8, but the wasted potential gives it a 7.

I will not be rating the Joy Cons because I have too much bias against them.

8BitDo Ultimate Pro
Score: 8 out of 10

My first controller with Hall Effect sticks. The shape is slightly odd to me as there is less of a slant to the outer sides, which is a little uncomfortable to me. The feature set and being my first time with back buttons makes it a pretty great experience overall. After this, I could never go back to potentiometer sticks.

Gamesir Super Nova
Score: 9 out of 10

Introduced me to trigger stops, had a better shape than the 8BitDo, and made me realize I like a textured or Rubber grip on my controllers.

EasySMX X20
Score: 8 out of 10

Introduced me to Microswitch Trigger Stops and mechanical face buttons. This had an issue where the magnets that held the swappable sticks in place were too weak at times, resulting in stick’s falling out and me accidentally losing a stick and having to crawl on the floor looking for it. I love the controller itself but hate the magnets.

Gamesir G7 Pro
Score: 9.5 out of 10

Best controller I’ve used so far. Has 4 programmable buttons, has more efficient TMR sticks, and has the microswitch trigger stops and clicky face buttons I loved from the EasySMX. It includes a dock unlike the X20 and doesn’t have that stupid magnet problem I had with that controller. Only thing I would prefer is a better Dpad.

In conclusion, I’ve used many different types of controllers with different feature sets and some standout features. For an unorthodox controller I got to recommend the WiiMote for its versatility and ease of use for beginners. For a Dpad I have to give it to the PS4 controller, as although I do like the Dpad on the PS2 controller, the small size of the handles of that one cause me to gravitate to the better ergonomics of the PS4. For the overall best feeling and best Standard shape controller, I got to give it to the Gamesir G7 Pro, because of the stacked feature set while also being genuinely comfortable to use for long play sessions.

I look at discord. It was perfectly fine 5 minutes ago, but now it shows this. This also seems to be the case for 3 other servers im in. Does anyone know a way to fix this?

I HAVE GOTTEN PERMISSION FROM ALL PEOPLE WHO TOOK PART IN THIS SURVEY TO INCLUDE THEIR NAME AND ANY INFO LISTED.

This post is about the differences that lead to someone preferring either a Symmetrical or Asymmetrical Stick Layout. This came to my mind because of the recent announcement of the new Tarantula controllers, and it made me remember why my friend Dan always uses a 8BitDo Pro 2 (symmetrical layout) over any controllers that we may have on us (all with asymmetrical stick layouts).

This post is a survey I conducted around a group of 15 people that I asked from various tournaments, my friend groups, and online. I will be including 10 of them in this post. I will be including the name of that person, what controllers they prefer, what their main game is, and some reasons why they may prefer that controller.

Jalen: His main game is Super Smash Bros Ultimate on the switch and prefers to use separated dual JoyCons (asymmetrical). Whenever I hand him a standard Pro Controller, he finds it uncomfortable. For PC games, he uses the Gamesir X5 Lite (asymmetrical) plugged in. This is most likely due to the spacing between the 2 sides of the controller, making it feel more like separate JoyCons. On PC he plays Tekken 8, but uses the Sticks instead of the Dpad. His fingers are somewhat beefy and moderately long.

Dan: His main games are various fighting games, as well as 2D Metroidvania games. He uses a 8BitDo Pro 2 (Symmetrical) and always uses the Dpad when he can. For Smash, he uses the sticks but that is due to the nature of the game and the inability to map movement to the Dpad. He has thin, medium length fingers.

Sergio: His main game is Super Smash Bros Ultimate, horror games, and various JRPG’s. He uses an 8BitDo Ultimate 2 (Asymmetrical). He transferred from a PS5 Dualsense controller (Symmetrical). He has medium thickness, long fingers. When he plays anything, he prefers to use the sticks, even in 2D fighting games.

Me: My main games are Tekken 8 and Smash Bros Ultimate. I play a large amount of Story Games that I use sticks for. I use the Dpad in Tekken 8 and every other fighting game except for Smash Bros. I use a mix between the Gamesir Super Nova (Asymmetrical) and the EasySMX X20 (Asymmetrical). For emulation and Mobile gaming I use the Gamesir X5 Lite (Asymmetrical). I’m used to Asymmetrical layouts and like it but have used a Dualshock 4 (Symmetrical) for 6 years. I’m comfortable with both but prefer Asymmetrical overall. Fighting games and menus are where I use the Dpad the most, but I use sticks for everything else. I have thin, comparably long fingers.

Angel: Angel plays Tekken 8 and any Pokemon game that is available on the 3DS and DS. He uses the Sticks for Tekken 8, which is sort of an outlier, and the Dpad for Pokemon. He uses a standard Xbox Series X controller (Asymmetrical). He has beefy, medium to short fingers.

Axel: Axel uses a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller (Asymmetrical) and the only thing he plays is Super Smash Bros Ultimate. He uses the sticks, but that is due to the limitations of the game and controller he is using. He has beefy, medium-long fingers.

Andy: Plays Sea of Thieves mostly on Keyboard and Mouse but when he uses a controller it’s an 8BitDo Pro 2 (Symmetrical). Most of the other games he plays 2D platformers, along with a little bit of Battlefield V (he was gifted it on Steam during a summer sale and he got hooked). His favorite game is AntonBlast. He used the Dpad mostly throughout his playthrough. He has mid width, mid-length fingers.

Carson: Plays mostly Overwatch and Call Of Duty on Xbox. He uses the sticks on a Gamesir G7 HE (Asymmetrical) and has long, thin fingers.

Other Angel: Plays mainly Battlefield 6 and Arc Raiders on a Scuf Valor Pro (Asymmetrical). She has thinner, short-medium fingers.

Karla: Plays Helldivers 2 and various Horror Games such as Resident Evil. She also plays a little bit of Mortal Kombat, but not too much as of late. She’s asked me about any Asymmetrical options on PS5 and there aren’t many I know of that aren’t over $100. Currently uses a PS5 Dualsense controller (Symmetrical). She has thin, long fingers.

Interpreting The Results

Most of those I found who prefer a symmetrical layout use a Dpad a lot. Those I asked who use a Dpad on an Asymmetrical controller say they would prefer a Symmetrical layout, but they find a lack of options, or in the case of Sergio, the options are too small for their hands. When Sergio held Dan’s 8BitDo Pro 2, he found it uncomfortable to hold, and he still prefers an Asymmetric layout due to him using sticks mostly. Another thing I noticed was that most Symmetrical users have thinner, shorter fingers.

I have heard that the Tarantula shape is more built for bigger hands than the 8BitDo Pro 2, so I might recommend that to Sergio.

Those who prefer an Asymmetric layout usually value the sticks more than a Dpad, or usually have longer, thicker fingers. People who play games that don’t utilize the Dpad usually prefer Asymmetric because the Dpad is more “out of the way”.

The main factors to determining which layout one would prefer is whether someone uses a Dpad or not, finger proportions, games they play, and availability, especially the availability of Symmetrical controllers.

I’m genuinely happy that the Tarantula exists, because that means the Symmetrical layout is more accessible to more people, as most options are either Scuf and Playstation. Scuf is way too expensive for what you are getting, and Playstation controllers have serious stick-drift issues. Also, Xbox players have almost no options for Symmetrical, which is where the Tarantula comes in clutch.

Hope this helped someone figure out what layout to get and hope yall have a good day.

PS: Karla has asked me about any Asymmetrical options on PS5 and there aren’t many I know of. If any of yall know any Asymmetrical options that are compatible with PS5 please feel free to comment them here.