Most gamers have at some point been stung with a poor-quality, third-party games controller. Such was the clamour to offer gamers a cheaper alternative to the official products, that the quality wasn’t always as it should be.
These days, it’s a different landscape and one that sees third party controllers as a really competitive and strong market. Naff mechanics and cheap casing are a thing of the past and you can rightly expect something of a high quality. If you do your homework, of course.
GameSir is one of the key players in the marketplace, and their latest Super Nova wireless controller has been released with high aspirations. The controller is for use with IOS, Android, PC and the Nintendo Switch, but not for PlayStation or Xbox consoles.
It comes with a charging station included, and it looks like a very nice controller with the deep moonlight blue colour complemented by snazzy RGB light strips and textured rubberised grip sections. It’s very comfortable in the hand with the grip providing extra comfort, but also the sleek curved design of the controller just feels right as you hold it.
I really liked the depth of customization available with an array of options for button swapping, button mapping, changeable faceplates, and lighting options. It looks and feels the part, and with plenty of nice touches to the visuals and design, there’s a lot to like, but as with any piece of tech, the performance is everything.
The responsiveness of the controller is really reassuring with the hall effects sensors on the sticks and triggers, it provides a welcome level of quality and performs really well whatever the gaming genre. It houses dual vibration motors and the 6-axis gyroscope delivers the realistic vibrations and response that it needs.
All in all, it’s a flexible, multi-platform controller that lets you have your say on what you want it to do for you. It looks superb, feels even better, and it does everything it says on the tin.
GameSir Super Nova is available for £49.99 via Amazon.
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User reviews
Tim Vasvi : Build quality is top notch, it feels premium in the hands and is really comfortable to hold. It has some weight to it, but isn’t heavy if that makes sense. The RGB lighting on it is well integrated and not over the top and the way it sits in it’s little charging dock is pretty neat. The face plates are interchangeable too which is a nice bonus, so if you change your mind on the colour you can simply swap it out for a different one.
Konrad W: it was quite painful to set it up. It can be paired with PC using bluetooth, receiver (like some wireless keyboards or mice) or cable. And even though my PC can see the controller, none of the games work with it, apart from some random actions here and there. And I agree, it can be a Windows issue, but there’s nothing about it in manual.
I was doing plenty of research online, not much of help, but eventually I decided to connect it to the USB to charge it properly. And the miracle happened. It works perfectly well. Thankfully the PC monitor is not crazy big and I sit by the desk, also the cable is long enough so it doesn’t really bother me. I can definitely say that using this controller is fantastic to play with Forza, at least. I have fun in joyrides or races. It’s amazing. The grip is better, it’s more natural and I’m not getting tired fingers after half an hour of play. I have absolutely no objections to the quality of the product. It feels rather premium, and the grip is good even with a bit sweaty hands.