If you've been following the news lately, a certain, uh, acquisition has been making a lot of noise regarding cloud gaming. Mobile gaming on its own is a massive industry, but the cloud gaming realm still seems to be uncharted territory – even for the companies who are championing it. Even today, cloud gaming does have a decent amount of options, and being able to play these games as you do at home will be key. Enter RiotPWR and their latest Cloud Gaming Controller, which takes their already-solid controller offering and adds a universal USB-C compatibility, which gives it a lot more flexibility.
Specifications
Highlights
- Lightning-connected for ultra-low latency.
- Additional USB-C cable to allow you to game on an iPad Pro.
- Analog left and right joysticks
- Digital A,B,X,Y face buttons
- Digital L1, R1 bumpers
- Analog Hall effects L2, R2 triggers
- Digital L3, R3 clickable thumb-sticks
- Digital D-pad
- Option, Home and Menu buttons.
- Zero Gravity device holder (patent pending)
Tech Specs
- Input Type: Lightning Connector
- Cable Length: 24 in. / 60 cm
- Connections: Lightning, USB-C
- Height: 2 in. / 5 cm
- Length: 4.8 in. / 11 cm
- Width: 6 in. / 15 cm
- Weight: 10 oz. / 280 g
The core controller, as mentioned, looks similar to the other controllers in RiotPWR's library. By that I mean, it looks and feels like every Xbox or Switch Pro controller you've ever held before (sorry DualSense). The button layout is the same, the joystick placement is the same, and the grips for your hands are the same. If you've been playing games for as long as I have, you will have no trouble playing games with it. If this is the first controller you've ever held, it's easy to understand. There's a reason this controller format has stuck around so long in the gaming industry; it just works.
One major caveat to the controller, however, is its bulkiness. As this is a cloud gaming-focused controller, this means you're going to be traveling with it. While it's certainly not big enough to cause issues in a backpack or purse, it's not definitely not small enough to fit in your pocket. This means you'll likely be storing the controller separately from your phone in your pocket, and depending on your commute, you might spend as much time digging the controller out and plugging it in as you are playing before you reach your destination. I don't bring this up as a fatal flaw in design or anything – all mobile controllers that aren't Backbone-style grips will face this issue – but it is something to consider.
Where this new controller really shines, in my opinion, is in that new USB-C capability. With a single USB-C wire, you can replicate the Nintendo Switch's tabletop mode with your iPad in no time flat, and in the process get as close to gaming on your home console as possible while out and about. Pair that with a good wi-fi or 5G connection, and you could be playing Final Fantasy XVI on your PlayStation 5 wherever you are using the PS5 Remote App. There's little to no lag or latency when playing, whether it's Xbox Cloud Gaming or a native app, so the experience is seamless.
I will say that switching between USB-C and the lightning cable for iPhones frustrated me, as I couldn't seem to get the plastic piece to lay into the controller properly when using USB-C. It took multiple tries until it finally stuck, and even then there's a small opening in the one side. Gameplay wasn't affected, thankfully, but it's still annoying. Worse still, a paper clip or other thin object is required to pop out the wire in use when you need to switch, which doesn't work well when you're moving around or in a hurry. I advise you to know which wire you want to use, and make sure that wire is installed before even leaving the house.
Speaking of the iPhone, like other mobile-focused controllers, the RiotPWR Cloud Gaming Controller also comes with a phone mount which sticks into a designated slot on the controller face before attaching the iPhone to it. This functionality is standard fare, nothing out of the ordinary, but I do appreciate how sturdy this mount appears to be. I've had plenty of examples where the phone mount will slowly shift down due to the weight of the phone, but this one seems to lock in place and stay where I want it to be, which I appreciate.
Final Thoughts
All told, the RiotPWR Cloud Gaming Controller has become one of my favorite controllers for mobile gaming. It's familiar, it's compatible with a wider variety of devices than other RiotPWR controllers, and it's not cumbersome to travel with. I wish there was a more efficient way to switch between USB-C and lightning though, as the current format doesn't live up to the rest of the controller's quality. Still, that's a small price to pay for what is essentially a home controller I can take with me wherever I go. RiotPWR has a nifty little device going here, one which I expect to use for a long time to come.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.