INTRODUCTION TO QUEERING THE GAME
Welcome to Queering The Game, a new regular feature for GeekAnything that spotlights gaming of all forms through a queer perspective. Writing on games is often viewed through a straight lens as well as hyper-focused on one type of gaming, be it tabletop, board, card, or video. I tend to enjoy gaming in all forms and have found many people that stick to their one corner of gaming. I want to explore everything.
As for the queer side of things, I find many reviews and discussions on gaming lacking a queer perspective, especially of the asexual variety. While not everything will have a direct correlation to the LGBTQ+ community, I hope to bring light to the issues and praise the efforts that games and publishers make to be inclusive.
Why Did I Buy?
I was in the market for a new controller because my Pro controller was getting worn, and I had the Nintendo Switch retro gamepad by 8BitDo recommended to me by a friend.
8bitdo has made a name for itself in the controller accessory market in the last few years by making some of the most widely used controllers for fans of retro-style accessories. I have only recently gotten my hands on the company’s line of products after being hounded by a couple of emulation fan friends of mine that swear by them.
A month or two ago, I pre-ordered the Lite 2 wireless controller. While I adore my Pro Controller, it doesn’t fit neatly in my case and is kinda boring to look at in its plain black self. I like color!
Portability is important to me. I wanted something that could be played at work on the go. I had my finger over the “buy now” button for the original 8BitDo Lite. until I noticed that the thumbsticks were both on the lower half of the controller, Dualshock-style. Over the years, I’ve owned a PS3 and PS4 but never could enjoy games that required heavy use of the left thumbstick. For me, shooters and adventure games feel better with offset thumbsticks. I imagine this will either be a big sticking or selling point to most potential customers.
Thankfully, the Lite 2 provides said offset thumbsticks and in fancy colors like turquoise to match the Switch Lite (which I don’t own).
CLEVER GAMEPLAY-TEST-RELATED SUBHEADING
There was a tiny bit of lag when playing more frantic games wireless, such as the recently released Metroidvania HunterX or Neon White. However, it wasn’t anything that affected the game enough to a point I would refuse to play unless wired. I tried to measure the lag, but I couldn’t pinpoint it consistently enough. It could have been my imagination as well. Or the brain slug messing with my mind again.
While playing Contra, I did find myself using the D-Pad, as thumbsticks still aren’t ideal for these kinds of run-and-gun platformers. The same with Pokemon Puzzle League. The D-pad just has the right feel for retro gaming. I did beat Gary Oak on hard, so I can now claim that I am the Pokemon Puzzle Champion. I will not, however, be able to get that “Prepare For Trouble” theme music out of my head along with James’ giddy laughter.
Exploring Fortnite, I found it at first to be slightly more comfortable than the Pro controller. As the matches went on, I was starting to feel the fatigue in areas of my wrists I normally don’t. I tend to grip the controller pretty hard while playing intense games, and I think dancing the macarena as a xenomorph counts as pretty intense!
The switch is not my go-to for most non-Splatoon shooters, but I will probably not reach for the Lite 2 when I do.
Pac-Man Champion Edition is a great test for responsiveness, which I have been enjoying for many years. Now that it is out in the Pac-Man Museum game on Switch, I can get my fix for thumping bass and throbbing visuals all night long. Most of my time was spent playing Championship Mode and the D-pad was more than adequate for the tight turns required by the game. There were fewer accidental turns than I have with my Xbox One controller that I use on PC and in games where precision matters. This is essential.
Score-wise, I did fairly well both on PC and Switch Champion Edition with the Lite 2. The differences in latency between wired and wireless were negligible too. I could throw sparks like nobody’s business! Of course, when it came time to make a cute video showing off my skills, I played poorly every time. So enjoy a screenshot of my Pac-Man Museum arcade. It is a work in progress.
The only thing I noticed that bugged me coming from using the Xbox-style controllers was the lack of texture ridges on the thumbsticks. They replicate the Switch joy-con thumbsticks nearly perfectly so this is a personal quibble and nothing that would stop me from buying. I can always get a thumbstick cap with a better grip eventually.
NOW FOR THE LITE2 TECHNICAL IMPRESSIONS
The color matches the turquoise switch lite perfectly. If it weren’t for the 8BitDo branding in the middle, it would pass for an official controller to most observers. It makes me happy to have something brightly colored and not bland gray or drab black.
The texture of the plastic is almost indistinguishable from the official Joy-Con. Mostly smooth with just a tiny bit of matte texture, I could see eventually getting one of those vinyl skins if I can get one that makes it looks like something that came out of a neon 90s supernatural procedural mystery show. It just seems natural as the Lite 2 comes in both salmon pink and turquoise. Like I said. 90s colors.
The battery lasted at least 4 hours of constant gaming with vibration on. I didn’t get a low battery notification during my time using it, but this is not an accurate test as the device was brand-new. I am sure this is something that I will revisit in the future and update if needed. Maybe I will do a “impressions a year later” type story if I remember.
HEY SIRI, REMIND ME IN A YEAR TO UPDATE THIS PIECE WITH BATTERY LIFE NEXT YEAR. Apparently, Siri doesn’t work when commands are typed and not said out loud.
Regardless of Siri’s text-based shortcomings, all of the buttons have a satisfying press distance and pleasant click. Each is placed exactly where you would expect them to be on a switch-style controller, so again, no surprises there.
Size-wise, the Lite 2 is perfectly small for my small-ish hands. While I don’t have any problem playing with an Xbox One controller, the Xbox design is larger than I would prefer. The Lite 2 is the perfect size for short sessions while dodging customers at work chilling with some friends you don’t want to talk to anyway. I have not had the opportunity to try and see how it performs under the pressure of avoiding conversation, but one can assume it does just fine in helping make you look too busy to have a dialogue while being the only sober person bored at a straight bar featuring bros pointlessly flirting with the skimpily-dressed staff. (I can say from experience that the 3DS performs admirably at this and recommend the 3DS for this specific purpose.)
If you have large truckasaurus hands and still use “The Duke” Xbox controller from back in the day, this will likely feel far too tiny. I could see this being a great choice as a pro controller alternative for kids due to the price and size.
I stole my partner’s food scale to weigh the controller and it came in at 2.8oz (82 grams). For reference the pro controller clocks in at 8.6oz (246 grams). My 11 pm snack of cantaloupe was 5oz (141 grams) after I ate at least a total of double that much as I was weighing the cantaloupe and controllers.
While the Lite 2 is very light, it doesn’t feel cheap in any way. It feels like a first-party controller. Some people may feel it is too light, but I did a professional scientific survey of three workers at Wendy’s and they all said that it was “pretty light, yeah” as well as “please pull around for your nuggets” and “You are holding up the line, take your toy and please pull forward.”
Unrelated to me eating cantaloupe, the Lite 2 wipes clean with a damp cloth just fine, so any fruit or soup-related mishaps are easily rectified provided they don’t get under the buttons. I have lost more than one controller due to my predilection for gaming while enjoying soup. Eventually, if 8BitDo releases a soup and cantaloupe/honeydew proof controller, I will be first in line to buy two.
There were no technical issues connecting it via Bluetooth to my console or laptop.
I do have to mention that there are a few drawbacks that are just par for the course when it comes to third-party controllers. While the Lite 2 does have very good vibration strength, it does not have the HD rumble that the joy-cons feature. I did not notice it missing, but you might. The controller cannot be used to wake your switch from sleep nor is it compatible with amiibo. These are all features that are due to the Nintendo Switch and not any fault of the Lite 2.
The gyro controls are fine but I don’t use motion controls enough to judge if they are any different than they would be with a Pro controller. I did try them with Super Mario Galaxy. It seemed the same as any other to my outsider’s eyes.
Time will tell if this has stick drift issues. I will do my best to revisit this in a year or sooner if any issues crop up.
WITTY CLOSING REMARKS
I am very happy with my purchase at this point. The build quality, size, and responsiveness are all exactly what I was looking for when I preordered the gamepad. The Lite 2 is not a replacement for a Pro controller. It is, however, perfect for portable bite-sized gaming, which is what the Switch excels at in the first place. Being affordable and cute is just the cherry on top of the volcano.
I strongly feel this is going to be my on-the-go controller for most situations. The Lite 2 is perfect to throw into my pin purse or laptop bag without much fuss, which is always nice. The pricing is a big deal to me as it is a lot easier to justify bringing a $35 controller rather than a $60 or $70 one everywhere.
I don’t care for numerical ratings, but if someone insists, tell them that I award 8BitDo’s Lite 2 five banana stickers and a solid gold telephone.
Disclosure details:
-Purchased personally on Amazon for $34.99
-Used the controller for at least 12 hours of gameplay at the time of writing.
-Drank too much tea too late, should be sleeping but instead wrote up this piece.
-Played the following games to test the controller and had no notable issues:
(Games tested wired and wireless for 15 minutes or more)
• Hunter X
• Contra Anniversary Collection
• Fall Guys
• Pokemon Puzzle League (Via Nintendo 64 Online)
• Monster Train
• Super Mario Galaxy
• Crypt Of The Necrodancer
• Sonic Origins
• Fortnite (PC and Switch)
• Neon White
• Pac-Man Museum (PC and Switch)
NOTE: This controller was purchased with my own money for personal use. I was not asked to do this review by 8bitdo or anyone associated. All the thoughts and views are my own, except the ones implanted by the brain slugs I picked up on Omicron Persei 8.
