The GameSir Cyclone 2 Has One Thing That Keeps It From Being a Great Nintendo Switch Controller

GameSir has made a name for itself over the past few years by building solid gaming controllers with top-notch features, often at lower prices than the competition. One of its latest controllers, the Cyclone 2, offers a lot of great things including support for multiple platforms, several connectivity options and solid triggers and joysticks. But the lackluster buttons and janky software make it hard to recommend when there are dozens of other great controllers for around the same price.

What I like about the GameSir Cyclone 2

The first thing I love about the Cyclone 2 is how it feels to hold. Ergonomically the Cyclone 2 feels similar to the standard Xbox controller from Microsoft, which is a good thing. It’s also got a decent amount of weight to it, which feels reassuring without getting tiring.

There are vibration motors in both sides, which almost makes the controller feel more premium than the price might suggest. The Hall Effect triggers are nice, and can be toggled to become a micro switch hair trigger. You can also turn on a Hair Trigger mode via software which lets you still use the full Hall Effect trigger, yet still get the hair trigger action if you prefer. I personally prefer the physical micro switch, but if you need the extra milliseconds, you do you.

The rear paddles are well-positioned for my hands, and they and the bumpers are quite tactile and responsive. However, the rest of the hardware is a mixed bag. The face buttons, for example, just feel mushy. During my testing I was always worried for a split second that my actions wouldn’t register.

While the triggers are Hall Effect, the joysticks are GameSir’s own proprietary Mag-Res TMR which they claim are even more durable than Hall Effect Sticks. I couldn’t find much technical information about them other than they have a 1,000Hz polling rate and a 4,096 sampling resolution. They felt fine to use and I didn’t notice much a difference compared to other joysticks.

One of my favorite things about the Cyclone 2 is its broad cross-platform support, letting you use one controller for just about everything. You can use the Cyclone 2 with Nintendo Switch, PC, Android and iOS (oddly, there’s a slot on top for a mobile mount to hold your smartphone, but GameSir confirmed to me that they don’t sell that accessory anymore).

There’s no official Xbox or PlayStation support, but you can play both consoles remotely from a PC, which the Cyclone 2 supports just fine. I tested this out and had no issues, both streaming from each console and playing my Xbox games directly on my PC via Game Pass. You’ll need to use something like reWASD or PSPlay to remap the buttons on the Cyclone 2 for use with the PlayStation, which should work fine.

My favorite feature of the Cyclone 2 is enabled by the included charging stand. Simply lift the controller off the stand and it automatically turns on and reconnects to your last connected device. It’s beyond convenient to literally pick up the controller and without doing anything else, by the time I’ve sat down in my chair, it’s ready to go.

The one big letdown

Sadly, the Cyclone 2 has one glaring missing piece: its supporting software. GameSir has always been behind the competition with its software, and that holds true with its PC app, GameSir Connect. To be fair, it does work and does what it’s supposed to, but the whole UI is a bit janky and feels way too crowded.

Overall, $56 ($49 without the charging stand) isn’t an unreasonable price for a decent controller, but truthfully, there are several others I would recommend instead.

The Cyclone 2 from GameSir works with PC, Android, iOS and Nintendo Switch. It offers Hall Effect triggers with adjustable trigger depth and proprietary magnetic resonance joysticks. Some nice features like instant play and its charging stand don’t quite make up for mushy face buttons and D-pad, especially when there are better controllers for a similar price.

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