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Review cover WILLGOO Wireless Nintendo Switch Pro Controller GBAtemp review
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The Nintendo Switch has been blessed with third party controllers, ranging from officially licensed ones designed after your favorite Nintendo character, to GameCube-styled ones for competitive play and to plain cheap knock-offs. However, one aspect that players can find divisive is the price point. While having an fancy-looking controller with the officially licensed tag might be visually appealing, they often lack key features and sell for a premium price. The WILLGOO Wireless Switch Pro Controller is a generic-looking Pro controller for the Switch that markets for as much as a game but packs a lot of features. It is actually the upgraded version of the BittBoy Pro controller which we tested a few months ago. Is this the optimal controller for the Switch gamer on a budget? Let’s find out in this review!

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BittBoy is actually behind the WILLGOO-branded version of a Pro Switch controller. The newcomer in the Nintendo Switch accessory scene came up with an impressive product with its first controller which I reviewed earlier, being very affordable and packing a lot of features while being very light. This new version might look generic, heck, it might even just be a rebranded product already out there in the market. But at the time of writing, it has a price tag of $27.95 on Amazon, and is worth taking a look at given all the features it promises and especially if you have a limited budget, are looking for a Player 2 controller or are looking for a versatile controller.

Indeed, this gamepad not only works with the Nintendo Switch but it is also compatible wirelessly with PCs and Android! While you are most likely to purchase this controller for your Nintendo Switch, the PC and Android compatibility is a nice-to-have feature and makes for an adequate affordable spare controller for those platforms. However, do note that gyro and rumble features don’t work when paired to an Android device for some reason.

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Other than being quite versatile, the WILLGOO Pro controller boasts the following:

  • Support for firmware 6.1.0. and up (upgradeable to support future firmwares)
  • Gyro support
  • Rumble feature
  • Light weight at 202 grams
  • Up to 4 WILLGOO wireless Pro controllers can be connected to a Switch console simultaneously

Comparing it to its predecessor, the BittBoy Pro controller, the WILLGOO controller is very much alike save for its transparent shell design. It is similarly light at 202g, packs a 380mAh battery which takes 2-3 hours to charge up and also comes with a rather short 75 cm USB Charging Cable. They have also improved with placing the screenshot button on the face of the controller rather than awkwardly on the top like with the previous iteration. This and the PC/Android wireless compatibility are the biggest improvements with this version, while keeping the controller at an affordable price.

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Of course, given the price, WILLGOO has had to cut corners. The build quality is flagrant for one, made of cheap plastic and even its integrated palm grip is just a matte piece of plastic offering no added grip whatsoever. But overall, it fits snugly in the hands, especially when weighing 202 grams. The USB cable could have been longer, allowing you to charge the device and use it at the same time in docked mode.

This might sound nitpicky but as an upgrade, the company might have upgraded more relevant features to the Switch like including NFC support and packing the controller with HD rumble. However, this might bump the price a little and swayed the company away from its affordability philosophy. Nevertheless, these are aspects which can be improved and hopefully integrated in future revisions and I had to put it out there for the company to consider. I will be including these in my "Cons" list but that does not mean the controller is bad per se. It's just that being an upgrade, there is still room for improvements.

Official website

Amazon Store Link for USA customers

Verdict

What We Liked ...
  • Feature rich
  • Affordable
  • Versatile compatibility (PC and Android)
  • Responsive
  • Lightweight
What We Didn't Like ...
  • Battery life
  • Build quality
  • No NFC support
  • No HD rumble
  • Shot length of included USB cable
8.5
out of 10

Overall

This revamped version of the BittBoy Pro controller adds some new features, a new design while keeping a budget price point. However, there are more features to be desired in a Pro controller, like better battery life, HD rumble and NFC support but BittBoy seems to be heading in the right direction. Hopefully, future iterations will include such features while keeping its trademark affordability.
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Exaltys
Looks sort of like the old Xbox S controllers. For the price though, I'd probably get one of those 8bitdo USB adaptors and use one of my Dualshock 4s lying around.
 
crossholo
it's kinda funny because its exactly like those chinese knock-off 3rd party controllers (which work perfectly, never had a problem with them. they also cost just 20$!), but with a different casing
 
Silent_Gunner
This controller, down to the blue plastic, reminds me of a 3rd party PS1/PS2 controller one of my older brothers had laying around. The thing never worked, and felt about as cheap as a lot of those 3rd party controllers did back then.
 
The Real Jdbye
I guess maybe Android doesn't support gyro input on standard BT gamepads. As for rumble, there isn't really a good standard for gamepad rumble outside of XInput, I've never had any luck getting gamepad rumble working with DirectInput on my PC (was mainly trying to get it to work for PSX and N64 games)

I wish these 3rd party manufacturers would put bigger batteries in their controllers. The long battery life is one of the amazing things about the official Pro Controller, and a say, 1000mAh battery is so dirt cheap that for a dollar or two extra they could triple the size of the battery, which would be well worth the extra 2 dollars to me.

Looks like a decent controller, like most of the Switch Pro Controllers around that price point. About the same feature set too. I'd be interested in hearing how this holds up compared to other 3rd party Pro Controllers. I'm mostly concerned about durability as that is always a big question with 3rd party controllers. The controller can be great out of the box but if the analog stick starts failing only a few weeks or months down the line (or after a few rounds of competitive Smashing) then it isn't really worth the money even if it is way cheaper than an official Pro Controller. At least you know those are durable.
 
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