8BitDo Ultimate 2C Review

I recently purchased a new controller for use with my PC and SteamDeck.

The 8BitDo Ultimate 2C came across my desk mostly from watching a video comparison done by Linus Tech Tips and after some careful consideration of others on the list I decided that it was the option that fit my needs the best.

I ordered the controller from Amazon at the cost of about £32 which isn't too bad, considering branded controllers are going for closer to £50 or more!

My unboxing of the controller (featured here) was a pleasant experience as most of the packaging was made from recyclable materials.

The positives

The controller boasts some impressive specs to begin with. A built in battery so we don't have to deal with swapping those AA batteries out, hall-effect triggers and additional bumpers on the rear of the device for some extra configurability.

My review of the controller is mostly positive. The buttons feel tactile and nice to press. The triggers and joysticks are smooth with no jittery feeling which you tend to get with cheaper controllers. 

Latency when in bluetooth mode and while using the supplied USB dongle is great, especially for casual use and I suspect that it could even compete with more expensive controllers in this area specifically. My only gripe about the build quality was down to the D-pad which had quite a bit of wiggle room when gliding my thumb over the surface. It's nothing too major but does distract from the otherwise great build quality of the controller.

Issues

My main issues were down to battery life and the bluetooth mode.

I'm very used to connecting my Xbox controller via bluetooth to my Windows PC and having no issues whatsoever. When I tried to do this with the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C however, it simply wouldn't work for my standalone game of choice, Minecraft. I tried multiple times to load up the game and use the controller in bluetooth mode to no avail and had to settle for plugging in the supplied USB dongle which worked just fine. This isn't a major concern for me, but something to be aware of especially if you are using a laptop with only USB Type-C ports. It's also worth mentioning that the bluetooth mode worked absolutely fine in all of the Steam games I tried which suggests that the Steam controller config is interpreting the inputs there.

Lastly, the battery life was not quite as good as I might have expected. While with my Xbox controller, I can put in 2 AA batteries and see the controller lasting weeks, with relatively long play sessions on average every other evening. The 8BitDo Ultimate 2C gave me about 2 days of battery life before constantly disconnecting which indicated that the battery needed to be charged. The battery life issues were experienced when using the controller with the supplier USB dongle and honestly I expected it to last a littler longer. 

Linus Tech Tips mentioned in his video that the ergonomics of the controller aren't the best. The arms seems to be very "straight", so especially after coming off of an Xbox controller it can feel like the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C is trying to pull your elbows inward which could be uncomfortable for some.

Conclusion

So in conclusion, I think that the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C has some great features including the build quality, low latency and connectivity options (being able to choose between bluetooth and using the supplied USB dongle with the flick of a switch). However, it tends to lack in ergonomics, battery life and controller support in standalone games (although who's not buying games through Steam these days right?).

Ultimately (see what I did there...) if my Xbox controller decides to give up on me any time soon I will be purchasing one of the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C controllers to replace it, mainly due to the price difference which I think makes the 8BitDo a bit of a better deal. However, while my Xbox controller is still thriving I think I'll carry on using it for now.