CRKDs Nitro deck It turned the OLED Switch into a kind of OLED Switch Lite. The Nitro Deck’s lightweight frame added tighter grips on either side of the screen, a more logical USB-C charging port, and substantial triggers that felt like the right controller to cover my favorite Nintendo games. And you can get it on Gamecube purple.
The company has since followed it up (after some experimentation with the Neo S) with a plus version of the deck. Nitro Deck+ it’s basically the same build, a hand deck for your Switch slate, detachable Joy-Cons (and thus no scrolling) no programmable buttons, and – I hate to type this – better hand feel.
CRKD
CRKD’s Nitro Deck+ is one of the best ways to play on Switch. With better ergonomics, drift-free sticks, and programmable buttons, Nintendo has a lot to offer over its Joy-Cons.
- Non-drifting Hall Effect rods
- Comfortable grip
- Quieter, improved vibration characteristics
- Minor improvements over the original Nitro Deck
- The new stick placement won’t be for everyone
The biggest visual change is the switch to symmetrical fingersticks, making the Nitro Deck+ look more like a muted Steam Deck than a Switch peripheral. Both joysticks have non-contact Hall Effect sensors. This means you are less likely to experience any slippage and the rods should last significantly longer too. And coming from the Joy-Cons, yeah, that’s a good thing.
The placement of the shift sticks will be divisive – especially if you mostly play on the Switch with the Joy-Cons. The stick is now above the A, B, X, and Y buttons, making it look like many gaming PC slates out there. The company said this change was based on user feedback, but there is a learning curve that comes from the base hardware or the original Nitro Deck. To be honest: I still miss the traditional asymmetrical layout.
Next to each analog stick are four reassignable back buttons, paired with oddly placed “Sidekick” buttons. That’s six extra buttons to play with. I tested them mainly for weapon swapping, but the regular button layout worked perfectly fine for most of my Switch game catalog.
If you play a competitive shooter that requires more button shortcuts — or any game that requires quick reflexes — you’re probably not using the Switch. Honestly, a ban Smash Bros., you must be playing on a different platform.
But in their defense, you’re not going to accidentally touch these buttons. This is something I would often do with the mostly flush S custom buttons on the back of the original Nitro Deck.
You can also adjust the sensitivity of the trigger buttons, something that wasn’t on the Nitro Deck at launch, but is now available via a software upgrade. All this is done by holding down the ZL (for example) and plus buttons on the device for three seconds. The LED will flash blue and then you can increase the distance you need to press the trigger by pressing the plus button or vice versa with the minus button. Nitro Deck+ will vibrate up to three times to indicate your setting. It’s nice to have this level of customization on a handheld console. This also helps keep the triggers tight. If anything, the Deck+’s triggers offer a bit more travel than the first model.
Another improvement over its predecessor is the better grip of the interchangeable fingertips. The tops of the Nitro Deck tended to pop open as I slid the Switch into my bag. Several times they flew over the train carriage I was sitting in. On the Nitro Deck+ they fit tighter.
My colleagues asked about changes to the rumble feature, which I had already turned off when I started testing. CRKD says he’s upgraded the rumble tuned to the Nitro Deck+ with upgraded motors and drivers, and while the improvement he feels is subtle, the difference in noise isn’t. The original Deck was a loud, grumbling controller, while the Deck+ feels closer to the Switch’s HD rumbling experience.
The main advantages of the Nitro Deck are still here, of course. A sleeker body to hold, more substantial buttons and triggers, and a smarter USB-C port for power is still at the top of the device, and there’s an additional USB-C port for charging peripherals while you play.
I can’t say I use many of these six (six!) new custom buttons regularly, but dedicated Switch gamers may get more out of them than I do. Whether you get the Nitro Deck+ or its predecessor depends on which bar arrangement feels most comfortable. That’s the biggest difference, and for some, may be the biggest draw here.
