PowerA Enhanced Wireless Controller with Lumectra review - a dazzling alternative to the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller
One-minute review
The PowerA Enhanced Wireless Controller with Lumectra succeeds as a very worthwhile alternative to the tried-and-tested Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. Not only does it undercut Nintendo’s official Switch gamepad in terms of price, but it’s fantastic on its own merits, offering a sturdy and comfortable build with welcome extras like programmable buttons and the titular Lumectra RGB lighting.
Said lighting effects are the star of the show and are fully customizable on the controller itself via several inputs. You can also expect rock-solid performance over a wireless Bluetooth connection and some fantastic-feeling buttons and triggers.
There are some notable drawbacks, though. Namely, this is exclusively a Nintendo Switch controller with very limited usability on Android phones. This also means no support for PC, PlayStation, or Xbox consoles. Some may also miss the lack of HD Rumble and - for amiibo collectors - near-field communication (NFC) support.
Price and availability
- $64.99 / £59.99 (around AU$99.99)
- Beats the Pro Controller’s price by $5 in the US
- Available in the US and UK
The PowerA Enhanced Wireless Controller with Lumectra is only available in the US and UK at present. Coming in at $64.99 / £59.99 (around AU$99.99), folks in the US can purchase it from PowerA’s official website or Amazon or GameStop. UK shoppers will need to rely exclusively on Amazon.
It’s an impressive price point for US folks, especially, as they’ll find the controller is $5 cheaper than the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller ($69.99 / £59.99). Conversely, it is $5 pricier than the standard PowerA Enhanced Wireless Controller, for which you’re getting those lovely RGB effects. Otherwise, both are largely identical in terms of build, performance, and extras like those remappable rear buttons.
It’s great that the PowerA Enhanced Wireless Controller with Lumectra either undercuts or price matches the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller in the US and UK respectively, but it’s not a net gain. You are losing out on NFC support for amiibo scanning and PC support.
Specs
Design and features
If you’ve used a PowerA Enhanced wireless or wired controller in the past, you’re getting a near-enough identical experience with this Lumectra edition. This means you’re getting fantastic, sturdy build quality and an ergonomic design that rests easily in the hands. It’s an all-plastic finish (matte on the front and rear, with a glossier sheen up top) with lightly textured grips giving a secure feel.
By and large, buttons and modules are all very solid here; there’s nothing particularly outstanding or disappointing. The asymmetrical concave analog sticks and bouncy face buttons feel pleasant to use, and the d-pad - while rather basic - doesn’t feel overly mushy or listless; a problem I have with the official Nintendo Switch Pro Controller.
It’s the triggers that are a particular highlight here. While they have a peculiar pointed design, they’re digital, meaning you’re getting instant travel time for quick and responsive inputs.
On the rear side of the controller, you have two remappable buttons. They’re useful for assigning a secondary input should you need, and are easily managed by holding the center-rear ‘Program’ button for a couple of seconds, followed by the rear button you wish to assign, and finally one of the front-facing buttons, bumpers, or triggers. It’s simple and easy.
The star of the show here is the titular Lumectra RGB lighting; it’s genuinely awesome. By pressing the lighting button on the rear of the controller, you can enter Lumectra’s customization mode where you’re able to cycle through four highlighted lighting areas: left and right strips, left analog stick and face buttons, and lastly the d-pad and right analog stick.
Learning how it all works can be tricky at first, as customization all happens on-board (there’s no external app as we see with the likes of the GameSir T4 Kaleid) and there are a fair few shortcuts to learn. Handily, the included instruction booklet (and the online user manual available on the store page) will run you through all the shortcuts. These include altering colors, brightness, and patterns for each of the four areas.
After fiddling around with Lumectra’s settings, what results is a very eye-catching controller, and the impressive level of customization means you can create a wide range of patterns and colors. It’s the flagship feature of the product and some of the best-implemented RGB I’ve seen on a controller to date.
Performance
The use case for the PowerA Enhanced Wireless Controller with Lumectra is surprisingly limited, especially when paired up against other Switch gamepads. This is because it will only work wirelessly - via Bluetooth - with Nintendo Switch consoles. You can hook it up to your Switch’s dock for charging and a wired connection, but there’s no USB-C cable included in the box.
Now, this is fine if your intent is to play exclusively Nintendo Switch games with the controller, but those looking for something more versatile should know that it cannot be used on PC, which is a huge shame. You can hook it up to an Android device via Bluetooth, but in testing both native games and ones available via cloud streaming, I found input latency to be tragically bad, rendering it nigh-unusable for mobile devices.
Those gripes aside, this is still an excellent Nintendo Switch controller. Pairing via Bluetooth was instantaneous and it was highly responsive across a range of genres. Whether it was for more laid-back games like Princess Peach: Showtime! or action-heavy titles like Astral Chain and No More Heroes 3, the PowerA Enhanced Wireless Controller with Lumectra performed excellently.
Also noteworthy is the inclusion of full gyro controls, meaning games like Splatoon 3 are perfectly playable with the gamepad, and it feels just as sharp and responsive as with the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller.
Unfortunately, some Switch-centric features have been cut. There’s no HD Rumble or NFC support for amiibo scanning. If you regularly play titles with scannable amiibo bonuses, then, you’ll need to do so on another device first.
In terms of battery life, PowerA claims you’ll get around 20 hours on a full charge. In my own testing, I managed to get roughly 15 hours of juice out of the controller before needing to charge, and this was largely with the Lumectra lighting enabled. With it switched off, you could undoubtedly squeeze a few more hours in here - though you would be sacrificing the controller’s best feature to do so.
This does fall short of the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller’s extremely impressive 40-50 hours but does fall in line with other third-party Switch gamepads such as the 8BitDo Ultimate and Rainbow 2 Pro.
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How I tested the PowerA Enhanced Wireless Controller with Lumectra
- Tested for 20 hours
- Tested with Nintendo Switch games and mobile titles
- Compared with other excellent Nintendo Switch controllers
I ended up testing the PowerA Enhanced Wireless Controller with Lumectra for a total of around 20 hours. I primarily played many Switch games including Splatoon 3, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and some retro titles via Nintendo Switch Online. While I found it to be an excellent Switch pad, it’s lacking on Android, with noticeable latency occurring on native titles like Honkai Star Rail and various streamed games via Xbox Cloud Gaming.
I tested the Lumectra side by side with some of my favorite Nintendo Switch controllers including the GameSir T4 Kaleid and Rainbow 2 Pro. PowerA’s gamepad stacks up to both in terms of performance and reliability, though I did miss some elements like the GameSir micro switch buttons and the Rainbow 2 Pro’s brilliantly clicky remappable buttons.
First reviewed April 2024
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