"At first glance, the 8BitDo Arcade Controller is an intimidating device, a flat black block bristling with buttons laid out in a pattern that looks less designed for fingers and more like an archaic form of Braille. But as my fingers came into contact, it only took a second for them to find their natural resting places. At second glance, the lack of a stick on the left side"
"Given the lack of sticks, it's pretty obvious that the Arcade Controller is intended for very specific games. You aren't going to be racing cars in Forza Horizon 5 with this, although I suppose nothing is stopping you from attempting it. No, it's intended for fighting games, so I fired up some old-school Street Fighter, a bit of Mortal Kombat 11 and so on."
"The biggest hurdle was the positioning of the up key, which is near the very bottom of the controller-a contradiction that my poor brain struggled with. This is a standard design choice for these hitbox-style controllers: by using your thumb on the up key, you can hammer out button combinations across right, left, and down faster, because up is usually assigned to jump in fighting games."
The 8BitDo Arcade Controller is a leverless, all-button gamepad with a compact, button-dense layout and a $90/£80 price point that delivers strong value. The design targets fighting games but also suits 2D side-scrollers and retro titles. The absence of a left stick enables a hitbox-style layout where the up button sits low so thumbs can execute faster directional-and-action combinations. Players unfamiliar with arcade controllers will face a learning curve due to unconventional up-key placement, and the layout can feel awkward in games that use up for movement rather than jump.
Read at WGB
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