Nacon has sent us over one of their latest XBox & PC compatible controllers – the “Nacon Pro Compact”. How does this 3rd party premium controller stack up against what is considered one of the gold standards of gaming controllers? Read on and find out.
Don’t worry. I’m a Professional
The Nacon Pro Compact boasts the following features:
- Standard or personalized controls via an App
- Button customization
- Joystick customization
- Trigger sensitivity adjustment
- Dolby Atmos for headphones
- Vibration Motor Adjustment
- 3-meter braided USB Cable
Physically the controller is as the name implies; slightly compact. This may make it less than ideal for people with larger hands. It feels a little smaller than the traditional Xbox One Controller for reference.
Variety is the Spice of Life
The controller comes in four different flavors White, Black, Camo Green, and Camo Grey. We were sent the Camo Green variation to look at. While I cannot personally comment on the others, the texture of the pad had a strange rubbery texture to it on the front of it which didn’t agree with me. My fellow writer here at NookGaming checked out the white version some time ago, and didn’t experience this.
The analog stick on the Nacon Pro Compact also matches the name. It feels slightly too small to be comfortable for my larger hands. While not quite the trial JoyCons present, my thumb seemed to completely dwarf them.
Since I’m very into fighting games, I had to check out the D-Pad carefully. I found it incredibly responsive during my playtime with Street Fighter x Tekken, Tekken 7, and Guilty Gear -Strive-. There was only the odd instance where the button press didn’t come out properly but it was well within a reasonable margin of error.
The controller feels well built and the buttons are responsive and sturdy. The D-Pad is a little too sturdy and can create sore thumbs after a few matches of Street Fighter, but for responsiveness alone, I was more than happy to put up with a sore thumb.
A Layout for any Layman
The “Pro” features of the Nacon Pro Compact are performed by syncing the controller up to a pair of apps that you can download from the Microsoft Windows Store.
You can completely customize your button layout if there is a particular setup you use for most games. This is not a feature I see myself ever needing, but it’s a brilliant tool for accessibility.
It’s also possible to change the dead zone on the analog sticks. This can be either fully custom or set up in the “ideal” preset way for a genre, such as FPS or racing. You can also change the D-Pad from an 8-Way to a 4-Way, which can be useful for certain games.
Finally, for control customization, you can adjust the Trigger sensitivity. Again this can be to your personal preference, or to suit a genre. A couple of examples of this are FPS where a half press aims down your sight, or Racing where you gradually put on more speed with how hard you press the pedal down.
Sounds Good to Me
The Nacon Pro Compact also supports Dolby Atmos via the other app previously mentioned. This allows you to up your headset game.
Dolby Atmos allows for almost pinpoint accuracy in directional audio, a must for battle royale titles such as Fortnite and Hunt:Showdown. The only issue is that not every game supports it and you need an appropriate headset to make the most of this feature.
Verdict
The Nacon Pro Compact is a fantastic piece of kit for a reasonable price when you factor in the “pro” additions to it. It’s slightly pricier than the standard controller admittedly, but leagues more customizable.
The smaller size does make the controller inaccessible for some, but my time with it has been responsive and after the initial quirks, I got used to its joysticks and size.
That I can have the pad with a basic setup and at the flick of a switch have it set up to be much more responsive to third and first-person shooters, then switch it back to stock along won me over. Not to mention the improved Dolby Atmos audio.
NACON PRO COMPACT CONTROLLER IS RECOMMENDED!
Want to check out more hardware and accessories? How about taking a look at the Nacon Revolution X Pro Controller? Not sure about this controller yet? Why not check out our original review on the white version?
Many thanks go to Nacon for providing a review unit for this title.
Pride of utopia & greatest thing ever, I found the One Piece, Collected the Dragon Balls & won the Mortal Kombat Tournament in one night, it was quiet for me that night! Follow me on Twitter @powahdunk
