Aimzenix Blader Keyboard and Mouse Adapter

Hardware Type: Adapter

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Review:

(Note: This product was received at no cost for review via the Amazon Vine program.)

Recently, I reviewed the Leadjoy VX2 Aimbox Keyboard and Mouse Adapter, a device that aimed to bring keyboard and mouse control to consoles, something that would surely interest many who prefer those controls over keyboard controls, but still want to play console games. The problem was, it simply didn’t work. However, the idea seemed sound, so it was just a question of whether anyone else would do that idea justice.

Aimzenix seems to have that goal in mind with the Blader Keyboard and Mouse Adapter, which intends to do much the same thing. Released in 2024, the Blader works with the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch, as well as when using the PlayStation 5 to play PlayStation 4 games. For the purposes of this review, I used a Nintendo Switch to test the device.

The Blader plugs into your console (or a docked Nintendo Switch) via a standard USB port using the included USB to USB-C cable (which has a USB to USB-C adapter if you’re looking to connect it to the smaller port), and the device itself has three further USB ports. It is indicated that USB ports on one side of the device are intended for a mouse and keyboard, while the USB port on the opposite side is intended for a wired Nintendo Switch controller.

The Blader worked right away after plugging everything in, detecting the keyboard/mouse combo as a controller. As you’d expect, the WASD keys act as your left analog stick, your mouse movement is translated into right analog stick movement, ZR becomes the left mouse button, ZL becomes the right mouse button, pressing in the right thumbstick (R3) gets translated to the middle mouse button (on most mice, this means pushing in the mouse wheel until it clicks), and all other standard buttons on a Nintendo Switch controller are translated to the keys around the WASD keys.

Given that the Nintendo Switch was never intended to work like this, the mouse movement seemed to work pretty well here, although your mileage may vary regarding the WASD keys – now that they’re no longer analog, some games may see your walking speed move to a crawl as you can no longer just tilt farther to walk faster – I noticed this problem when testing this device to play Crysis, and even popped in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to find that I could walk backwards at full speed, but not in any other direction. Odd. However, on other games, like Borderlands, this isn’t as much of an issue.

The first problem I have here is that the included USB cable to attach your blader to the Nintendo Switch is pretty short (I think it’s a 3″ cable), and this caused me to actually trip over it due to having to stretch it to get it to connect to my seat where I was playing. This issue is easily resolved by simply getting a longer USB-C cable, but it was irritating all the same.

The second and most major problem here is that while the Blader indicates that you can make all sorts of adjustments and alterations to how it works using key combinations listed in the instructions, none of this seemed to work – I could get the device into its settings mode, but nothing I did there changed anything. I couldn’t adjust mouse sensitivity, couldn’t map keys, and so on. Also, for all the problems Leadjoy’s VX2 had, that device did at least offer the convenience of connecting to an Android app to easily change settings without memorizing odd keyboard combinations. No such luck here.

However, unlike the Leadjoy VX2, the Aimzenix Blader Keyboard and Mouse Adapter actually works. I wouldn’t say it works especially well, and even if I wasn’t locked out of the ability to change settings, this device’s method for changing them would be extremely inelegant. And also, this game won’t necessarily work well for every game. Given how spotty and unreliable this device is, I cannot recommend it as a surefire solution to play your console games using a mouse and keyboard, but it’s relatively inexpensive enough that curious players may decide it’s worth the expense to give it a try.

tl;dr – The Aimzenix Blader Keyboard and Mouse Adapter is a device that gets a keyboard and mouse working on your console, though it’s somewhat unreliable and I found myself unable to change the key assignments or settings. The device still has its uses, but I can’t give it a high recommendation.

Grade: C-

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