ECHTPower Wireless PC Gaming Controller (EP01)

Hardware Type: Controller

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Review:

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

Sometimes I can’t help but feel like I’m being pranked by Nintendo Switch third-party hardware manufacturers, and this is certainly one of those times. Often, I’ll encounter the exact same controller I’ve seen previously, but being produced under a different brand name. Despite being the maker of the eShopperReviews Game Awards Winner for Best Hardware, ECHTPower has pulled this trick repeatedly before. However, this time they’ve gotten even trickier by producing a controller that looks exactly the same as another one I’ve reviewed, but actually has a different feature set.

Said prior controller, the Axybcool Wireless Switch Pro Controller, I reviewed just a few months ago. Take a look at that controller and compare it to the images here. Pretty similar, right? But make no mistake, the ECHTPower Wireless PC Gaming Controller (which I’ll refer to from here by its model number, the EP01, to distinguish it from the other controllers with generic names that ECHTPower has released) is indeed a different controller, even if it shares some distinct similarities.

As with many of the Pro-style controllers released for Nintendo Switch, the EP01 is pretty comparable in size and shape to Nintendo’s own Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, with a mostly-comparable button layout (albeit with the face button labels reversed in a standard PC/Xbox layout, which doesn’t affect functionality but may cause confusion when playing Nintendo Switch games), as well as asymmetrical analog stick placement. However, the EP01 weighs less, and has textured grips.

Unlike Nintendo’s Pro Controller, the analog sticks on Axybcool’s controller use a concave top with a rim at the edge, which I tend to prefer. These sticks are also hall effect sticks, which means they shouldn’t suffer from “drift”.

The D-Pad and primary face buttons are more “clicky” than Nintendo’s controller, make quite a bit of noise during use, and actually stick a bit, which is far from ideal, as do the L and R shoulder buttons.

As for the ZL and ZR trigger buttons, these are analog buttons, which means they may be a bit less precise on Nintendo Switch, which cannot detect analog trigger input, but it makes them more ideal for use on other platforms this controller supports, most notably for Racing games, which tend to make use of these inputs.

The secondary face buttons have been rearranged into an odd configuration radiating out from the top-center of the controller, with the home button at the top center, the screenshot button directly beneath it, the plus and minus buttons oriented diagonally to either side, and an “M” button that’s not a macro button but actually a turbo button positioned dead-center on the face of the controller. This layout works well enough, but may take a bit of getting used to. For the record, the turbo button works in the standard way these buttons tend to be used.

When it comes to the other features of Nintendo Switch controllers, this controller includes the ability to wirelessly wake the Nintendo Switch from sleep mode, and has adjustable rumble in place of HD rumble. It has no Amiibo functionality, though this is rare in third-party Nintendo Switch controllers so I don’t hold that against it. However, more shocking is that there are no gyroscopic motion controls present here as well. This despite that both the Axybcool Wireless Switch Pro Controller and ECHTPower’s less-expensive ES01 both include this feature.

Speaking of features the ES01 has that this doesn’t, there are no macro buttons or programmable buttons. However, that’s not to say that there aren’t any features this controller has that the others I’ve named don’t have.

While there are no macro buttons on the back of the controller, the EP01 has a physical switch that will allow players to toggle between standard Nintendo Switch connectivity, connectivity with other platforms via Bluetooth, and connection via the included USB dongle, another feature this controller has over those other ones.

So, how well do these features work? Well, the Nintendo Switch connectivity and the USB dongle both work great, with the latter enabling an easy, quality connection to your PC. The Bluetooth connection didn’t fare so well though – I simply could not get this device to connect to my Android phone, even though my phone did detect the controller. This controller also touts iOS connectivity, but I wasn’t able to test that.

Unfortunately, with the EP01 so clearly similar to the Axybcool Wireless Switch Pro Controller, a direct comparison is inevitable, and this will naturally lead to pointing out extra features that this controller doesn’t have – there’s no deadzone sensitivity adjustment, and no app support.

In the end, the EP01’s few positive qualities that set it apart from the Axybcool Wireless Switch Pro Controller simply do not make up for all that it lacks, and it absolutely pales in comparison to the ES01. Even ignoring all the extra features those controllers have that this one doesn’t, I would have to give it a thumbs down even if it was just for the lack of gyroscopic motion controls, but then it’s actually priced higher than the two better controllers I’m naturally going to be comparing this to, and I simply cannot recommend this to anyone.

tl;dr – The ECHTPower Wireless PC Gaming Controller EP01 is a Pro-style wireless controller that seems extremely similar to the Axybcool Wireless Switch Pro Controller but features a different set of features, and this is definitely the worse of the two. What’s more, it pales in comparison to ECHTPower’s phenomenal ES01, and to add insult to injury, it is somehow more expensive than both of those better controllers. In short, you should not get this.

Grade: D

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