EasySMX D10 Wireless Game Controller

Hardware Type: Controller

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Review:

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

I was thoroughly impressed with EasySMX’s S10 Controller, the first third-party controller that I’ve actually found to work as a fully-fledged Nintendo Switch 2 controller, and a darn good one, at that. So naturally, I was eager to check out this other controller from EasySMX, the D10. Unlike the S10, the D10 doesn’t claim to be a Nintendo Switch 2 controller (though like all Nintendo Switch controllers, it is forward-compatible with Nintendo Switch 2), but it does have some other nice features, so let’s have a look!

Like many of the Pro-style controllers released for Nintendo Switch, the EasySMX D10 Wireless Game Controller replicates the general size, shape, and layout of Nintendo’s own Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, with asymmetrical analog sticks with a concave top, along with standard face buttons and D-Pad in the usual places. The backside of the grips are very lightly textured. Overall I felt this controller was fairly comfortable to hold, much like holding Nintendo’s own Pro controller.

Both the D-Pad and face buttons are more on the “clicky” side of the “squishy/clicky” spectrum, but aren’t too terribly loud and feel pretty responsive and control well in-game. I say this despite that this controller uses a disc-style D-Pad that tends to be the sort I dislike – here it seems to work fine thanks to the way it clicks in the eight cardinal directions. As for the analog sticks, the D10 is equipped with TMR sticks, which are considered to be the current high-end standard, and which work in a way that won’t suffer from drift. In my opinion, everything here works well, no complaints.

We do run into a bit of trouble when looking at the secondary face buttons, though. The minus, home, and plus buttons are now all arranged in a horizontal bar, which is a bit odd but I suppose it works. However, the screenshot button is now nowhere to be seen, removed from the controller entirely. The only other button on the face is a turbo/macro button down beneath and between the D-Pad and right analog stick, which works in conjunction with the face buttons in the typical way turbo buttons tend to, and works in conjunction with the macro buttons on the back of the controller in the usual way these buttons tend to operate.

Moving on to the top of the controller, we have a pair of L and R bumper buttons that are clicky, which I tend to find ideal for these buttons. We also have a pair of ZL and ZR triggers that can be changed from digital to analog via switches on the back of the controller, allowing these to be used in digital mode when playing on Nintendo Switch (which doesn’t recognize analog trigger input), and easily swapping to analog mode when playing on other platforms that can use this sort of input for things like Racing games. This is pretty much ideal, in my opinion.

When it comes to the other standard features of Nintendo Switch controllers, this controller includes the ability to wirelessly wake the Nintendo Switch from sleep mode. The gyroscopic motion control works fine, too. It has adjustable rumble in place of HD rumble, which I find to be an acceptable replacement in third-party controllers. Unfortunately, it does not have Amiibo functionality, though this is a rarity in third-party Nintendo Switch controllers, so I don’t hold it against this controller.

Flipping the controller over to look at its underside, we have a pair of macro buttons that can be assigned to a button or a sequence of commands, like a Street Fighter-style “hadouken”. This is done using the aforementioned macro settings button on the front of the controller. And above these buttons are the aforementioned switches to change the trigger buttons from digital to analog. Finally, dead-center in the back there is a slider to change the controller for Nintendo Switch mode to Bluetooth mode or USB dongle wireless mode.

In addition to Nintendo Switch, the EasySMX D10 Wireless Game Controller is designed to work with PC, Android, and iOS platforms. I wasn’t able to test this with iOS, but the controller worked fine on Android, and I was surprised to find it also worked fine on PC via Bluetooth connection even without the USB dongle, something that usually makes for a poor connection in controllers. Of course, if you want an instant connection without having to go into settings menu, the USB dongle works fine as well.

There is one other nice extra that this controller offers, in the form of an included charging cradle for the controller. I personally tend to find these sorts of things superfluous, but players who find them convenient will undoubtedly be happy to have it, and those who don’t will find the controller connects and charges just fine when directly connected using a USB-C cable.

When it comes to downsides, the main negatives of the EasySMX D10 Wireless Game Controller are things it lacks rather than things it does wrong. The major one here is the loss of the screenshot button, but there’s also no app support and no Amiibo scanning.

However, overall this is a well-made controller that does just about everything it attempts rather well. Everything feels and controls well, the TMR analog sticks are a big plus, as are the swappable analog-digital triggers, and while I think this controller’s charging cradle and USB dongle aren’t necessary, I’m still glad that both are here. Overall, if you’re looking for a solid mid-range Nintendo Switch controller, the EasySMX D10 Wireless Game Controller is a good choice.

tl;dr – The EasySMX D10 Wireless Game Controller is a Pro-style controller for Nintendo Switch that does pretty much everything it attempts well, and it has a good list of features. It’s inexplicably missing the screenshot button, and it lacks app support, but otherwise it has good multiplatform compatibility, TMR analog sticks, swappable digital-analog triggers, and a convenient charging cradle, as well as the standard list of features we’ve come to expect from modern third-party Nintendo Switch controllers. Despite the few features it lacks, this is an all-around excellent mid-range price controller.

Grade: B+

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