Having mostly experience with PC, Xbox, and PlayStation platforms in recent years, we have only started experimenting more with the trusty Nintendo Switch more recently.

We always found the default Joycons too basic and not exactly comfortable for extended periods. Of course, there have been options, both first and third-party almost as soon as the console was released back in 2017 - but it never quite felt right to me that you'd buy a new console and immediately need to purchase a new controller, especially when I consider the Switch primary a handheld device, which almost always come with the controls properly considered as part of the core design. The Switch is impressive, even today, but the default controllers held it back a fair bit.

Having recently reviewed the Hyperion 2 controllers from NYXI, it is immediately clear how much of a gulf there is between the default offering and a more premium option, they immediately feel more comfortable with curved design and texture plastic grips - and somehow despite the RGB lighting, they actually make the Switch itself look more premium, without the brightly coloured Joy-Cons, it gives the Switch an appearance more closely comparable to handheld PC devices such as the Steam Deck.

And that's just the immediate look and feel of the product, there's four key areas that you could argue are objective improvements over the stock controllers...

MICRO SWITCHES

The first thing we noticed was that every SINGLE button has a satisfying click, even those for syncing the controllers and changing RGB etc, everything just feels good to touch and press. The original Joy-Cons don't feel bad by any means, but with the micro switch buttons used in the Hyperion 2, it's just a pleasure to play with. While some people aren't fond of overly clicky buttons, I personally get a lot of joy from them, I can't explain why - it's something only cavemen ancestors could probably explain. There are also turbo buttons and custom programmable back buttons, which are really nice additions, although we didn't find time to look into how to program the back buttons.

HALL EFFECT STICKS

Next was the thumb sticks, these are just miles better than the default joysticks, they're raised enough that you don't slip off of them, they have enough travel to give you precise control and since they're built with Hall Effect technology they're apparently immune to stick drift (a huge plus if that's the case). These are much more in line with thumbsticks you've come to extra from more premium controllers for PlayStation and Xbox and are probably one of if not the largest contributor to giving the product a more premium feel, the switch no longer feels like a child's toy. There's even 6-axis gyro support!

These two improvements, along with just the overall build quality and curved shape of the shell make the Switch look and feel more akin to the handheld PC machines that have been rising in popularity recently, and it's all the better for it. The Switch always looked like it didn't take itself too seriously, NYXI completely changes that.

These next two additions will either be huge selling points for the controllers, elements they can take or leave, or for a select few elements that put them off to a degree - but we think they've been well enough designed so that they can just as easily enjoyed as they can be ignored.

REPLACEABLE FACES

The front face plates of the controllers are semi-transparent and give them front-facing design an almost shimmering grey look, I quite like it, even though on paper it doesn't sound like it should work. These plates are easily removed, being that they're just held on by small magnets - weak enough to easily remove the plates and strong enough that they don't shift around or fall off when they're spun or turned upside down. If you didn't care to change them, you might just as easily forget they were even there. This for us is the perfect middle-ground, allow me to change them with ease if I like, but do not annoy me with poor design should I not care to.

RGB LIGHTING

One feature that may be the most divisive is the RGB lighting, it can be distracting and according to the product page, battery life can be as much as halved considering the energy is drawn from the main unit. That said we don't think they are too flashy, have nice soft colours and compliment the overall design if lighting is something you find fun. They're also incredibly easy to turn off at the click of a button, so if you don't want to constantly see all that noise, you can shut it off. We do think only 3 options for lighting is pretty lame though, we tested it in a well-lit room and it felt like the options were full colour, light blue and anemic blue - not great options if you wanted to match the colours with your room or other devices.

Overall we were incredibly impressed with these controllers, they're plug-and-play out of the box, no frustrating or time-consuming setup process, no pre-charging needed - there were no settings to tweak or options to pick, we just jumped straight into some games and started having fun. While they connect via Bluetooth, there's no confirmation on their site whether they work with other devices and we didn't test this ourselves, so if you're looking to buy them to play on other platforms, we'd recommend doing some further research first.

We also recorded an accompanying video below if you wanted to see the NYXI Hyperion 2 in more detail, otherwise, we'll leave you with some parting pros and cons.

PROS

+ Decent design and build quality

+ Great feeling micro switch buttons

+ Premium Hall Effect thumbsticks

+ Rumble, Gyro + Turbo support

+ Reprogrammable back buttons

+ Easily replaceable face plates

+ Adjustable RGB lighting

+ Simple plug-and-play

CONS

- Battery-draining RGB with limited options

- Magnetic face plates that could weaken over time

- Relatively lame carry case provided

- Unknown support for other platforms besides Switch