Mobile gaming has been an enormous factor for a decade now however it’s solely lately that accent makers like Razer and Logitech have taken it significantly, providing gaming headsets made particularly for telephones. On the controller entrance, nonetheless, SteelSeries has been forward of the curve for a while, promoting the Nimbus line of gamepads for Apple gadgets, and Stratus for Android and every part else. Today the latter will get an enormous improve with the addition of the $60 Nimbus+.

At first look it doesn’t look like an enormous change for the gamepad; as soon as once more we’re a matte black, Xbox-style controller. But this time round, the Nimbus comes with a cellphone grip within the field: no extra shopping for a separate accent. The clip is skinny when folded, with two lengthy metallic prongs which you could push out to plug them into the highest of the gamepad. It’s type of satisfying to slip the clip and never troublesome — which is nice, as a result of if you happen to screw up you’re more likely to scratch the end on the gamepad, and the matte texture can solely accomplish that a lot to cover it.

In hand, the Nimbus+ is strong and doesn’t really feel heavy, even with a cellphone hooked up to the highest. The clip holds the cellphone securely, although placement is a matter since I’ve a Pixel 3, which means the quantity management sits halfway on the best aspect, placing it proper below the place the clip would grip the cellphone. So sure, I ended up turning my quantity down quite a bit if I wasn’t cautious. That’s most likely the toughest a part of utilizing the Nimbus+, since connecting by way of Bluetooth is tremendous straightforward now.

I fired up Brawlhalla on my machine and began punching and kicking my manner by means of ranges. The buttons had satisfying bounce and had been extremely responsive; it’s all the time good when the character does what they’re speculated to, particularly in a combating recreation the place timing issues. Poor responsiveness is usually why I draw back from enjoying most motion video games on a touchscreen.

Which will get to the larger query of whether or not I really need one thing just like the Nimbus+. I play video games on my cellphone, certain, however it’s often the type of stuff I can play one-handed and that doesn’t require plenty of nimble finger work. (I needed to obtain Brawlhalla for testing.) But a minimum of for PC gaming it’s a strong choice if you happen to favor Xbox-style wi-fi controllers.