Big and sturdy switching controllers for big, sturdy hands

Joy-Cons are small. They are designed so that Switch can be an elegant and almost seamless portable gaming device. Hori's Split Pad Pro is what happens when ideas like "small", "smooth" and "not ridiculous" are thrown to the window. The more I play with them, I take them in larger than average hands, the less important they are and the lack of extended features.

The $ 50 Split Pad Pro, released recently to coincide with the launch of the Switch mech shooter Daemon X Machina, lacks a lot of features present in Nintendo Joy-Cons. He does not do the movement control. There is no camera. He does not sweep Amiibos. It does not growl. The Split Pad Pro does not even contain an internal battery, so it does not work in table or TV mode. And good luck to you if you try to put the switch in the dock with these attached.

What Split Pad Pro does is turn the Nintendo switch from a sleek handheld into an awkward looking device that lets you play games pretty well, especially for those of us who have big legs. Instead of the switch's tiny analog sticks, the Split Pad Pro sports a pair with slightly more thumb surface than the sticks of the Xbox One. The facial pimples are larger and deeper, with a more satisfactory tactile response than the Joy-Cons'. The left and right triggers are larger and more responsive.

Instead of four directional buttons, the left side of the Split Pad Pro sports a standard D-pad.

The Split Pad Pro also has some features that are not found in Joy-Cons. The two halves of the unit are equipped with programmable turbo functions, equipped with an adjustable speed. On the back of each side is another programmable button, which can be remapped on any control on the front.

Without a battery, camera or rumble, the Hori Split Pad Pro weighs about the same as a pair of Joy-Cons, despite its extra footprint. The Switch looks ridiculously swollen, but it feels good. There is a little room for maneuver around which each half of the controller is connected to the switch, but a plastic tab extending from them to the back of the switch helps maintain stability.

I played my Switch with the Split Pad Pro this weekend, browsing my range of rhythm games, role playing games, platform game and other fighting games. Some features of Joy-Con have escaped, including roaring effects. I have not missed the occasional cramps that I feel when handling these tiny Joy-Cons for hours with my big hands.

Since I have only had the Hori Split Pad Pro for about a week, I can not speak to the long-term survivability of these large but lightweight Joy-Con alternatives. I will say that whenever I plan long periods of play with a pocket switch, the Split Pad Pro will come with me.