These days, it’s apparent that controllers aren’t meant to last because companies realized they could make more money by having people buy controllers every other year to replace than buying one or two and having them last until the end of the console generation. You have stick problems, the buttons are failing only after 100,000 presses, and the only thing you can really do outside of trying to fix them yourself (which can be needlessly complicated) is to buy a new one. Not like you have a choice. The Big 3 (Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony) have seen better days when it comes to controller quality with features that no one cares about just to ramp up the price, and parts failing all the time.

Desperate times have called for desperate measures. I would normally avoid third-party controllers as back in the day, they had some extremely questionable quality to them (Does anyone remember MadCatz pre-2018?) But now it seems like video game accessory companies are now the way to go. Enter the GuliKit KingKong 2 Pro Controller. I received it as a birthday present a couple of months back as I was looking for an extra controller for my Switch as well as something that could work on my gaming PC. KingKong 2 Pro managed to fill that specific niche I was looking for. 

The thing that sticks out the most (besides the sticks themselves haha) is the very strange naming. I’m assuming that KingKong 2 is an extremely rough translation of whatever it means in the native language. And since it is translated to English, that means the controllers originate from China, and GuliKit lets you know clearly as the box itself is littered with Chinese lettering from back to front. Now, this may set off a red flag for many, as Chinese-manufactured products have been getting a bad reputation over the past two decades—and that’s perfectly fair to assume. But this is also why the review exists. 

The KingKong 2 Pro controller can come in black or white, and I bought the black. It has a nice matte finish for the face, back, face buttons, and sticks. The bumpers, triggers, and the area between the sticks are shiny chrome silver. The sticks are ribbed on the edges and the back where your hands are dotted, giving some grip to it all. The face buttons are rounded and have a satisfying click to them. The controller itself is about the same size as a Switch Pro Controller and has the same layout to it. The D-Pad is functional, a little stiff in some parts, but it’s at least better than the Switch’s D-Pad. The weight is about 15 ounces or just slightly under one pound. The weight is nice as it’s noticeable enough that you’re feeling something in your hands, but not too heavy to leave your wrists tired either.

In the box comes a USB-C to USB-A cable that lets you connect easily to your Switch dock or PC. The cable itself is 1.65 meters or 5.4 feet. If the cable is too short for you, good news! The connector isn’t restricted to their brand so you can use any USB-C to USB-A cable and it will connect just fine. When the controller is connected via USB, it acts like a wired controller. When it is wireless, it connects via Bluetooth. Also in the box is a cute clear plastic case for the controller, which is handy for keeping dust, dirt, grime, and other stuff off it as much as you can. The case also provides moderate protection so if you happen to drop the controller a small distance when in it shouldn’t damage anything.

GuliKit boasts a lot of features with its controller, so let us start with the FPS mode/no dead zone stick center function. When pressing the gear button in the middle and the square button to the left of it, the controller will vibrate. A short vibration will turn off the dead zone while a long vibration turns it on. There is generally no reason to not have the feature on at all times and while testing it, I saw in real-time how much of a difference it makes. Having it on had the calibration dead in the center of the zone while having it off did have it slightly drift to the sides. 

Another feature is APG or auto-pilot learning. The little button in the bottom center that looks like two squares layering on top of each other is a special recording mode that will have the controller replicate your actions for up to ten minutes for the Pro 2 version. The standard KingKong 2 only has up to ten seconds. You hold the button for 2 or 3 seconds until you feel a vibration, then you simply do the actions that you want the game to record. When you’re done, you press the button again to save it. When you want to use it, you press the button once and the controller will proceed to do all the actions you recorded. Keep in mind that the controller does exactly what you made it do, so if your character or cursor is even slightly off, it could potentially ruin the auto-piloting you set it out to do in the first place. This is best for repetitive static tasks such as in simulation games but that doesn’t mean it can’t work in other genres. 

While KingKong 2 was made with the Switch in mind, it can switch to other platforms such as Windows (Xinput), macOS, Android, iOS, or Dinput. Dinput is mostly there in case Xinput doesn’t work. Switching is easy and all you have to do is press and hold the button next to the Switch/Windows/Android icons until it swaps over. Connecting is simple too as if its wired, it’s simply plugged in, and if wireless, you sync it like any other controller. Gulikit boasts a battery life up to 30 hours and I’d say it’s pretty accurate. I played all through Bayonetta 3 and half of Pokemon Violet before I had to charge it, and only had to charge it once for my review of Astlibra Revision. It may not be the absolute titan of battery life like the Switch Pro Controller, but it’s better than average, and far better than something like the DualShock 4/DualSense 5.