Combining some pretty nifty modern ideas to create an interesting array of features, CRKD’s NEO S controller looks incredible to the eye. It boasts elements like re-mappable buttons, adjustable vibration and triggers, and an app to sync to for ease of access – so it’s fair to say there’s a lot going on here that the NEO S is doing well.
Unfortunately for the NEO S, however, the features were not enough to draw away from the fact that in 2025, ergonomics matter. This controller is a small (15×7.5cm), thin rectangle – and I’m not sure about anyone else, but I do not have rectangular hands.
The visual appeal of the NEO S controller is really it’s strongest selling point though, as the version I was playing on (the PaperArt Blossom Edition) has a gorgeous asymmetrical sakura pattern across the front, clearly inspired by Japanese traditional art. To be honest, is lovely to look at.
However, the biggest pain point with this controller is the feel. The controller has asymmetrical (top-swap-out-able) thumbsticks, which doesn’t aid the fact that it feels like I’m holding a particularly thick smartphone sideways. Testing this controller on a few different games across the Switch (Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Super Smash Bros.) and PC (Hades 2, Terraria) left me with hand cramps after an extraordinarily short amount of time.
As primarily a console gamer, I guess I’m just used to my controllers feeling really nice and sexy in my hands, so for me, the NEO S just wasn’t it. The way it’s designed forces you to fold your middle finger down to hit the back buttons and left me feeling like I am imitating ‘The Claw’ from Jim Carrey’s smash hit Liar Liar. My hands are also not very big, and I felt like they were dwarfing the NEO S as I held it, so I worry that someone who has real human-sized hands would be in strife.
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The functionality here is good, but nothing to write home about when it comes to 3rd party controllers, as most that I have experienced offer some kind of button mapping features, trigger adjustment and extra buttons that are also programmable. These features have been around for years and are almost expected nowadays.
The app is pretty cool, I guess – but I don’t know why it’s needed and makes it feel kind of like it’s there just to say, “we have an app too”. It is the main centre for remapping, and controlling the layout and adjustable features, but it just feels a little bit gimmicky to me.
That being said, the connectivity with the Switch and PC was pretty seamless and easy, which is what you’d expect for something with those two platforms as its main selling point. The other two platforms it offers connectivity with are mobile and Smart TVs.
Can’t fault the NEO S controller’s general performance
When it comes to performance, I was quietly impressed. The sticks were snappy, and the buttons felt solid to press – the soft “thunk” you feel as they pop in and out each press was nice. Playing Super Smash Bros. (badly), I found no input lag worth noting, and my Hades 2 runs using it were pretty spicy. It also offers ‘Hall Effect’ thumbsticks to avoid any stick drift, which is very nice, but I haven’t really been a victim of stick drift beyond my old N64 so I’m not the prime market there.
This rectangle does actually have something going for it design wise, though – it feels extremely robust. I feel like I could catapult this thing into a volcano during the middle of an earthquake and it would probably come out the other side smirking (untested and unverified). As a victim of the occasional bout of gamer rage, that’s a pretty big plus in my book, as I’ve had a few controllers shit the bed after two or three freak outs.
There’s something about the NEO S that brings me back to what it used to feel like holding an original SNES controller – but unfortunately, not quite in the best ways. It has the ideas and makings of something good, and with a little more thought into the design and ergonomics, it could have really grabbed me.
Ultimately, the sticks and buttons are nice to press, the aesthetics are simple and elegant, and the connectivity and build are both very solid. But at the end of the day, you hold a controller in your hands, and my hands are not rectangles. Hopefully the next iteration from CRKD plays a little more safely when it comes to the hand-feel of the controller.
