Nitro Deck Plus Review: It's All About The Buttons

Quick Links

• What's New?

• Even More Buttons

• Dock Your Deck

• How Much Does It Cost?

The Nintendo Switch might have sold 140 million consoles and counting, but it’s far from perfect. There’s no console that can’t be improved with the right accessories, and in 2023, CRKD enhanced the Switch experience by releasing the Nitro Deck. The Nitro Deck is a Switch accessory your console screen slots into to (hopefully) enhance your experience with it, aiming to make holding the Switch more comfortable as well as adding mappable back buttons.

I reviewed the OG Nitro Deck and have used it at least once a week since. If I’m using my Switch, it’s safe to assume the Nitro Deck is involved. That was until the Nitro Deck Plus came along. CRKD listened to feedback from Nitro Deck users and has made some of the most requested changes to the base model to create this new and improved version. Topping Deck users’ list of requests was an altered layout. More specifically symmetrical thumbsticks, which I have mixed feelings about.

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What's New?

I’d read that the Plus would have a symmetrical thumbstick layout as opposed to the standard asymmetrical design of other Switch controllers, but it didn’t strike me as something that I’d be particularly bothered by. How wrong I was. When I held the Nitro Deck Plus for the first time, it didn’t feel natural at all like the original Deck did. As I continued my journey in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, I awkwardly gripped the base of the Deck so I could move and jump at the same time.

Not a great start, but my poor first impression of the requested layout alteration subsided as quickly as it had appeared. The remappable back buttons, a feature of the base Nitro Deck but not one I really use, are programmed to A, B, X, and Y out of the box. I figured out which button was which and my awkward experience became a pleasant one. It was a bit of a learning curve, but before long I was hitting the back buttons as naturally as I’d hit the regular ones whose commands they’re mirroring.

Even More Buttons

The Nitro Deck Plus comes with two additional remappable buttons too. Dubbed “sidekick buttons” by the gadget’s creators, they’re right alongside each of the thumbsticks, curving around the sides of the Deck. These too are bound to certain buttons out of the box (B and A) but can be mapped to other commands with relative ease.

When I left the world of Paper Mario and took my Nitro Deck for a spin in Fortnite, it became clear why a layout with symmetrical thumbsticks was such a highly requested feature. I don’t tend to play Fortnite on the Switch, in part due to the altered controller layout compared to other consoles. The right thumbstick is more important in shooters than the four face buttons, making Fortnite and similar games far more comfortable to play on the Switch when using the Nitro Deck Plus.

The new model’s adjustable hall effect triggers are also a big improvement when it comes to using it while playing these sorts of games. The pressure you need to apply to the Deck Plus’s triggers can be adjusted, giving you an additional split second should you need it. The Deck’s rumble can also be adjusted, and while I’m a fan of it being more intense, I know that’s not the case for everyone. If you prefer a softer rumble or even none at all, there are six options to choose from.

Adaptive trigger and rumble options can be cycled through with relative ease, although I’d find a dumpster to crawl in should you plan on doing it mid-match in Fortnite.

Dock Your Deck

The thing I wanted most from the next generation of Nitro Deck was for it to also function as a dock. I clearly wasn’t the only one who wished my Deck was also a dock (say that five times fast) as that feature has now been implemented in the Deck Plus. Hook it up to the mains, and then to your TV like you would a regular Switch dock, and it’s ready to go. You will need an HDMI adapter to make that happen which you can either buy separately or bundled with the Deck Plus, but it’s well worth it if a spare Switch dock is something you’ve been meaning to buy for months and never got around to, like me.

The Deck Plus’s dock functionality means there are now three ways you can use the accessory - handheld, docked, and as a pro controller. Yes, just like the Deck, the Deck Plus doubles as a controller, or should that be triples now? If your Switch is docked - in its regular dock, not the Deck, try to keep up with all the d words (no, not that one) - then the Deck can be used as a controller while you play Switch games on a bigger screen, either wirelessly or via a wired connection. Worth knowing if you’re ever playing with others and need a spare controller.

How Much Does It Cost?

Nitro Deck+

The Nitro Deck+ is CRKD's upgraded version of the regular Nitro Deck. The newer model adds side buttons to the pre-existing mappable back ones, an adjustable rumble feature, and USB-C to HDMI capability so it can be connected directly to your TV.

The Deck’s replaceable thumbstick tops are back too, as is the ability to charge your Switch and the Deck while you play, and the CRKD companion app through which you can customize your Deck Plus to suit your playstyle. The one thing that hasn’t returned, at least not yet, are the color options. I opted for the purple Nitro Deck when getting my base model, designed to look like a GameCube controller, and while the Deck Plus doesn’t look bad by any means, that option, nor any others modeled after classic Nintendo consoles, are currently available. Hopefully that changes in the future.

That seems likely, especially since a limited edition Tomb Raider Nitro Deck Plus has already been revealed. As for how much of an upgrade the Plus is compared to the original Nitro Deck, there are a lot of differences. Whether it’s worth picking one up if you already own the base model is ultimately down to what you would have changed about the original Deck if given the chance. If a Deck that can also be a dock sounds handy, or you’d prefer your Deck to have symmetrical thumbsticks, then make the upgrade. If you don’t own a Nitro Deck at all, for the small step up in price, you may as well kick things off with the Plus.

A Nitro Deck Plus was provided to TheGamer by CRKD.

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