Hark, for the herald angel has bestowed upon me a new set of Switch 2 Joy-Cons. Joy-Cons that forgo the bumpy en-shitified rumble of the past, that embraces TMR technology, that support the Switch 2’s mouse mode, 9-axis gyro, and even Amiibo. Hell, they even fool the console itself into believing it’s playing with regular Joy-Con 2. But wait, these are not the Joy-Con 2! These are the NYXI Hyperion 3 Ultra! And it has a cold-ass D-pad.
NYXI was first out of the gate with true detachable Switch 2 Joy-Con alternatives with the Hyperion 3, and not even a year later are back with their version of the ultimate Switch 2 controllers with full feature support. Do we already have endgame Joy-Con replacements this early into the Switch 2’s life cycle, or might these be a rush to the finish? Let’s take a dive and see what Ultra really means here.
Disclosure:
The controller reviewed was provided as a review sample by NYXI. This had no bearing on the conclusion of the review, nor did NYXI have the opportunity to make edits or changes to the review before publishing.
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NYXI Hyperion 3 Ultra: The Specs
Nearly all of these features are shared with the Hyperion 3, so I’ll focus mainly on the new stuff. For the ABXY buttons, shoulders, and D-pad, we are using Kailh micro switches for a mouse-like click. This time around, the D-pad is made of metal and is fixed via a magnet while the buttons are still plastic. Back buttons are present and use a standard dome style switch. Oh yeah, SL & SR buttons are here and they’re metal (Because they have to be).
The analog sticks are full-sized TMR sticks accompanied by RGB rings and a tweakable dead zone. The kicker here is, like the Mobapad M12 controllers and the Switch 2 Pro Controller, the 3 Ultra uses a silicon glide ring for smooth and quiet control called “TMR Air”.
| Controls | |
| ABXY Button Type | Micro Switch |
|---|---|
| Stick Type | Floating TMR |
| Analog Stick Layout | Asymmetric |
| Trigger Type | Micro Switch |
| D-pad Type | Micro Switch (Interchangeable) |
| Motion Controls | 9-axis |
| Connectivity | |
| Options | Direct Connection, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C (Wired) |
| Extra Features | |
| Rumble Type | HD2 Haptic Feedback |
| Adjustable Vibration | ✅ |
| Mouse Mode | ✅ |
| Pro Controller Mode | ✅ |
| Adjustable Turbo | ✅ |
| Battery | |
| Battery Life | 6-8 hours |
| Charging Time | 2 hours |
| Physical | |
| Weight | 225g |
| Materials | PC+ABS |
This controller fully supports Switch 2 protocol, so the home button will wake up the consol from sleep and is natively supported on the console without clicking on Wired Controller Connection in System Settings. Each controller is also equipped with a mouse sensor, and NFC sensor on the analog stick, 9-axis gyro, and HD Rumble 2 support. Amazing!
Like the Hyperion 3, the controllers support Bluetooth wireless play, configurable RGB, and mappable back button support.
Hyperion 3 Ultra: The Aesthetics
These controllers are fairly attractive and look nearly identical to the Hyperion 3s with a few notable differences. The inner rails were changed to a neutral black color with the shoulders and D-pad being silver. I generally like more neutral colors for controllers, so this is preferred for me. RGB is back with configurable light rings and bars that come in many functions. The package here is sleek and looks premium enough without looking like a simple toy (Let’s be honest, these are still toys).
On the console, the face still sticks out about 1/8″ which doesn’t really look that pleasing to me. I’d prefer if it sat flush with the face like with the Mobapad M12s. This is really just a nitpick though.
Hyperion 3 Ultra: Ergonomics
Not trying to sound like a broken record here but the ergonomics…. with the Hyperion 3…. are almost the same. These controllers are thick with a grippy back texture and ZL/ZR buttons. Accessing the buttons and sticks is a breeze, but the right stick an be cumbersome for first person titles like Metroid Prime 4 or Modern Warfare 4. I have medium sized hands and I think I’d like less chonk here, but they are fairly balanced weight wise, coming in at ~110 grams (even with the metal D-pad).
I’m just going to come out with it: this D-pad is weird. It’s more comfortable than the Hyperion 3, but it has that cold, metallic feel and I really wish they would use a flat, plastic one over a concave one. For what it’s worth I tried both circle and regular style D-pads and prefer the circle for no objective or reasonable reason other than it looking kind of cool. They are also quite noisy, being significantly louder than the face buttons despite using a similar switch.
The analog sticks are the star of the show and feel great and silent. My thumb slips slightly when placed directly on top, but that’s something that breaks in with time. In game, the default 5% dead zone feels fine and I feel like I’m getting a full range of motion here.
I’m also going to point this out because it stuck out to me, noise overall is a little batshit on these. The purpose behind the glide style analog sticks is to maintain parity with a smooth and quiet controller feel, but the quietness of the sticks and loudness of the buttons is annoying for me, and it’s in part with the variety of button switch styles.
On the Switch 2 Pro Controller, every button is quiet and mushy and feels about the same. On the Hyperion 3 Ultras, however, the D-pad is loud and clicky, the shoulders and face buttons are quiet and clicky, and the back buttons and menu buttons are loud and thonky. This is just a weird overall mismatch I wanted to point out.
Hyperion 3 Ultra: Features
Surprise, surprise. Features on the Ultra’s are shared with the original, so I’ll breeze through those. Back button binding, local LED adjustment, magnetism, latency free attachment, and Bluetooth work just as well as before and I have no complaints. All is good, but lets get into the new, Switch 2 dominated features that I have more to say about.
Having Switch 2 protocol means that your console thinks that your controllers are genuine Joy-Con 2, so wake from sleep and native support (without digging through system settings) is very appreciated here. You can also calibrate the sticks in the settings, but they are already calibrated out of the box.
HD Rumble 2 support this early into the Switch 2’s life was a big surprise for me, and NYXI got it just about right on the first try! Just about. Remember my complaints earlier about noise? Well add NYXI’s HD rumble 2 here, because the rumble shakes the controllers body and makes a noise that sounds scratchy and abrasive. I wish it wasn’t so bothersome to me, because it feels great and very accurate.
Mouse mode works exactly like it does on the regular controllers, which is nifty. That being said, the overall heft of the controller makes it topple over very easily and heavily favor the gripped side. Might want to avoid Drag and Drive on this.
9-axis gyro (3-axis accelerometer + 3-axis gyroscope + 3-axis magnetometer) is latency free and very accurate. No notes otherwise.
NYXI Hyperion 3 Ultra: Identity Crisis or True Replacement?
These controllers DO everything they set out to do: Match the new features of the Joy-Con 2 while giving the controllers modern features and a better grip. The inconsistent noise issues with the buttons, D-pad, loud rumble and various switches paired with the super-quiet analog stick makes the package odd to me.
It’s clear the technology in isolation is well thought out and very well implemented here, but everything together could have used more time in the oven, I think. Ergonomically, NYXI dominates the third-party Joy-Con market next to Mobapad.
If you know what to expect going into it, these controllers could definitely be endgame to the right person. For the asking price of $200 ($159 at the time of writing this), think of all the money you put into grips and other replacements when everything you need is right here. Want em? Use our code RH at checkout for an additional $20 off!
