Let’s be honest: The Switch 2 is a flat, rounded-edged tablet with equally flat, rounded attachable controllers. And that stinks. Not for your 8-year-old nephew trying to play Minecraft, but for the grown ass adults who work too hard to come home and cramp their hands on a slender, yet notably heavier Mario machine. We deserve better. We deserve a grip! Does Satisfye have the answer to this problem we are looking for? Maybe…
Satisfye dominated the Switch 1 era from the start in 2017 with grips that were both bulky and expensive, and expanded on that design ever since (while continuing to be bulky and expensive), and focused primarily on an asymmetrical design that favored users who wanted to use both analog sticks. While pricey, they maintained themselves as the golden standard throughout the Switch 1s life, expanding into the Lite and OLED models as well as other devices entirely like the Steam Deck. They are a company with a good reputation and one to trust with your big meaty claws.
What Satisfye Sent Me
Satisfye offers 2 packages for the ZenGrip 2: The grip on its own for $50, or the Slim Bundle with a case for $70. Colors include Black and a limited BeatEmUps blue/yellow flavored one. I purchased (with my own legal tender) the Black Slim Bundle, and it comes with…You guessed it: The grip and the slim case.
The case feels great and has a hard leather covering and a 70s-esque velvety felt interior. We have a zip-up pocket that can store an extra battery and 12 extra game cart slots for all four Switch 2 releases that you bought physical cartridges of (probably). This is a slim case, but it really has all the aspects of a regular one and is spacious enough to hold a reasonable amount of stuff. It has a handle… Okay, that’s literally all I have for the case, so let’s move on.
Let’s Talk About That Grip
The grip itself is made from a dense plastic that has a reasonable heft to it, despite the fact that there was a clear effort to make this grip as thin as possible to be dockable. We have our thick left and right-handed asymmetric grips with a rubbery non-slip plastic on the back with a slot for 1 cartridge on each side.
On the inside of the grip, there are rubber stoppers that keep your console from touching plastic to plastic to avoid scratches and keep your $450-plus-tax console from falling out. The grip also has extra feet on the bottom to prop your console up, instead of using your kickstand. If you are familiar with Satisye’s grips in the past, this paragraph was a waste of your time. Sorry.
If you look closely, my unit has vertical scuffs already.
Seating your Switch into the grip is as easy as sliding it in with a little resistance. One thing to note, though, is that the rubber stoppers will leave track marks on your Switch that easily wipe off, but over time can leave permanent marks on your Switch if you take it in and out often. The grip is dockable, so in theory you can leave the grip on forever or at least until your analog sticks drift (Jury isn’t out on Joy-Con durability yet, so take this as a joke).
Ergonomics 101
The grip is notably hefty with a total weight of 167g, making the total weight of the Switch and grip 534 + 167 = 701g, which is about 60g heavier than the Steam Deck OLED. You definitely feel the weight in your hands, but the ergonomics partially make up for it by distributing that weight to your hands rather than your wrists, and the non-slip material eases tension.
In the hands, the grip absolutely melts. The asymmetry takes time getting used to, but once you go there, it’s very difficult to go back. While weird at first, the hand feel is very natural, albeit a very full feeling. My hands are medium-sized and I have long fingers, so I adjusted pretty fast to its size, and the weight is mitigated by the nonslip backing material, but I can’t help but feel this might still be too much plastic.
Savage Raven NeoGrip
Unlike the Savage Raven NeoGrip, this grip has nearly 0 reliance on the contours of the Switch other than the shoulders and fitment, so it’s all grip. Accessing the shoulder buttons at first is unfortunately pretty awkward because the edges of the grip on the left side jut out JUST enough that they can get in the way of your finger resting, which can be super annoying. The right side doesn’t exhibit this issue because the asymmetry has your right hand following a slight taper to guide your finger to its respective shoulder button organically, so the left side would benefit from an extra taper.
The asymmetry on the right side makes it super convenient to access your right stick for Shooters or 3D action titles, but inversely makes the reach for the face buttons and + button worse. This is a concession that anyone who uses grips like these should expect and isn’t for everyone, so use your $50 wisely in this regard.
Luckily, after two weeks of use, most of my criticisms of the ergonomics are either moot or worth the trade-off.
What Else Does it Do, Though?
Well… it can stand itself up, I guess. I honestly hate the feet on Satisfye grips because the kick stand is a significantly better and more reliable way to stand your console for tabletop play. I usually play tabletop on the bed with a pillow, so these feet to me are just more plastic that make like a tree and peel.
From the Satisfye website
As stated like 3 times already: The console docks. Satisfye grips have been dockable for years now, so this isn’t a surprise. Its dockability, however, is very good! The fitment is loose enough to avoid scratching your console’s screen with its own hardware (please buy a dock-sock or a screen protector)!
The cartridge slots for this grip actually work pretty well. With some pressure, the cart goes in, and it stays. Getting the cartridge out, though…. ugh. I had to use a fingernail and pry the damn thing out. This isn’t ideal, but it still works. Maybe the rubber stopper tech can be applied here somehow? And no, the cartridge slots didn’t annoy me while holding the grip.
Closing Shop
In my previous coverage of Switch 2 grips, I go over different types of grips and their pros and cons, with a strong recommendation for the Savage Raven NeoGrip, but I also noted that all of the grips shown were marketed and sold before the Switch 2 was released, meaning that they were based solely on the leaked 3D model. Satisfye engineered their product based on actual Switch 2 units for proper fitment, so that’s why you are seeing a review in October and not, ya know, June.
This is a fantastic grip and does everything you would expect a Satisfye grip for the Switch 2 to do. It’s notably larger for a larger console, but give it a week or two, and you might find this grip to be a real game changer, like me. The Savage Raven NeoGrip I’ve come to enjoy since the consoles launch still has it’s benefits like a lighter weight, modularity, and ease of removal, and it’s only $30, but the Satisfye ZenGrip 2 is a one and done solution that I think COULD warrant the $50-$70 + shipping asking price (for me at least).
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