Every so often, the good folks at RiotPWR send us an iOS controller to try out and review. With the first RiotPWR controller for iOS, it felt cheap and gimmicky. It was made of plastic and didn’t feel as solid as I had hoped it could be. Since this type of controller was made for not only the casual gaming audience that loves playing games on their phones but also for Esports enthusiasts and competitors who want to find a more comfortable way of playing their favorite competitive games, durability could not be thrown to the side. We did enjoy the first controller buas skepticalcal about its durability.
A year passed, and RiotPWR sent us another version of their controller. This time, it was heftier and felt like it could withstand some rage-y punishment. For the most part, it contained the same functionality as the first, but the design seemed friendlier to the hands and didn’t feel like you could break it. The upgraded grip and a nice passthrough option for charging made the package even better. Without a doubt, the controller was beautiful in nearly every way, minus the green/white color scheme. That was too Xbox for me. Petty complaints aside, the controller was much more improved than the first.
Shifting our focus from the controller, occasionally Apple will get a bee in its bonnet and decide to switch its charging ports on its devices. Sometimes they can be like a cat that can’t get comfortable with one spot. Anyway, while the lightning port was still acceptable on the controller, it needed a USB-C to work with the more recently released iPads. At this point in the game, you were stuck with lightning and old technology. From America, we could hear the European grumbles.
To cure any of the above ailments, RiotPWR has now released a sturdy, more modern design with their newest controller and they have made it compatible with USB-C iPads and any lightning iOS needs. It’s the best version of their controller to date.
On that sweet note, let’s get right into this.
Sturdy, but not hefty
The first noticeable difference between this new RiotPWR controller and those of the past is its resemblance to the Xbox Series X control design. It looks like the XSX controller, feels like it, and it feels like it could take some punishment. I have played with this controller for about two weeks and it’s comfortable, stylish, and, more importantly, sturdy. It has gone with me nearly 3k miles to Las Vegas for a conference, come back on a shaky plane that I was sure was going to land somewhere in the desert, and still maintained its shiny new style with its durability. I can’t express how important that is when it comes to feeling out a controller for an iOS device. It doesn’t feel like it can wear down so easily as was the case with the first RiotPWR controller.
Now, equally as important as sturdiness/durability, is the weight. I’m not sure if you know this, but iPhones can get hefty after a period of time, even the smaller ones. I reviewed this controller with a standard iPhone 13, and it didn’t affect my wrists once. I can’t say the same about the previous iterations of the controller, but this one felt like it worked out some balance issues with weight. Granted, this does depend on phone positioning and tilting, but for the most part, it never felt like the controller was going to slip out of my hands or hurt me long-term. For casual gaming, the long term really is long term, meaning that you come and go playing games without committing console-like hours to play any single game all at once. There is nothing wrong with this type of gaming, as most people play games on their phones to pass short stints of time. They aren’t playing one to get 55 hours in. Anyway, regardless of time, the phone feels like it can be well-balanced with the controller and its phone holder and works with your wrists and hands rather than against them. It brings a good balance that is adjustable to any hand or wrist size. That’s a big plus, especially if you have kids that enjoy playing games on your phone during trips.
These two categories are incredibly vital for the longevity of this hardware. If it doesn’t feel comfortable, doesn’t feel sturdy, or adds weight to the gaming experience that distracts, then this hardware simply would be a bust. Thankfully, RiotPWR seems to have found the right spot for all of the above.
Ready for any connection
I have given Apple hell for its lack of staying with one port-type since I bought my first Macintosh in 1999. When it couldn’t figure out whether it wanted DVD, DVD-RAM, FireWire 400, or FireWire 800, it was maddening to work with. I realize that speed can be an issue when changing ports, but typically Apple likes creating its own standard and pushing it until it gets bored and makes another. Sometimes that works out, and sometimes it doesn’t last very long, but it happens…all the time. If you need an example of this, go look at MacBook Pros from 2017 until very recently. They brought in all USB-C ports and took away the HDMI in 2017 (yay, adapters). When their 16-inch MBPs made an appearance, they brought back the HDMI port and some standard USB ports with USB-Cs. GAH! Anyway, how this relates to the RiotPWR controller is that they built this controller to handle both lightning and USB-C. It’s a future-proof move that works well.
Starting with the lightning, you can charge your lightning-based iOS device through the controller still, something that was featured in the second iteration of the controller. You can plug the lightning charge cable in the bottom of the controller, just like you plug in a headset to the XSX controller, and then plug in the built-in lightning connection to the phone. The passthrough charges the phone as you play. Since the controller needs phantom power to function, having a fully charged phone or the capability to charge your phone as you play is a blessing. It was a wonderful addition to the second controller, and they retained it for this design.
Should you feel fancy and want to use your controller with the USB-C iPad you may own, you can remove the lightning cable and replace it with a USB-C component cable. This allows you to go back and forth between cable connections, which is very much a future-proof plan for RiotPWR so that they can rest easy with one controller for a period of time. The ruling in Europe on the USB-C standard for all phones is going to eventually make its way to the United States, so having the option to switch between port types means you won’t have to lay down another $69.95 for a controller. At least not for a while. As Sega learned in the 90s, you never want to release too many hardware options in the market. You will murder your own business. RiotPWR certainly made the right decision here by adding a secondary way to use the controller, as it avoids flooding the market with too many choices.
Gaming and streaming
Searching for a game is wonderful and easy, as the LUDU MAPP app that comes with the controller handles most of the work. It’s a wonderful reassurance that you can find a game that is completely compatible with the controller. Oh, and don’t worry, dear readers, there are plenty of games that are compatible with this device. Mostly thanks in part to the Xbox Cloud Gaming App directly connected to Game Pass. We will touch on that in a bit.
As for other games not run through the Xbox Cloud Gaming service, the LUDU Mapp app presents an easy way to navigate, access, and download games. For example, I played the hell out of Pac-Man 256 through this app. It sat under the RETRO GAMES section and was easily downloadable. As soon as it downloaded, I jumped right in and started playing the game. It took me less than two minutes to find, download, and begin playing. Now, one complaint I had with the previous controller was information architecture of the LUDU Mapp app. While this has been improved considerably, and is not as overwhelming, I still feel like the categories could be a bit more organized. It still has a small feeling of hodge-podge categorization. It isn’t terrible by any means, especially using the search capability, but it can be visually difficult to search through the app if you’re not used to looking through its library.
On the Xbox Cloud Gaming side of things, I’m still very impressed with what it can do. One of the games that I recently reviewed for the Xbox Series X, Ghostwire: Tokyo, I loaded up on this app and played through the phone in the span of 3-4 minutes (that does include loading time). While I can’t say that it’s the best experience on the iPhone, just due to screen size with onscreen icons for instructions, it wasn’t terribly choppy with how it functioned. There was some lag here and there, but nothing that screams a total loss. I was impressed that the game maintained its ray tracing capabilities, as Tokyo glimmered off the wet empty streets Akito traversed. It was beautiful to see onscreen, though I know it pushed my wireless connection somewhat to its limits. Anyway, using the Xbox Cloud Gaming App is still the best reason to purchase this controller, even if puts you through a few extra steps to get access to whatever game it offers (have to launch the app, go to the Xbox website, log into it, hit the ‘share’ button in Safari, choose ‘Add to Home’ and then re-launch it – that’s a lot of steps).
Anyway, the controller was meant to play games and it does just that. It’s still not completely perfect in its organization of apps and its execution of the Xbox Cloud Gaming app, but it’s capable enough to get full enjoyment out of the experience.
On that note, let’s wrap this sucker up.
Conclusion
With every release of its controller, RiotPWR makes its product better and better. This latest iteration ensures the hardware’s longevity with durability and with future-proof connections. It’s the best controller they have released so far.
