This is superior to everything! - GuliKit KingKong 2 Pro Controller

Stick drift sucks, and it seems to be a continual problem in game controllers. Today on ShortCircuit, we get Linus to open up the GuliKit KingKong 2 Pro. It's durable, it's cross compatible... but does it hold up to Linus' expectations?

Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group.

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CHAPTERS
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0:00 The perfect controller?
0:18 First look and initial thoughts
1:00 A better way to joystick
2:55 Other included accessories
3:31 No native Xbox compatibility?
4:57 Pricing and build quality/button impressions
6:14 Sponsor - dbrand
7:10 Linus doesn't know how to use a switch
7:48 Gaming impressions
9:00 Replacement parts
9:55 "AI" controller settings and macros
11:33 Trying the gyroscope
13:22 Misc features and battery life
13:42 Overall thoughts
14:04 Outro

[TheFudily]

Definitely wasn't expecting it to be only $70.

[NerfedOnGod]

Fun fact: The dreamcast's contoller had this technology in the early 2000's, where the analog stick would activate magnets in the circut board, which could be used for an analog input depending on how strong the force was. The only reason why it wasn't popularized was because the dreamcast's sales fell short of competitors (n64, ps2)

[sloshappy]

I have been using the last gen controller. For literally thousands of hours. 0 problems. In a game where you have to do a repetitive "grinding" task like go to point a to b over and over, the autopilot is freaking amazing. I put the controller in the case it came with every night, approx. 300 or so times, hinge is still intact. I have zero complaints really. The price/performance is freaking awesome.

[riccardot]

Apparently it's not just the sticks, but the triggers also employ hall effect instead of potentiometers. The official website mentions it for ZL and ZR as well.

[ValTek_Armory]

The Dreamcast used Hall effect for it’s sticks. That’s why they felt so smooth and generally still work today if they’re clean

[PanyuYT]

I would love to see The Lab doing tests on controllers and their drift time and pressure to push down etc

[Robbaz]

This controller got some "somewhat" big issues with inputs and delay, wouldn't pick it up for fighting games.

[Space_Chief]

I bought one of these for my Switch and PC after watching this. In the 4 months I've had it I've PUNISHED this thing with hours of Ace Combat 7 play and I've neither noticed nor had any problems in that time.

[TheLinkhawkins]

They should be putting out joycon replacement sticks soon with the Hall Effect sensor in it. I'm pumped for that.

[flippin_eh]

Heard about the Guilikit controller earlier this year. Funny when you mentioned about the friction at around 7:55, because there's another YouTuber who opened up the controller and noticed in the molding at the base that there's a bit of a piece of plastic sticking out. He just sanded it down until it was smooth. He even reached out to the vendor of his findings.

[CarrotFanta]

Potentiometers dying is a big issue with gamecube controllers too, you will hear horror stories about the PoDE (Potentiometer Degradtion Effect, iirc) in some of their controllers from smash players and how they're always buying either expensive controllers or buying a million controllers. I'm really happy that Hal Effect controllers are becoming a thing and I hope more controllers come out with them :)

[yesmaybenooryes]

A thing to keep in mind is their Quality Control. I bought this controller and I had severe input lags even in wired mode. I had to return it twice (they sent another one with the same issue but still very noticeable input lag) before receiving a non-defective one. And the input lags I experienced wasn't just milliseconds of delay, it was seconds to the point I could see the input was stuck in one direction while I was testing on gamepad-tester. Other than that, it's definitely a worth buy with such a cheap price but subjectively good to play with.

[anvecom]

Buyer beware: these controllers have some really neat features, but in my experience and many others, GuliKit doesn’t have their QC quite down yet (at least they didn’t about two months ago). Sticky buttons, molding defects on the sticks, and sticky triggers (I wanted this for Splatoon soo much) seem to show up quite frequently in reviews.

[MaxDad]

You know, being able to record up to 10 minutes of inputs could be really useful for benchmark runs that have to be manually done because the game doesn't have it's own test. Just start up the game, load from a save file, and then run the command while recording your frametimes and fps.

[williamtael]

Do remember to set the left stick sensitivity to level two, in order to have square diagonals (needed for running instead of walking in diagonals on third person games).

Also, in order to use the triggers in analog mode you can only do that on Xinput mode, which disables the Home and Capture buttons and the gyro.

You can't use both gyro, Home, Capture and analog triggers at the same mode because of pattented APIs from Microsoft (Xinput) and Nintendo (Switch Mode), they can't be modded. It's never a controller fault.

[mattimusprimal]

Fun fact: The Dreamcast controller had a magnetic analog stick over 2 decades before this controller! Dreamcast was decades ahead of its time!

[Nems]

I remember when RC controllers got hall sensors for the sticks. It was a game changer for drone racing.

[DaneMurdock]

Something worth knowing about this controller - If you have experience with custom keyboards, you can open this up, open the abxy switches up, rotate the internal component and lube them and it creates an excellent linear switch. I don't recommend this to people who don't like to open up their electronics, but it is honestly pretty easy to do and it is a huge improvement from the stock buttons which feel like they almost stick because the tactile bump is so big.

[Nopulu]

I have a new patent of the gulikit kk2 pro, and it's nice to see that they touched on some of the issues linus covered. The d-pad feels excellent compared to other 1st party controllers, and it seems they added something to the joysticks to prevent the edge from being so rough.

This controller is a winner in my book!

[blazetownsend]

I have two of these. They are great. Battery life is good, and the analogs feel amazing. The buttons are good too. The old case that came with the older KingKong was better than the cheap clamshell. (I broke the original kingkong but it was good, spilled liquid on it and lost the ( - ) button when I reassembled it after cleaning.)