The Gioteck WX5 Wireless Controller comes at an interesting moment. Nintendo’s current Switch has lasted far longer than anyone could have reasonably expected, and with the Switch 2 out, players are starting to think about what accessories they’re willing to invest in now that will still be useful when the new hardware arrives.
Gioteck clearly knows this, because the WX5 is marketed not just as a budget-friendly alternative to the Switch Pro Controller, but as forward-looking hardware designed to be ready for that generational hand-off. It’s a clever angle, one that taps into the unease of players who don’t want to spend eighty dollars on an official Pro Controller that could feel outdated the moment the Switch successor hits shelves. The question is whether Gioteck has done enough to make the WX5 feel like more than a placeholder.
The short answer is yes, though not without some qualifiers. Out of the box, the WX5 doesn’t exactly scream premium, but it does give off the right impression. It’s lightweight without crossing into flimsy. The matte plastic casing won’t impress anyone in a showroom, but it avoids the creaks, flex, and sharp seams that make so many cheap controllers feel disposable.
“The WX5 is marketed not just as a budget-friendly alternative to the Switch Pro Controller, but as forward-looking hardware designed to be ready for that generational hand-off.”
Pick it up and you won’t feel like it’s going to snap in half, even if the texture doesn’t carry the polish of a first-party pad. There’s a pragmatism in its design that becomes more obvious once you’ve used it for a few hours. The comfort is immediate, and the shape is familiar enough that you never have to fight with it. It sits in the hands like something you’ve already owned for years.
What really changes the perception here is Gioteck’s decision to move to hall-effect technology for the sticks and triggers. That might sound like marketing jargon, but anyone who’s dealt with drifting Joy-Cons knows why it matters. Magnetic sensors don’t wear down in the same way that traditional potentiometer-based sticks do, which means they’re much more resistant to developing that dreaded phantom input over time.
Drift has been a persistent frustration with Nintendo’s hardware, so having a controller built from the ground up to sidestep that issue is a major selling point. In use, the sticks feel smooth and responsive. They snap back to zero quickly, and the resistance curve feels well-balanced. The triggers, also hall-based, benefit from the same sense of consistency. It’s not the mechanical crispness you’d find in a high-end modular controller, but it’s dependable, and that’s the whole point.
The button layout sticks close to what Nintendo has already set as the standard, which makes sense. Face buttons have a snappy, slightly softer feel than the Pro Controller, but still give good feedback. The d-pad, often a weak spot on third-party pads, is serviceable here.
It’s not as sharp or tactile as the ones you’d find on premium controllers, and it can sometimes feel a little floaty when rolling inputs in fighting games, but for platformers and menu navigation, it holds up fine. The bumpers and triggers have a clean click, and nothing feels loose or misaligned. There’s a sense of cohesion across the inputs that you don’t always get at this price point, and it goes a long way to making the WX5 feel trustworthy.
The WX5+ version tries to add a little flair on top of that foundation. It introduces RGB lighting around the sticks and along the body, giving the controller a subtle glow in darker rooms or for RGB fans. There are a few preset colours, but in truth, it’s more cosmetic than anything. The more meaningful upgrade comes in the form of programmable back buttons.
“The WX5 is the rare third-party pad you could actually live with as your daily controller, and that alone is an achievement worth paying attention to.”
They’re placed in a natural resting position for your middle fingers and can be remapped to duplicate face or trigger buttons. It’s not a fully featured pro-style setup with paddles and software layers, but it’s a genuinely useful addition for games that benefit from quick access to multiple commands. Once you’ve mapped jump or reload back there, it’s hard to go back. There’s also a shortcut button meant to speed up access to chat functions on Switch 2.
Performance is generally solid but not flawless. Wireless latency is advertised as minimal, and for the most part, it is. In platformers, shooters, and general play, you won’t notice any delay. Vibration and motion controls are included, which is important for compatibility, though neither matches the subtlety of Nintendo’s own implementation. Rumble feedback is a little more generic, and motion tracking can feel less finely tuned, but again, it’s impressive enough that Gioteck is even in the same conversation, given the price difference.
Battery life is better than expected. Gioteck promises long play sessions, and in practice, you’re looking at somewhere between fifteen and twenty hours, depending on how aggressively you’re using rumble and lighting. That’s more than enough to get through a handful of marathon gaming nights before needing to plug in. Charging over USB-C is quick and easy, and the option to use the controller wired is a nice fallback. Plugging it in also activates the 3.5mm headphone jack, which is something the Pro Controller still frustratingly lacks. Being able to drop into a wired session on PC with a headset plugged straight into the controller makes the WX5 feel more versatile than its price suggests.
Gioteck has spent years putting out serviceable controllers that never quite broke out of the “budget” category. The WX5 feels like the first time they’ve closed the gap. It’s not perfect, wireless lag is there if you go looking for it, and the finish isn’t going to impress anyone who judges build quality by weight alone, but it’s a confident, comfortable controller that finally justifies its place in the spotlight.
Gioteck hasn’t reinvented the controller here, and they don’t need to. What they’ve done is deliver something dependable at a good price.. For a brand that’s been on the outside of the first-party conversation for so long, that feels like a genuine step forward. The WX5 is the rare third-party pad you could actually live with as your daily controller, and that alone is an achievement worth paying attention to.
