The Nintendo Switch has had a pretty much astounding run in its lifetime, with countless top-class games and two new console versions since it first arrived, the Switch Lite and Switch OLED. If it’s had one complaint, though, it’s been questions around durability.

The Joy-Cons have always seemed flimsy and prone to stick drift. Here to fix the problem but also offer a swathe of other changes to how you use your Switch is the $60 Nitro Deck from CRKD. I’ve been using it for a few weeks to see how it changes the game.

Get a grip

The Nitro Deck offers a pretty high-class solution to a couple of simple problems. First, that ever-present risk of Joy-Con drift – something so prevalent that it’s led to lawsuits and much angst. That’s solved by its use of Hall effect sensors for its control sticks, a newer technology with a much longer guarantee against wear and tear, often found in pro controllers.

Secondly, there’s the general ergonomics of the Switch, which has always been one of the console’s very few weak points thanks to the requirement that its controllers easily slip on and off the screen hub. The Nitro Deck adds rounded and curved plastic to sit far more comfortably in your hand while you play it compared to the standard Switch in portable mode.

Works with Nintendo Switch or Switch OLED

It effectively works as a sort of sleeve-slash-dock for your Switch’s central display module; you slot your Switch or Switch OLED (it fits both) down into the body of the Nitro Deck onto a waiting connector.

From there, it’s connected to a wired controller that sits all around it, and you can use the Switch just as you would in handheld play, with no restrictions beyond the fact that it doesn’t have its detachable controllers. I’ve been using a limited edition purple version, but the standard white or black Nitro Deck is identical aside from color, and they all look pretty solid, built primarily from hard plastic with pretty much no flex.

If there’s an obvious downside to the design: Nitro Deck makes your Switch a bit chunkier. It’s thicker and heavier than a standalone Switch.

This is noticeable if you pick up an official Nitro Deck carrying case (which doesn’t come included as standard), since it’s a pretty big item that compares almost to a Steam Deck case – much bigger than most Switch cases I’ve tried. This also means it likely won’t fit in whatever case you normally use for your Switch, unless it’s one that has a heck of a lot of extra room in it.

Still, you can’t avoid that extra bulk for more ergonomic in-hand comfort, which isn’t the only benefit that the Nitro Deck offers (although it’s quite a big one). You also get some extra buttons on the rear of the grip: Two on each side, which you can easily reprogram to use the face button of your choice, making it easy to come up with more advanced control schemes if you’re interested.

These are placed right where your fingers will lie when holding the Nitro Deck and are easy to activate, making them useful for those who want more options.

Grip case with a kickstand

There’s also a sturdy kickstand for keeping your Switch at an angle, since the grip case obscures the built-in one. This looks flimsy but is, in fact, strong and reliable. Finally, there’s a slider to let you unlink the Nitro Deck in order to remove your Switch when needed, which means it’s securely held in place and not at risk of accidentally slipping out at any point.

In your hand, the Nitro Deck is darn great. It’s as comfortable as those ergonomics would lead you to hope, and the fact that you can choose from a few different analogue stick tips means you can easily make them feel how you want.

The buttons are nice and clicky, and while the triggers won’t win any awards for response times, they’re nice and large and, therefore, easy to control. Overall, it’s exemplary stuff.

The Switch’s Home button is replaced by a CRKD logo (the makers of the Nitro Deck), which lights up by default. I found this annoying, but there’s a button on the Deck’s rear to let you dim it or turn it off, another smart touch (although removing the LED would have been smarter).

Verdict

The Nitro Deck sets its stall out clearly, aiming to improve the handheld ergonomics of the Nintendo Switch and add some more buttons for you to use – and, on that front, it’s an unequivocal success. Its design is smart, it’s comfortable to hold, and those extra buttons could be a clincher for anyone with competitive aspirations, and at $60, it’s priced pretty fairly in comparison to a pro controller, for what it is.

That doesn’t make it an essential purchase since it adds a bunch of bulk, and many people probably use their Switches just fine without any changes, but if you think you’d like a better grip and want to wave stick drift behind, it’s an impressive option.