There aren't a lot of name brands creating good game controllers on Android but for a few reasons. Aside from the Razer Kishi series, you can mostly just use regular wired or wireless controllers with your phone. For an already incredibly niche market, there are some options available that, while not perfect, get the job done. GameSir is one of the few other companies consistently making great controllers for smartphones, though, and the GameSir G8+ makes the regular GameSir G8 even better.

The GameSir G8+, like the regular edition, has customizable joysticks and button remapping, but now it even adds the ability for you to swap the ABXY buttons around in any order. This is especially important when using the controller with the Nintendo Switch, as the buttons by default use the Xbox layout. Overall, the GameSir G8+ is a fantastic controller that gets a lot right with very few downsides.

About this review: GameSir gave me the GameSir G8+ for the purposes of this review, and the company didn't have input into its contents.

Pricing and availability

The GameSir G8+ retails for $80 and is available on Amazon and GameSir's website.

What I like

Gets practically everything right

The GameSir G8+ is a pretty basic controller that doesn't require much to get use out of it. It's essentially an Xbox controller where you can put your phone or Nintendo Switch in the center, and it feels like a real console controller. What's even better is that because there's no USB-C connector or other physical connector to worry about, your phone's orientation doesn't matter. With my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, I can have the USB-C port exposed at the top, meaning I can fast-charge my phone and play at the same time. The same goes for the Nintendo Switch compatibility, as it connects via Bluetooth and is identified as a Switch Pro controller.

In terms of gameplay, the controller has been incredibly accurate and great to use, especially in PlayStation 2 games. The likes of The Simpson's: Hit & Run and Ratchet & Clank are very playable here, and the same goes for Wii titles that use a classic controller for gameplay. For example, Call of Duty: Black Ops uses a classic controller input from the Wii, and you can play the Zombies game mode on the go with it, which I did quite a bit of. It also supports gyro input on the Nintendo Switch, which surprised me and wasn't something I expected.

On top of that, the way the controller works is incredibly convenient. When you open it and put your phone in, the controller will switch on and connect to the last paired device automatically. When you close it, it will shut down immediately too, meaning that it won't just stay on the whole time and drain the battery. It charges over USB-C, and therre's an Android mode that, while I haven't been able to get it working, DualShock 4 mode works just fine in all of the games that I tried it in.

Overall, I love the design of the GameSir G8+, and most of its simplicity comes from the fact that it's pretty much a fully wireless controller. It can connect to basically anything, without worry about where the charging port is or the thickness of a case, and I also found that input lag was indistinguishable from a regular controller. Even with the Switch, it felt the exact same as playing with the Pro Controller, which is a major win for GameSir. As for using it with a PC, it's very plug-and-play, and Windows identifies it as an Xbox 360 controller.

What I don't like

Wireless is a blessing and a curse

While I'm a big fan of the GameSir G8+ in that it does wireless really well, there are some downsides to that. Unless you have a foldable where you can expose the charging port outside of the controller, or your phone has a charging port on the side, you actually can't charge your phone at all while using this. The GameSir G8 and the Razer Kishi both had pass-through capabilities, but this doesn't. Plus, the same issue is there for audio, too. The G8 had a headphone jack, but there's no way to use either a USB-C to 3.5mm jack or anything like that for the same reason. You'll need to use Bluetooth.

On top of that, it's not the most portable game controller. It's still fairly large in its dormant state, making it quite hard to just throw into a backpack. Plus, I've found that it can turn on inside of my bag somehow, which then starts sending inputs to my phone while I'm in the middle of using it. When that happens, I have to reach into my bag and hold down the G button to turn it off, which can be frustrating.

With that downside, the controller can also run out of battery, but that isn't so much a problem as you can at least charge it while you play through the bottom USB-C port. Still, charging a game controller isn't something you typically need to think of when you buy one, so it requires a bit of a different way of thinking when you use one.

Overall, I like the GameSir G8+ quite a lot, but these are the downsides you get when you go from a wired controller to a wireless one. It's not so much of an upgrade that I'd say is worthy of giving it a '+' moniker; rather, a sidegrade.

Should you buy the GameSir G8+?

It depends

To be honest, I love the GameSir G8+ quite a lot, and it's earned its right to sit in my travel bag no matter where I go. Having said that, it's not perfect. It's bulky, it needs to be charged, and for some of the phones that I use daily, there's no way to keep my phone charged while I'm gaming. It's great for the other use cases where I don't or can't use USB-C to connect, but for the others, it can be frustrating.

As a result, if you're set on a GameSir controller like this, you can weigh up the differences between the G8 and the G8+. Despite this being the G8+, the '+' aspect of it doesn't really mean what it would mean in other products. It's not really better as it is more so different. If you want a wireless controller then it is better, but you do lose out on some features that might be deemed important by doing so.

You should buy the GameSir G8+ if:

• You want an ergonomic and customizable mobile gaming controller
• You want to use it with a Nintendo Switch, iPhone, Android, or PC
• You want to emulate games on the go

You should not buy the GameSir G8+ if:

• You want a compact mobile gaming controller
• You want to charge your phone and play at the same time