Proslife Joy-Cons Review

I recently started having the dreaded Joy-Con drift happening on my original Joy-Cons and it got to the point that it was very annoying and getting them fixed was a pain. So I did some searching and found this third-party pair that I decided to get and give you a review of!

The setup for these is the same as the official controllers where you slide them in their appropriate slots and it pairs. One issue I keep experiencing is that the Switch wants to update the controllers constantly and fails to do so if you tell it to run the update. It’s a very small issue that doesn’t effect how they work, so I just dismiss the notice when it pops up.

First time playing with these was a little bit of a hassle. first game I played was Animal Crossing: New Horizons and I was experiencing the dreaded drift again. My character was walking fully on her own. This was fixed by properly calibrating the Joy-Cons. I did notice that the issue would come back if I switched back to the original Joy-Cons and then again back to the new ones. I plan on these being the permanent replacement for the old ones though so after the last calibration I have had no issues. And I have had no issues having both these and the Pro Controller paired to the Switch.

Unlike the normal Joy-Cons, these are what I’d best describe as fatter. They have the curves of a normal controller so they rest in your hands. I actually prefer this over the normal, flat Joy-Cons because the Switch is so much easier and comfortable to hold.

These controls are clickier than the original Joy-Con, meaning they make more noise as you push buttons. It’s barely noticeable to me and not an issue, but I imagine it could be bothersome to some depending on the games you like to play. The thumbsticks I really like on these new ones because they feel stronger than the originals and that I won’t have to worry about getting Joy-Con drift from use again. I also don’t experience the slickness that the originals have that cause people to buy grips.

I do want to mention the color, because I’m glad that I could have both my left and right Joy-Cons match and be a fun color. One of my biggest gripes with buying new Nintendo official Joy-Cons was that I wanted them to be the same color but the only ones where you can do that in one purchase are the plain gray ones. And I sure as hell was not buying two sets of Joy-Cons just for a matching color pair when they are $80 a set. So having the Proslife ones be matching colors is a be plus for me, and a double plus getting them in my favorite color.

One other thing worth mentioning is the charging. These controllers do charge when attached to the Switch and they also come with a charging cord. They have flashing lights to indicate they are charging and I’ve noticed that when the Switch is left in the dock for a while untouched, they will periodically start flashing. The flashing may be bothersome to some people, especially if you have your dock in a bedroom and they flash at night, but I haven’t been bothered by it.

These are not a cheap alternative to official Joy-Cons but they are cheaper than buying new official ones. I got these for $47 on Amazon, which is still pricey for some. But these are still $33 cheaper than official Joy-Cons and I’d argue made much better.

Overall, the Proslife Joy-Cons feel much sturdier and more comfortable to use. It has some small issues with the update reminders and calibration needs, but that is so small compared to the improvement I get using these instead of the originals. Using these Joy-Cons actually make the originals look cheap. I’m definitely happy I got these to replace the originals and would recommend them to those looking for a replacement themselves.

Have you bought any Switch accessories? Let me know with a comment below.

---