Controller Review Round-up: GameSir T7, CRKD ATOM

While I generally like to give longer reviews, sometimes we’ll receive products that can be summed up fairly concisely.

We have two such cases this time, one offering a “budget” option for Xbox gamers, and the other entering the tiny controller market.

GameSir T7

I’ve reviewed a lot of solid GameSir controllers recently, and it looks like the company isn’t slowing down on releases. The T7 is another wired Xbox (and PC) option, this time on the more budget end.

You get the ever-reliable Hall Effect analog sticks and triggers with an Xbox-style layout, and that’s about it. It’s a no-frills controller option in a familiar form factor, which could be what some people are looking for compared to GameSir’s premium offerings.

The analog sticks are great as always, offering a nice grippy texture on the outside. They actually feel identical to something like the Kaleid, which is more than welcome.

As for everything else, it’s generally quite average. The membrane face buttons are serviceable, along with the shoulder buttons and triggers. The d-pad is fine for menus, but feels somewhat imprecise — I certainly wouldn’t use it for platformers.

Unfortunately, the biggest issue with the GameSir T7 is its price. I used budget in quotation marks before because, while it’s certainly cheap enough in the US at $34.99, in the UK it’s priced at £39.99 on Amazon. It’s even slightly worse in the EU at €49.99.

That’s only a little bit cheaper than an official Xbox wireless controller when they’re not on sale, and you can often get them for less (my current Xbox controller was only £35 last year.)

This isn’t exactly uncommon when it comes to European third-party controller releases in recent years, but it does make the T7 feel a little redundant.

CRKD ATOM

When I reviewed CRKD’s Nitro Deck+ earlier this year, I wasn’t a fan of how much bulk it added to the Switch versus the usability it added. This latest offering, the CRKD ATOM, instead takes things in a wildly different direction with its miniscule size.

I knew the ATOM would be small before receiving a review unit, but I was still surprised once I held the controller in my hands. It really is tiny, just barely big enough to be considered useable by an adult.

And yet, it’s actually a decent controller for short gaming sessions, assuming you’re playing the right games for it. The ATOM is unsurprisingly missing analogue sticks, and while it does include ZL/ZR buttons, these are basically impossible to use properly.

The d-pad is decently responsive despite its small size, enough for some basic platformers (I wouldn’t recommend fighting games however.) I was also impressed by the face buttons, which were easy to press despite being a quarter of the size compared to regular controllers.

My only real gripe with the ATOM is the inclusion of the aforementioned ZL/ZR buttons. They’re far to small to be useable, and also caused the L/R buttons to be shorter. I would have preferred that they weren’t included at all, leaving more space for longer L/R buttons like the 8Bitdo Zero 2.

But overall, it’s still a pretty fun choice for a portable controller option. At £19.99, it’s also a better fit for the collectability angle that CRKD has been pushing for their products. Collecting different variants isn’t so bad when the price is more manageable, vs the £69.99 Nitro Deck+.

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That’s everything for this controller roundup. Expect more full reviews in the near future, along with some quick looks at interesting tech and games.

Both the GameSir T7 and CRKD ATOM were reviewed using units provided by the manufacturers.

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