NYXI are no strangers to providing controllers at competitive prices, and their Hyperion Pro, which we previously reviewed, is still my go to joy-con replacement for Nintendo Switch.
So I was very excited when they offered to send their newest controller, the Flexi for review.
Whilst this is a controller in the same vein as many others on the market - a controller that supports both PC/Mac, Nintendo Switch and Mobile (Android & iOS) -what sets the NYXI Flexi apart is the ability to change the left stick and d-pad around so the sticks are either symmetrical or asymmetrical - a'la Xbox or Playstatiion layout.
On top of that, the mechanical micro switch ABXY button caps can be swapped over to the Nintendo layout, and this can all be done during a game. A nice little touch is the keycaps have a little groove so the letter is always symetrical.
The hot swapping works incredibly easily, and the removable magnetic fascia is easy to remove and re-attach, and it snaps back on with a satisfying click, but currently there are no other fascias available in order to customise the look.
NYXI also throw in some extra keycaps as well, presumably for if you lose some.
Swapping the left stick and d-pad is as easy as pulling it off, turning it around, and placing it back in - it works effortlessly, although you do need to pinch the ABXY key caps a little in order to grab them with enough force. When happy with your layout, you simply then place the fascia back on and away you go.
Connecting to PC via the 2,4Ghz dongle is simple, plug it in and turn it on and it will automatically pick up the Flexi, and for Nintendo Switch hold B + HOME buttons and it will show as a Pro Controller, and finally for mobile hold the A + HOME buttons simultaneously to turn on the controller, the Flexi will show as an Xbox Wireless Controller in the Bluetooth device list.
Latency is none existent in both wired connection and the 2.4Ghz dongle connection to PC, NYXI have done a great job with the 1,000Hz polling rate, and even though Bluetooth has a much lower polling rate at 100Hz, I also had no issues on Android and Switch.
Design wise, whilst the Hyperion Pro joy-cons adapted a gorgeous Gamecube style design, the Flexi I'm not overly in love with. Whilst it's comfortable to hold (mostly - more on this later), I'm not fond of the the honeycomb grille which highlights the RGB; it just feels like it's begging to be a magnet for dust and sweat - those that love RGB and the gaming mice that heralded the honeycomb aesthetic might love it, but it's not for me. NYXI's Master P1 has a much more subtle design to it, and I do prefer it over the Flexi's brash arrangement.
A great addition is on the back of the controller, where you'll find a button for the RGB - being able to change the colours and effects is very convienient with a simple press of a button, rather than a combination setup that requires pressing a "button + other button" combo that you find on other controllers.
The mechanical micro switch ABXY keys all feel nice and snappy, whilst the d-pad sounds clicky but it appears to be a membrane one, however it is responsive, although there is a lot of movement regardless what direction you're pressing, so accidental inputs are sadly going to happen from time-to-time.
Testing via the GamePad Xinput tester, the hall effect sticks have a fantastic snap-back response, and an average circularity error rate of 0.1% - the bad news, however, they have fixed deadzones which are set at at 10% for the inner edges, and 20% for the outer edges.
Essentially, whilst the outer doesn't matter too much, that 10% inner edge means you need to move the sticks quite a bit before it registers on-screen into the game - and this isn't adjustable either.
To be clear, the sticks are responsive, and they feel good - but if like me you're a player that makes a lot of micro camera adjustments in game, you will notice.
None of my tests were performed with a GPDL tester (a GPDL Tester is a tool for measuring latency of gamepad buttons and joysticks by connecting to the controllers internals.), but if you'd like to learn more about more in-depth analysis of controllers, I highly reccomend checking out gamepadla.com
Like the d-pad the shoulder buttons are membrane, but they're pretty responsive, although I would have loved to have seen some mechanical buttons.
The triggers, whilst they get a bonus point for being hall effect and really responsive, they lose that point for being so bizarrely angled and almost pointy - which is a shame as they perform well, they're just uncomfortable after a while, it's not ergonomic as I found my natural resting point of my fingers being right on the point of the odd angle, and it's frustrating as the rest of the controller feels really solid in your hands - there's also no trigger locks either sadly.
Considering the excellent 1000Hz wireless stability and performance, it's a real shame to be let down by uncomfortable triggers and deadzones on an otherwise comfortable controller.
You have four remappable buttons on the back, all of which are easy to reach, but the same limitation I found with the EasySMX X20 are present here, by only being able to map face buttons - again, for certain games this might be beneficial to you, but for me I prefer being able to use the additional buttons for things like camera sensitivity on the fly.
There is also gyroscope movement available but this functionality is only supported on the Switch mode.
Some software would be greatly beneficial in order to customise the Flexi, for both macro settings as well as potentially being able to adjust the deadzone - but sadly this isn't the case, at least not at the moment - whether NYXI comes out with some software in future remains to be seen.
OVERALL
I really wanted to love the Flexi, I'm a huge fan of the Hyperion Pro and the NYXI Wizard controllers, so I was a bit let down with the newest entry - it's not a bad controller by any means, it does perform well - but the design of the triggers and none adjustable 10% inner deadzone really let down a otherwise great controller. I love that NYXI are looking at ways in order to cater to a wide variety of people, and there are enough gamers that feel strongly about what layout is best; Xbox or Playstation, particulary when you're jumping from platform to platform - and the Flexi shows that you can cater to both markets, it just needs more refinement on the next version.
🛍️ NYXI Flexi at NYXI Game - use code PVP to get 10% off
UPDATE: NYXI are currently working on an app that will allow you to customise and tweak the deadzones, RGB and other settings - in the meantime, an app called Keylinker is available on Android and iOS that is now compatible with the Flexi controller:
▶ Keylinker on Android Play Store
▶ Keylinker on iOS App Store
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