The 8BitDo Pro 3 has so much nostalgic charm, but it brings back one of the cardinal sins of any gaming controller

Toward the end of 2025, I was catching up on one of the games I had enjoyed most throughout the year, but hadn't managed to play a lot of. Hell is Us is a nostalgic third-person action game with design philosophies taken right out of the 90s and early 2000s. For a brand new game from a small studio, it has an almost "retro" feel to it because it doesn't hold your hand or give you the waypoints, maps, and lists of quests that we're used to in the modern era of game design. And I couldn't have chosen a more appropriate PC controller to play it with than the 8BitDo Pro 3.

This PS1-inspired pro controller has a similar identity to Hell is Us in many ways. It looks to bring back design ideas that were commonplace 25 years ago and show that there's still value to them beyond a retro charm. Even the rubberized, horizontal bars that the Pro 3 uses for pause buttons feel like they've been tuned to the finest detail to call players back to their PS1 roots. All the while, TMR thumbsticks and four additional buttons bring this controller into the modern era.

And for $69.99 / £64.99, it's not too hard to afford either. So that's why I'm a bit perplexed as to how some really basic flaws have worked their way in here. Coming from a brand as seasoned as 8BitDo, and a controller so caught up in fine details, I shouldn't be sitting here writing about slippery thumbsticks.

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Design

The design language of the 8BitDo Pro 3 is unashamedly nostalgic. Its face isn't the carefully honed shape that most TMR controllers have these days that's evolved through decades of iteration. The Pro 3's face is perfectly rounded, seemingly offended by the idea of a corner. Its grips aren't trying to follow the herd and copy Xbox Series X controllers; they're perfectly happy being skinnier, longer, and having an almost flat surface on the front.

What's amazing is that 8BitDo has managed to take this offensively nostalgic design and still make it feel like a modern pro controller when it's in your hands. The back buttons are as well-placed as they are on any GameSir pad, so that your fingers naturally rest on them. The extra bumpers are microswitches that have a clicky actuation, and the triggers are satisfying to squeeze.

Unfortunately, just like the 8BitDo Ultimate 2, the texture used on the top of this controller's thumbsticks is one of the worst I've come across in the last few years. It's rubberized, but it's so slick that the sticks are distractingly difficult to grip. Pair that with the fact that, for some reason, the sticks on the Pro 3 are tiny (both in height and diameter), and you've got a controller that's tough to use at times. In FPS games especially, I had no confidence that my thumbs were going to stay in place, and more often than not, I'd be thinking more about what my thumbs were doing and continually adjusting them than I was about the games I was playing.

At least the 8BitDo Pro 3 is easy on the eye. Boosting that is the choice of three colorways, all of which will work across PC, Switch, Switch 2, Mac, and Android. The Grey version I've tested is blatantly calling back to the PS1, but the Purple and Orange versions give me heavy GameCube vibes.

Features

Included in the purchase of any colorway is a charging stand, which beautifully frames the Pro 3's face. You also get a USB cable and a USB-C dongle for wireless play. If you opt for the Orange or Purple version, you'll also benefit from some gumball-lookin' thumbstick tops, which might help you delve deeper into this device's retro appeal.

Inside, you have TMR thumbstick modules and some standard rumble, which never distracts and only serves to add some feel to the games you're playing. The triggers are Hall Effect, and the buttons are very traditional membrane ones. To be honest, I'm happy about that, because I don't think a full suite of clicky microswitch buttons would feel right on a 90s-inspired controller like this. If you do want a modern flair, the buttons are magnetic and can be swapped around if needed, so things are less confusing when you're playing on a Switch or PC.

As I've already alluded to, you get four additional buttons here. The two on the back are easy to use and well integrated into the Pro 3's grips. The additional bumpers could perhaps be placed a little closer to the middle, but that may just be my preference as someone with larger hands.

If you want a speedier actuation on the triggers, there are some stop switches on the back of the pad, as well as a switch for different connection modes. While you can customize this controller through 8BitDo's software, I was able to map the back buttons and extra shoulder buttons using just the 8BitDo button combinations.

There's a 1,000mAh battery on board the Pro 3, and it's good enough that I clocked around 25 hours of playtime before I had to plug in. I tested it on a PC and Asus ROG Ally X, but you can use it as a Nintendo Switch 2 controller as well.

Performance

With a fixed 4-way PlayStation-style D-Pad, the 8BitDo Pro 3 might not seem like the natural best bet for retro 2D platformers today. There's a lot to be said for this more simplistic style of D-pad though and, while playing Towerfall Ascension, I felt I had enough input to move around smoothly without any problems. That certainly felt better than using the thumbsticks in this instance. The D-pad is also a decent size, so you can get diagonal clicks in without too much trouble. The rest of the controller definitely lends itself to retro games, and the Pro 3 would feel right at home in a Metroidvania or two.

Where it doesn't feel so strong is in FPS titles, for obvious reasons. The thumbsticks really are just far too slippery for my liking. In Battlefield 6 and Hunt: Showdown, I found myself making constant adjustments to get my thumbs back up to the right place, which constantly broke my concentration. As a result, the TMR tech inside this pad feels somewhat wasted, honestly. It's nice to have extra accuracy and speed of a TMR controller, but paired with slippery thumbsticks, I actually think it makes this controller harder to wield. You put more pressure down on your thumbs to try and keep them in place, which makes tiny, twitch adjustments so much more difficult, but then sweeping flicks end up feeling unruly, or just plain slow.

This is one of the cardinal sins of any modern controller, and although I'd love to say it's a fitting flaw for a PS1-reminiscent controller to have since the first PlayStation controller didn't even have thumbsticks, this is something I've found through testing the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 as well. I'm inclined to say that going forward, this brand needs to reassess the materials it's using. Even the domed thumbsticks on the DualShock 2 and 3 felt more grippy than this does, and controllers have been trying to iron out slippy thumbstick tops for at least a decade now, so it's very easy to find a better alternative.

Before I hear someone say that I should just purchase some thumbstick grips and stop complaining, I don't think that's a good enough bailout. You shouldn't need to make an additional purchase to make a gaming accessory usable, and other controllers at this price point, like the Manba One, are offering swappable tops in the box.

While I didn't feel like there was a genre that wasn't hampered by this design flaw, I did actually enjoy my time with the Pro 3 in a lot of games. Chief among them was Hell is Us. In third-person titles that need a lot of inputs from the player, the Pro 3 really hits its stride. Those back buttons really are great, and the additional bumper buttons helped a lot with navigating the complex combat systems in Hell is Us.

I particularly like the shape of the grips. The back of them is rounded, but their front has a pretty flat shape, which feels super comfortable to rest the base of your thumb on.

The only other thing worth noting here was that I did experience some bizarre phantom presses with this controller. When the battery started to die, the left trigger was randomly registering a constant tap. I thought this was just the controller's battery running out, but there were a few times during testing when a game would scroll me left through a menu or otherwise perform an action I hadn't asked of it. Maybe my testing unit is slightly faulty, but that's not reassuring to experience when I'm reviewing well after launch.

Should you buy the 8BitDo Pro 3?

The 8BitDo has what so many controllers these days fail to find: identity. There's a lot to like about it, with a nostalgic aesthetic, excellent back buttons, and a comfortable shape in the hands. For the most part, it'll serve you really well, especially in third-person games.

Unfortunately, the design of the thumbsticks really let it down for me, and with so many other controllers around its price point, it's hard not to look at something else like the GameSir Tarantula Pro as a better alternative.

That said, I haven't mentioned the fact that this is a symmetrical controller, which could be a big reason you want to go for it. There aren't many PlayStation-inspired third-party controllers out there, and if you're looking for one, or you're just interested in a nostalgic charm, the Pro 3 is probably one you'll enjoy if you can look past annoyingly slippy thumbsticks.

How I tested the 8BitDo Pro 3 controller

I put the 8BitDo Pro 3 controller to work in my gaming setup for around a month before this review was written. Before that, I had done more specific testing with it as I put together a roundup feature on the best TMR controllers available at the moment. All in all, I have more than 25 hours of playtime with it.

I tested the controller in various games. For FPS games, I tested Battlefield 6 and Hunt: Showdown. For a third-person game, I used Hell is Us, and for a 2D platformer, I used the tight controls and fast-paced action in Towerfall Ascension. I also played a few hours of Cronos the New Dawn and Hades with it.

I compared my experience closely to other TMR controllers, as well as other modern pro controllers. I drew from my time with the GameSir Tarantula Pro as well as the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 when coming to a verdict.

For more on how we test controllers, check out the GamesRadar+ hardware policy.

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