This controller lets you swap between Xbox and PlayStation thumbstick layouts without a toolkit, and it only costs $50

For years, I've been jumping up and down and shouting from the hilltops about a controller called the Victrix Pro BFG. It's a modular gamepad that's now available on both PS5 and Xbox and, because you can swap around its parts and shape it to meet your needs and preferences, it feels like you're getting two, three, and sometimes four controllers wrapped up in one.

But it's now been years since the BFG arrived, and I can't fathom why we haven't seen more of the best PC controllers trying to emulate this highly customizable design. Nyxi has made a name for itself by making some third-party Switch and Switch 2 controllers, but its unsung hero might just be the Flexi, a half-modular controller that takes more of a "pro" approach to things.

For just the $50 / £50 it asks of you, you get to swap between symmetrical and offset thumbsticks with a toolless design for a fraction of the BFG's price. One of those will usually set you back upwards of $150, admittedly giving you a lot more in swappable parts at the same time. But is the depth of more swappable components enough to tempt $100 more out of you? If not, the Flexi is staring at you from the corner.

Design

Along with its functional, modular face, the Nyxi Flexi also makes really nice use of RGB lighting. One of these things will probably make you better at your games, and the other is just for show, but I won't confirm which is which. Regardless, by using both of them at once, Nyxi has crafted a very unique peripheral that stands out from the crowd of Xbox Series X controller lookalikes that we see darkening the shelves with standard black shells.

The RGB here shines through honeycomb grilles on the grip covers, the colors gleaming from underneath to bounce off your palms and wrists. It's easy to put RGB on a controller and have it immediately disappear because your hands cover the tiny portions of light. The Flexi doesn't have that problem, and adjusting the RGB mode to show different colors and effects allows it to actually be a fun aspect of using the pad.

The modular part of the Flexi's design is entirely locked to the left portion of its face. Only the left thumbstick and D-pad module can actually be pulled out and flipped around. Like the Thrustmaster Eswap X 2 Pro and its predecessors (which I never gelled with as much as I have with the Flexi), the right side of the controller isn't swappable.

This modular design is all kept neatly underneath a glossy magnetic faceplate though, and I really do applaud the practicalities of it. With two circular frames on its left-hand side, you don't need to fit a new one on if you've swapped the thumbstick module around - it fits either configuration. The whole modular process is toolless, actually. It's all magnetic, although I'd have liked more of a snap with the actual face module when it's in situ. A few times when I've swapped it around, I've been unsure if it's in place or if it needs a secondary shove downward.

Features

The Flexi features Hall sensor thumbsticks and triggers, compatibility with PC and Switch, a turbo function, vibrating feedback, and 6-Axis gyro controls (for Switch gameplay only). There's a USB dongle in the box, but other than that, the controller and a cable, it's pretty slim pickings.

I don't want to say I feel robbed with what's included, but it's a bit of a shame there aren't at least a couple of different modules to swap in and out. For $50, I hardly feel like I can complain, but it would be nice to have the option of paying more for swappable thumbsticks, a carry case, D-pad shapes, or just some different buttons to play around with.

The actual face buttons on the Flexi are clicky microswitches, and while they're stuck in their position, they can be swapped around for a Switch or PC accurate layout. Other buttons can be remapped as well using software, but again, I wish this had been thought out more thoroughly.

To finetune things like thumbstick deadzones, you need to download a mobile app and link your Flexi controller up to it via Bluetooth. This is certainly better than nothing, but it would have been nice to have an application for Windows users so PC players have a more centralized way to configure.

Thankfully, you don't need this mobile app to sift through RGB modes or to map the back buttons. These can both be done using hotkey combinations on the controller itself.

Performance

I really enjoyed my time playing with the Nyxi Flexi in third-person games, largely due to its long grips and angular triggers. Driving around in GTA V and Cyberpunk felt great, and the feedback that was coming through the controller was enough to keep me immersed without distracting. With gamepads like these that use sharper angles on their triggers and harder surfaces on their grips, it can be easy for vibrating feedback to overplay its hand and even make things uncomfortable, but the Flexi shows the brand has been careful in this respect.

Playing Cairn, I actually felt I was more in control of Aava's limbs than I was in previous weeks while testing the Asus ROG Raikiri II. The deadzones on that controller were a bit big for my liking out of the box. With the Flexi in hand, it seems more like I have actual control over where my in-game hands and feet are going to be landing on a given cliff-face, and less like I was playing a very high-stakes game of Twister.

I always like coming across different approaches to back button placement. There are plenty of gamepads that get this wrong, putting them in straight-up inconvenient places that are awkward or just plain impossible to use. Funnily enough, other controllers that have tried a modular approach are culprits. The Thrustmaster Eswap and the Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot both feel flat in that regard. But there are ways of placing back buttons uniquely so that, in this instance, if you don't want to use your middle and ring fingers, you can just use your middle fingers to actuate both sets of back buttons.

The Flexi controller's four back buttons are higher up than you typically find, but they are well-placed and still allow for plenty of control in input-heavy FPS games. I can still hit the upper left back button in a pinch while playing Hunt: Showdown to pull out my knuckle-knife, then move my middle finger down slightly to interact with something via the lower back button.

With Hall sensor thumbsticks, I was pulling off accurate headshot flicks and aiming snipers just fine. I'd still like a more in-depth PC app to be able to hone deadzones without Bluetooth tethering to my phone but, for an FPS gamepad out of the box, Nyxi has done a really solid job for the asking price.

Where this controller isn't at its strongest is in 2D platformers. The same reasons the Flexi works well as a comfortable third-person controller are the same reasons it feels a bit bulky and less responsive in retro-style games.

What I love, however, is the toolless modular control I have over it. I've played hundreds of hours of Towerfall Ascension with a DualShock 4, so it does kind of feel weird to me to play it with an offset controller. All I had to do for a more familiar feel was snap off the magnetic faceplate, tug on the left thumbstick, and I was free to flip it around and slot it all back together. That's a rare bit of convenience I haven't found outside of Thrustmaster's Eswap line, and it's one of the few I could see people pulling off mid-game if they really needed or wanted to.

Should you buy the Nyxi Flexi?

In the never-ending war between symmetrical and asymmetrical thumbstick controller users, things can get pretty heated. If you like both PlayStation and Xbox thumbstick layouts, the Nyxi Flexi is a big, broad, and practical controller that will let you swap between the two in an instant.

It brings the modular form factor I love from the Victrix Pro BFG down to a budget crowd on Switch and PC, and so I have a lot of love for it.

That said, I really wish there was a bit more to the Flexi. Only having the left side be modular will cater to a lot of players, but having both sides be swappable would have opened the door to the possibility of an ongoing ecosystem that really could have challenged the might of Turtle Beach's swappable controllers.

Still, for a budget price, this controller delivers a lot of comfort and versatility, and its simplistic, toolless design makes it easy to use in a whole load of games.

How I tested the Nyxi Flexi

I used the Nyxi Flexi for all sorts of PC gaming for around 2-3 weeks before this review was written. I tested it across multiple genres, in older games and current ones. I played Towerfall Ascension, Hunt: Showdown, GTA V, Cyberpunk, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, Cairn, and more.

I compared this controller to the Victrix Pro BFG, Thrustmaster's Eswap controllers, and Turtle Beach's Stealth Pivot, since those are other modular pads I've gone hands-on with.

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

There's more where that came from, also have a look at the best PS5 controllers, the best Switch controllers, and the best joysticks.