CRKD has released the Neo S Frost Edition controller, an Apple Store exclusive controller for mostly mobile gaming. It might be a little tricky to get your hands on, in terms of finding it to buy, but more than capable for gaming on the go thanks to great battery, compatibility and form factor.
Design
The stand-out feature on the CRKD Neo S Frost Edition isn’t one that will affect your gaming. It’s the look of it. Blizzard-style snow blending up into a transparent body give this controller a stunning look.
But let’s glide towards the actual gaming chops of this controller. I always reluctantly lean towards calling this form-factor of controller, “retro”. Sure, it’s fairly retro in its style and feel, but there’s a lot more here than your old SNES controller had. Functionality I’ll get into later.
My take on this particular form factor is two-fold. For simple mobile gaming or ROM emulation of retro games, this is a perfect design. But if I’m cloud gaming modern games, the shoulder buttons just feel a little too tight for me.
Which is why CRKD included reprogrammable buttons on the rear that feel slightly more comfortable to me. But what I would say is that generally, gaming with this form-factor isn’t the same as gaming with a console controller. It takes a little adjusting, but is very doable.
The importance of this form-factor is portability. It is significantly easier to slot this style of controller into a backpack over a full-sized console controller, or even the likes of the GameSir G8 Galileo.
If you’re gaming, like me, on an iPad most of the time, you’ll probably just leave the tablet on a flat surface while holding the controller. But if you’re a mobile gamer, you might need the CRKD mount which is unfortunately sold separately, despite being nearly essential for mobile gamers.
Functionality
Despite the “retro” vibes the CRKD Neo S Frost Edition gives off, it is ram-packed with features. I’ll address the elephant in the room first. While this is an Apple Store exclusive, it will work with Apple devices, Android devices, smart TVs, PCs and the likes. It connects via Bluetooth, so it’s pretty universal.
The controller bears what has become a modern standard. You get Hall effect thumb sticks, the usual console-style button layout but with tighter shoulder buttons. As I mentioned, you can remap these to two additional buttons, S1 and S2 on the rear, two buttons in a surprisingly natural position.
Setting those buttons up is pretty easy too, all configured through the CRKD app. Here is where you can change mappings but also customise vibration feedback. As someone who was disappointed with how customisation worked on the 8Bitdo Ultimate 2C recently, CRKD’s approach is excellent. It’s user-friendly and inviting, making me want to engage with it and make my own gaming experience as perfect as possible for me.
Another nice feature with this controller is the charging dock that it comes with. Might seem odd for a mobile gaming controller to have a dock, but remember, this is a mostly mobile gaming controller. You can have this controller sitting on your desk, ready to be grabbed for a game at any moment. It’s also a clever idea because when you get home from your day of mobile gaming, your controller has a home where it can easily be recharged. You just have to make a habit of doing it.
That’s not to say the battery life isn’t impressive. The controller manages its power cleverly, offering up over 6 hours in gaming battery life. Plenty for the average flight and more than enough for even the longest commutes.
Finally, the base of the controller features a 3.5mm headphone socket for wired accessories.
Who is CRKD?
Before I wrap up and give the final verdict on this controller, I was interested to know a little more about CRKD (which, fun fact, is pronounced “cracked”). The controller says “Designed in California, Made in China”, but I couldn’t find out much more about them.
However, I did find out they are owned by the Swedish Embracer Group, specifically Freemode. They are basically an investment company or video game holding company that owns and operates a vast number of game developers and publishers.
In today’s world, I like to know there’s a European ownership angle here.
CRKD have a really cool aspect to them. When you buy a CRKD controller, you can add it to the CRKD app by tapping the rear of the device against your phone. This is you “collecting” it, and “collecting” is a big element of what CRKD do. Once you “collect” the controller, you get details, including which number in the limited batch you received.
Each CRKD controller has a somewhat limited availability, which is an extra bit of “neat” to add into the mix.
The Verdict: CRKD Neo S Frost Edition
While it looks great, the feel of the CRKD Neo S Frost, off the bat, isn’t my cup of tea. But the customisation is worth its weight in gold here. It let me make the controller suit my personal style.
I like the flexibility of this type of controller over the likes of the Backbone, but it’s a pity that the mount is a separate accessory, given how essential it is.
Another frustrating element is just how hard this specific controller might be to get. It’s only available in Apple Stores, but even at the time of writing, this couldn’t be bought on Apple’s online store or ordered for pickup in the Belfast Apple Store.
There are plenty over in the UK for pickup if you really want one, but this controller leaves me with only one recommendation.
I can highly recommend the CRKD NEO S controller, but just don’t bother waiting around to find the Frost Edition. It’s pretty and all, but functionally, it’s the same as the rest of CRKD’s NEO S range. Generally this controller will set you back anything from €40 to €75, but right now there’s a version of it available for sale Amazon. Nice and simple.
