Enjoying PC video games from the sofa sounds comfy, not less than till a menu sends you reaching for a mouse. A controller may deal with the sport completely properly, however Home windows doesn’t all the time get the memo. Turtle Seaside’s Stealth Flip tackles that awkward hole with thumbsticks that flip over to disclose touchpads, plus a separate trackpad for navigating the pc with out abandoning these acquainted grips.
The physique itself doesn’t wander too removed from acquainted territory. Black surfaces, textured grips, and offset sticks give it the looks of a traditional gamepad, with a round D-pad beneath the left stick and 4 lettered buttons above the proper. The elongated outlines round these controls are the giveaway, nevertheless. They mark the sections that rotate, moderately than merely adorning the entrance.
Designer: Turtle Seaside
Flip these modules over, and the sticks give technique to two flat, round capacitive touchpads. The D-pad and face buttons stay accessible, so altering how your thumbs transfer doesn’t imply shedding the opposite controls. Not like removable components it’s important to discover someplace to retailer, the choice surfaces keep inside the controller. There’s a bodily selection right here, moderately than one other setting buried in software program.
The bigger floor above them has a distinct project. This devoted PC trackpad handles cursor motion and Home windows navigation, leaving a technique to cope with menus even when the sticks are dealing with ahead. Selecting one thing outdoors the sport needn’t contain balancing a mouse in your leg. That sounds significantly helpful for a living-room PC, though a small trackpad nonetheless isn’t a full-size mouse.
There are different methods to keep away from lifting your thumbs, too. Two mappable buttons sit on the again, whereas adjustable set off stops provide a shorter pull or full journey. The latter lets the identical set off serve completely different wants, from fast firing to extra gradual inputs. 4 onboard profiles retailer completely different layouts, and the Swarm II desktop app handles mappings, macros, and stick sensitivity curves.
The sticks themselves use magnetic Corridor-effect sensing, which Turtle Seaside describes as proof against drift. That isn’t a assure that transferring components will final without end, in fact. The corporate additionally quotes polling charges as much as 1,000Hz, however solely with a wired PC connection. It’s value conserving that qualification in thoughts earlier than anticipating the identical reporting charge whereas taking part in with no cable connected.
Wi-fi PC play makes use of the included USB transmitter, whereas Bluetooth helps appropriate Android gadgets and good TVs. Regardless of the acquainted button format, Turtle Seaside doesn’t record Xbox or PlayStation console assist. A 3.5mm jack accommodates a wired headset, and the corporate claims as much as 20 hours per cost. The equipped USB cable additionally helps you to preserve taking part in whereas the battery will get some consideration.
The Stealth Flip launched with a price ticket of $99.99 within the US. There’s an interesting flexibility to conserving each sorts of management inside one physique, however a touchpad doesn’t present the identical resistance as a stick. Getting comfy with that distinction issues greater than the novelty of flipping modules, particularly when a misplaced thumb motion sends your character someplace unlucky.
