By Steven Petite and Jon Bitner on
11.12.2023 - 20:17 / gamespot.com / Jon Bitner / Switch Pro / Michael Higham / Pro
Not only is the Split Pad Pro cheap right now, but Amazon says orders will still arrive before Christmas.
By Jon Bitner on
The Hori Split Pad Pro is one of our favorite ways to play Switch in handheld mode, offering ergonomic grips, responsive buttons, a conventional D-pad, and full-sized analog sticks for added comfort. The Joy-Con replacement recently received a makeover to celebrate The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and right now you can snag the gorgeous officially licensed controller for just $50 (down from $60). That's its lowest price ever, so consider giving it a look if you're searching for a last-minute holiday gift, as Amazon is advertising orders will arrive before Christmas.
The Split Pad Pro works with both the Switch and Switch OLED. It's essentially a full-sized controller, split into two, that slides onto both sides of the Switch screen, providing a larger grip than the tiny Joy-Cons, making it a great option for adult gamers or anyone with big hands. It also benefits from turbo functionality and programmable rear buttons.
Of course, this version features a sleek Tears of the Kingdom paint job, with Link perched high up on a Sky Island on the right side of the controller and the left side featuring a sleek black and gold design with Zelda iconography emblazed throughout.
Our Split Pad Pro review found the controllers to be a great upgrade over the Joy-Con and an easy recommendation for handheld players.
"[The Hori Split Pad Pro] makes gaming in handheld much more comfortable across the board, and it truly delivers much better control over first- and third-person shooters, or any game that requires precise analog inputs," wrote critic Michael Higham. «Adding to the overall exceptional feel of the Split Pad Pro are the larger triggers and shoulder buttons that are smooth and effortless to pull. They're not clicky, and again, come close to how a Switch Pro controller feels.»
Several Split Pad deals have sold out in the weeks following Black Friday, and if you want to get the Tears of the Kingdom-themed controller ahead of the holidays, be sure to check out this discount soon.
Speaking of Tears of the Kingdom, Amazon has fantastic deals on the official strategy guide. With a bonus discount applied, you can get the hardcover collector's edition Tears of the Kingdom guidebook for $21.59 (down from $45). Alternatively, the paperback edition is 50% off at just $15.
If you're mostly happy with your Joy-Con controllers, but wish they had normal D-pads, check out Hori's left Joy-Con replacement. A Super Mario-themed model is on sale for only $17 right now.
Best Gaming & Tech Deals This Week
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the
By Steven Petite and Jon Bitner on
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.
Before players meet Rauru in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, they see his arm. At the very beginning of the game, Link doesn’t really know what’s going on, but he wakes up with a mysterious appendage that’s not his — and that allows him to harness incredible powers. It’s not much later that Link meets a spirit version of Rauru, the first king of Hyrule and a character who belongs to a race of creatures called the Zonai. In lending Link his arm, Rauru gave the hero the means to go out into the wide world of Hyrule and realize the carefully laid plans of Princess Zelda.
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.
It is likely that will be the last game to feature its particular version of Link. is a direct sequel to, and because of this, it features and further develops the same incarnation of the famous hero. However, looking towards the future of the franchise, it may soon be time for ’s Link to retire.
The four sets release on March 1, but they're now up for preorder--as are a few other Pokemon-related goodies.
Do you own a Meta Quest 2, 3, or Pro headset and dream of stepping into Master Chief’s shoes in Halo, or getting behind the wheel and tearing down the road in Forza Horizon 5? Well, you still can’t do that, sorry, but you can experience the next closest thing with all cloud-gaming-supported Xbox Game Pass games right now, with the newly released Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) app.
By Tom Warren, a senior editor covering Microsoft, PC gaming, console, and tech. He founded WinRumors, a site dedicated to Microsoft news, before joining The Verge in 2012.
Zora's Domain is covered in sludge and Prince Sidon needs my help.
The producer of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has revealed he doesn't quite understand why fans want to revisit the series' older, more "restricted" games when the new ones give you so much more freedom.
It’s not very often that a new mainline Zelda title is a direct follow-up to a previous instalment, with Majora’s Mask having been the last one (not counting the handheld titles) to do so until Tears of the Kingdom launched earlier this year. And whenever the next Zelda title arrives, it is going to be an entirely new thing once again, as per series producer Eiji Aonuma.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom might be the perfect sequel in every definition of the word, but even Nintendo seems to agree that it has exhausted all possibilities for this particular iteration of Link’s journey.