GameSir never ceases to impress me. I’m amazed at how far they’ve come in the previous few years, from scrappy upstarts focusing on the mobile industry to relative gaming powerhouses. In reality, aside from the occasional hiccup, what they’ve generated and delivered to market in the previous year or so has been nothing short of spectacular.
And here they are again, bringing the GameSir Kaleid Flux Controller to the Xbox platform. And you know what? It may not be the snazziest thing you’ve ever held, and it can’t compete with some of the highest-end pads, such as rivals to the Xbox Elite controller, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fantastic. It is the complete opposite.
The GameSir Kaleid Flux Controller in its full glory.
You know when you unbox a product and are immediately blown away by what’s inside? That was our experience with the GameSir Kaleid Flux Controller for Xbox, as we slid it out of its all-cardboard package to expose a controller that appears to outperform its price.
This controller looks fantastic in black and gold and feels amazing in the hand. It’s the same size as most other Xbox controllers, but it’s lighter, more textured, and has buttons that want to be pressed. Because the Kaleid Flux is a wired controller, you’ll most likely notice its lightweight nature right away. Now, don’t go away just yet, because GameSir’s wired nature allows him to accomplish a few things. For starters, it reduces weight, but it also allows them to put on some spectacular light shows, which would undoubtedly drain the battery of a wireless controller.
I’ll get to the lighting later, but first, let’s look at what’s excellent about the Kaleid Flux. Buttons, triggers, bumpers, and Hall-Effect sensing thumbsticks are all enjoyable to tease, with enough of texturing in the proper locations. There’s enough on the bottom and sides of the arms, as well as the somewhat concave thumbstick tops and the front face of the triggers. It means that no matter how hot your gaming session gets, and we’ve had plenty of that here in the UK, your fingers and thumbs will rarely slip. We’ve been impressed with the texturing from the start, and it’s made the Kaleid Flux a controller we’ve been using almost nonstop for the past few weeks.
There is no texturing on the bumpers, the standard-sized face buttons, or the fantastic D-Pad, but we have not found it necessary in any of those areas. They all do the job assigned to them, and they do it effectively.
Looks and feels fantastic.
With the Xbox Nexus button in its regular location (though smaller than usual) and the Menu, Select, and Share buttons surrounding it, everything you’d expect from an Xbox controller is present, including the all-important 3.5mm audio connection for connected headphones. There are even a handful of programmed back buttons around the back, which are ideal for pulling with your middle fingers. They are also reasonably sized and should be useful for anyone who requires back-button help while gaming.
Mapping those rear buttons should be done by holding the front-facing M button and pressing various buttons. We discovered that this was difficult to implement, as nothing registered. It’s not a big deal, though, because the free GameSir Nexus App for Xbox allows you to manage entire profiles, button mapping, vibration settings, and more. We found the app to be fairly decent, if a touch perplexing in certain areas. However, it has become our preferred method for button mapping. However, we’ve discovered that adding a ‘A’ face button to those rear-mounted buttons occasionally causes issues with unintentional pressing, particularly if you simply throw the controller to one side for a few minutes. Again, a workaround is conceivable, but it is not the best of options; those back buttons are quite simple to depress.
The M button can be used for a number of other purposes. Shifting triggers to a hairline setting or increasing and decreasing audio settings while muting microphones. We’ve largely used it to experiment with the lighting effects that the GameSir Kaleid Flux provides.
Yes, we gamers enjoy our lights, and GameSir has gone to town here. Four separate lighting segments are bouncing around inside the controller, blazing as brightly as you choose. These can be customized to your liking, either via the App (the simplest option) or directly on the controller. Honestly, those lights are fantastic, and we’ve settled on having them circle through some rainbow settings as we play. Perhaps they will not be required by everyone, but they do allow for some inner-circuitry feelings and the GameSir logo to shine through.
All you need and more
Remember that the GameSir Kaleid Flux is a wired controller powered by a USB-A (console) to USB-C (controller) cord. It’s included in the box, has a sufficient length (3m), and ensures that your controller never runs out of charge again. Of course, if you don’t sit within a few metres of your Xbox, you’ll have problems, but for the most part, we can get by with connected controllers. There are also a lot of vibration motors in this item, all of which feel amazing when used. Consider all of this without a cable.
The GameSir Kaleid Flux Controller for Xbox works together to brighten any gaming night. It’s colorful if you want it, but more importantly, this is a controller that feels excellent in your hand, with tactile parts and some fantastic functions. Take note of the needed cord and the slightly perplexing App that comes with it, but if you’re looking for a new wired controller, you’ll want to consider this one. Yes, GameSir has done it again.
Many thanks to GameSir for giving us with the Kaleid Flux Controller for review. You can get one on Amazon. Maybe you could also consider the normal Kaleid Controller, which is only a couple pounds extra.