One of my favourite peripherals of the year has to be the Nitro Deck. I’ve always enjoyed playing the Switch in handheld mode; kicking back on the sofa or taking my game with me on a train or a plane are still things I do regularly, but if you’re used to playing chunkier handhelds like the Steam Deck, then the Switch in it’s original form can feel a little on the thin side. The Nitro Deck solves that problem, making the Switch more comfortable to hold for longer gaming sessions and, depending on the colour scheme you pick, provides an extra nostalgic twist for playing your favourite retro games on the system.
What could be better than playing Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy or other GameCube games on the system while using a GameCube-inspired Nitro Deck? It’s a substantial bit of kit that gives you a more professional gaming experience with extra triggers to make playing demanding titles much easier and Hall effect sticks – I never play Metroid Prime: Remastered without mine! The Retro Purple deck with carry case was previously £89.99/$79.99 on Amazon, but now it’s down to £59.99/$49.99 in the Black Friday Sales.
It’s worth noting that there’s also the Nitro Deck + out now too, a device that my OLED Switch sits in 24/7 as it doubles up as a dock too. The original crystal designs don’t look as retro as the purple-powerhouse pictured above (although there is a Pal Grey edition dropping soon), but with an HDMI adapter and a kickstand, you can easily hook it up to any TV using your USB-C laptop charger for a power source and not have to worry about taking your Dock and Power Supply with you everywhere you go. This was £79.99/$79.99 but is now £63.99/$59.99 on Amazon.
- You want a comfortable handheld gaming experience with the Switch
- Hall Joysticks for zero stick drift
- Extra buttons to make gaming easier
- You prefer gaming with your Joycons
- You specifically need a wide kickstand like the Switch OLED
- You only have a Switch Lite
