GameSir Tarantula Pro Wireless PC Controller - Switchable ABXY Buttons, TMR Joysticks, 9 Mappable Buttons for PC/Switch/iOS/Android, RGB Lighting

The media could not be loaded. The Tarantula Pro controller has quickly become my favorite. It has an excellent hand grip and a really solid, comfortable weight that makes long gaming sessions easy and enjoyable. The multiple configuration options and built-in functions are a big plus — it’s super customizable to your play style.So far, I’ve mainly used it with my Nintendo setup and it’s been amazing — responsive, smooth, and just feels great to use. I haven’t tested it on Xbox yet since I need an adapter for that, but for everything else, it’s exceeded expectations.If you're looking for a well-built, feature-rich controller, this one is absolutely worth it!

I love the way it can change from Xbox to switch mode but still works with each in any mode.

So let’s start from the beginning. I bought this controller looking to get a feel for what a lot of people have been talking about. When I got the controller I was amazed how comfortable and sleek the design of the controller was. But I soon ran into problems. I tried connecting to my phone via bluetooth, but it never would get recognized as a controller, so I thought “hey I might need to update this guy”. So I connected the controller to my pc and for some reason it would not update. I looked and saw you needed to have the dongle and controller connected at the same time, ok it was that easy, or so I thought. Then it says “dongle out of date” like what the heck does that mean? I go to reddit and find multiple posts of how these controllers software was really not on par as other controller brands. I look through about 20 reddit posts until I find one with an answer that works. I needed to go to the website and download software for this controller AND the dongle. I updated the dongle, it didn’t want to. I updated the controller, it didn’t want to. I finally found a another post that had specific updates for my exact controller. Finally I could use my controller!! Only to find out that the controller had massive stick drift on the left analog stick. This company’s control quality is wack. I also had problems with controls inverting, for no reason at all. Do not buy this controller and save your money.

The media could not be loaded. I have a lot of controllers... and I'm on a mission of reviewing every controller I own.I bought this controller because I was looking for the next evolution of the 8BitDo Pro 2, and I believe I've found it.tl;dr version:A great controller that will replace my trusty 8BitDo Pro 2, but firmware problems stop me from giving it 5 stars for now. S Tier dpad if you play Tetris or anything else where you don't want accidental diagonals.Update 1/25/2025 - After longer term ownership, I've settled on a 4 star rating once again.While firmware issues have resolved my functional issues... they have also introduced a lot of latency for me and I find my Apex 4 significantly more responsive overall. If this ever gets resolved I will go back to 5 stars but at this time I have reverted back to using the Apex 4 as a main, even in Tetris where I was originally thrilled with this controller, because that is where I feel the latency the most.----- Full review -----Standard Features:Face Buttons: Membrane - No pre-travel. Slightly heavier than other controllers I own. The center buttons are tactile and hard to reach, but the extra macro face buttons are also mapped to them by default.Shoulder Buttons: Tactile Switch - Feels similar to Xbox Elite 2Triggers: Light + Microswitch limiter - Limiter feels really nice. On games where the trigger actually matters I prefer them a little heavier.Joysticks: TMR - Resistance is good and the joysticks are very accurate.Dpad: Microswitch - Weight of the press is good. Cannot trigger other directions by rocking, so diagonal input requires intent.Extra Buttons: 2 Rear Buttons (tactile switch), 4 additional face buttons (microswitch), 2 additional shoulder buttons (microswitch I think), 1 additional top center button (microswitch I think).Special Features:Face Button Layout Switching - Not going to lie, this was actually a huge attraction to this controller for me. As a bit of an aging gamer I'm not as fast as I used to be, and also slower to develop muscle memory so sometimes it takes a bit of mental effort to reverse things in my head going between PC and Switch. Having the appropriate labels depending on the mode is honestly a great feature for me, though some people are less worried about it. The only thing that could really make this feature perfect is adding Playstation buttons to it, especially since the controller reads as a Playstation controller when connecting via bluetooth to PC and iOS.Full Nintendo Switch Pro features - Comes with HD Rumble and NFC for Amiibo. I have not tested the former, but it read my test Amiibo without issue.RGB - The power button, a little strip in the center, and the ABXY face buttons all light up, and you can change the colors for all of them in the app. I always appreciate little ways to personalize your controller and appreciate it even more when you can choose the color.QC / Durability Concerns:- Update #2 - October 31, 2024 -First I want to add an alert... from my time in GameSir's Discord, it seems a lot of people are having issues out of the box so just a warning, to get the best out of this controller, you will probably have to do some manual firmware updating from their site. I don't believe I can link it here but the information is easily available in their Discord if you search the message history.I did a bit more playing with the controller, and while I do get the stutter shown in video initially on Switch still, it seems that it only happens once shortly after connecting and then the controller operates normally without issue after that. I can generally say with confidence that this controller is functional on all advertised devices for me, but with a small hiccup on Switch.That being said... I'm going to go ahead and up my review to 5 stars. I would take a half star off for general firmware issues but that would still round up.- Update #1 - October 21, 2024 -GameSir has been working on firmware updates and seems to have split firmware updates into two different versions based on your controller's serial number, so that may explain why I had issues that others may not have seen in their reviews. It's not perfect yet, but it's gotten better. The current firmware allows me to use the controller with the dongle and on iOS devices via bluetooth without the stuttering issue shown in my video, but on Nintendo Switch the issue is still present. It seems the company has been working to address issues, but I can't give the controller 5 stars until I'm confident it will work on all advertised systems without a functionality breaking issue. I'll update again once this this gets addressed.- Original review text -So this is where my early adopter issues come in, and the only place where the controller loses a star for me.I have noticed a bad wireless stuttering problem (video attached) after updating the firmware of the controller to the latest via the GameSir app. It happens with both the dongle and bluetooth, and makes some games very annoying to play. At first I thought it was just a bad controller so I ordered a replacement, only for the replacement to exhibit the same behavior. Through some video reviews on YouTube, I found out how to get the original firmware back on the controller and found that reverting to the old firmware makes the problem disappear entirely.I wanted to give it a fair chance so I kept testing. In the end, I was able to reproduce the problem on 6 different devices... 4 PCs with the dongle, and an iPhone and iPad with bluetooth.I have communicated this issue to GameSir via their Discord and I'm hoping they will have a solution. For now, I'm just going to use the controller on the stock firmware as I have no issues with it on that firmware.A note that the controller was perfectly fine playing wired on any firmware, the issue is only present with wireless connection methods.Ergonomics & Functionality:The controller feels very similar to a Playstation 4 controller, but things are a bit more spaced out. Ergonomically it's fine, but I really think it would benefit from some back rubber as the texturing isn't very aggressive. I honestly feel like the 8BitDo Pro 2 is a little bit more secure in my hand based on the contouring on the bottom of the controller, but I'd still give this controller a B+ overall for comfort.Aside from the wireless issue noted above, the controller has been extremely solid to use. I've played Tetris (more on that below) and Metroidvania games and been very satisfied with the dpad, and it's not bad for playing joystick heavy games either, though I still prefer asymmetrical layout for that. Connectivity to all devices I've tried it on (Switch, PC, iPhone, iPad) has been seamless. Buttons and joysticks are very responsive, and I'm happy that the dongle will not count it as a connected controller to your PC unless it's turned on (this matters since I generally have two controllers connected to my PC at most times).Tests:A staple of my controller reviews... the Tetris dpad test. I play games on Tetris at as fast of a pace as I can (I'm roughly a 1 minute sprinter in modern Tetris games) and see how many false hard drops I get. This controller is about as perfect as it gets for Tetris. In less than 30 minutes of total attempts, I dropped my sprint record by 2.26, from 58.25 to 55.99 seconds, because of the confidence it gave me that I wouldn't have errant drops. I do want to state that this is a subjective test. Tetris is important for me and a controller that does not produce accidental diagonals is essential for that, but if you are more of a 2D fighter player then this may not be ideal for you.And a second test I like to do now… joystick resolution! If you play Genshin Impact, there is a function that allows you to set the time of the day, and you can get a good idea of how much resolution a joystick has by how easily you can set a precise minute on the clock. The resolution of the joystick allows minute intervals easily. In official numbers, it tests somewhere near the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C in resolution which puts it in the upper tier of joystick resolution.In Conclusion:I really have nothing bad to say about the performance of this controller and I feel like it has delivered on my expectations of something with a symmetrical layout that impresses more than the 8BitDo Pro 2. It definitely has taken the #2 spot in my favorite controller list, only behind the Flydigi Apex 4.Every time you play with a different controller there's a going to be a small adjustment period as you get used to the feel of it, so I have to say I was floored that I ended up getting a personal best Tetris sprint within 15 minutes of attempts on day 1, then came back the next day and lowered my time again while messing with the firmware and testing wireless. Since I'm still not 100% used to the controller in Tetris, I wonder where the ceiling is!Since firmware issues have been largely addressed I have revised my review to 5 stars at this time. Just note that you may need to do some manual firmware up dates out of the box to get things operational.Update 1/25/2025 - I have dropped it back to 4 stars after longer term ownership.The main reason for this is that while the controller is fully functional for me without any operational problems now, the latency is significantly worse with the firmware updates than it was for me out of the box. It's felt heavily in Tetris to the point where I struggle to get 1 minute sprints with this controller now when I hit 55.99 out of the box on stock firmware, and have since improved my time to 54.50 using the Apex 4. If this is fixed in the future the controller will go back to 5 stars.

Es genial tener tantas opciones y perfiles de juego. Los botones son sumamente rápidos y el Hall Effect es estupendo. Se conecta sencillamente a varias plataformas sin problemas, únicamente hay que actualizar el software por parches de mejoras en performance y seguridad (verificar modelo porque algunos paquetes no se encuentran en la página oficial, ya que son más viejos y hay que buscarlos en algún foro).

I have the RGB turned off—or rather, set to black since you can't completely turn off the RGB. The battery barely lasts for 8 hours on a full charge, if that. It does take about 30 minutes for a full charge with the cable. I would like to see an option added to turn off all RGB. Also, my B button seems to be getting stuck. I’ll reply back later if it continues.UPDATE 2/13/25 - I really wanted to give this controller 5 stars, but I’ve gone through three different units, and they all have some sort of QC issues. One of the back buttons stopped working, one device had a right analog stick that wasn’t centered, the B button stopped working on another, and the analog stick caps kept coming off while playing games. The input delay on the 1000hz polling rate on the analog sticks is amazing other wise