The 8BitDo Arcade Stick is an ultra-moddable controller for taking on the classics
The joy of sticks
You could claw your mitts around a gamepad before tackling fighting game classics – but to punch people’s faces off in a properly authentic manner, you need an arcade stick. Specifically, you need the 8Bitdo Arcade Stick (£81.99, available 30 October). This feature-packed beauty supports PC and Switch, and will let you get button-mashy for up to 40 hours between charges. The buttons can be mapped and the system lets you create macros with any button combo. (There are two dedicated macro buttons as well.) You can create profiles to switch between, and the device visually changes the button labels as you move between Switch and PC (X-Input) modes. The entire unit is moddable too – you cans swap out the buttons, and the universal joystick mountain plate reportedly supports virtually every arcade stick ever made. If that’s not enough to get you punching the air at the thought of punching Blanka, Ken, Chun-Li and chums, nothing will.