As the world of mobile gaming explodes and even becomes the norm, enhancing your gaming has also become mainstream. Entertain Razer Kishi, a game controller for your phone. This is our review of the Kishi.
The controller we review here was specifically made for the iPhone.
Design
When you look for a controller design is a very essential aspect of it. A triad Orion also console’s controller doesn’t have to worry about being compact and portable. It only really needs to fit one size, itself.
A phone’s controller on the other hand needs to fit the size of any phone, should also be compact and also fit your hands well.
In my opinion the comfort of the Xbox controller has been the best in class for years. You can definitely see some ques taken by razer from that. The primary aspect being the layout and buttons.
However the comfort is probably the place where the Kishi might not be the best.
Sure it gives you an edge over the rest, but it still seems small in your hands and for me after 2 games my hands started to hurt. That’s all I could play at a time. Maybe you will get used to it, but you will definitely want to keep using it.
The material used is plastic, but it has a huge advantage when it comes to weight. Yup you guessed it, the Kishi is light.
The device also folds away making it super easy and compact to carry in your backpack, even small ones. The folding mechanism is great and honestly a brilliant piece of engineering, sometimes simplicity is the key.
Thankfully the iPhone lineup is relatively standard. The Kishi comes with these tabs that can be used to fit the iPhone pro and iPhone pro Mac lines.
Functionality
The Kishi gives you all the functionality you would expect with a controller. Triggers and Bumpers, R1, R2, L1 & L2. Action buttons, named like the XBox, A, B, X and Y. Two joysticks (aka thumbsticks), also positioned like the XBox controller, the Left joystick for movement located at the top, and the Right joystick for looking located at the bottom. Both joysticks are clickable as well.
You also get a fully functional D pad and three extra buttons, meant to help you navigate the in-game menus.
That should be more than enough for any gamer.
The Kishi connects to the phone via the lightning port, which also then exposes a port to charge your phone. This port is meant for charging only and thus doesn’t passthrough audio if you want a wired audio experience. If you are in the apple ecosystem, then you probably went wireless years ago. And if you haven’t well, maybe it’s time you consider it.
The controller works perfectly while playing a game, and that is all you need it to do.
The in-game menu buttons, on the other hand, were a hit or miss, not all games supported it and I defaulted to using the screen in the end.
There is a companion app that you can download onto your phone, however this is only for firmware updates, and so has no other advantage.
Gameplay
How does the razer Kishi affect your gameplay?
I am not a professional gamer, and further away from being a mobile gamer. In Fact the only game I play on my phone is Two Dots… that doesn’t need a controller at all.
My first experience with the Razer Kishi was to play COD, and let me tell you I was the MVP in all the 4 matches I played, we won 3 of those and lost 1. This was my first time playing the mobile version of COD.
Again, I am not a gamer, and yes I play on consoles, but this is different. If you are into PUBG or any other battle royal game, the Kishi would be a great asset.
I also played Asphalt 9, it took some getting used to it, but honestly I have never been able to play this game with complete controls on me and still win. It was a treat to use the Kishi with this game, and made me feel closer to a racing sim on a PC or console. Shure your experience depends on the game, but I would give it top marks for fun factor.
Razer says Ultra-Low Latency Gameplay, I didn’t notice any latency at all. It was a treat to use and play. Ultra-low latency indeed.
Price
The Razer Kishi for the iPhone is priced at $99.99 (approximately AED 360)
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2V6xZtD
Amazon UAE: https://amzn.to/36c9P7a
Verdict
If you plan on playing any FPS game, then the Razer Kishi is a must. Even for casual or new gamers, it is so much more fun than playing straight from your phone. I will never be able to play a game like PUBG or COD on my phone without the Razer Kishi.
