Razer Kishi V2

If you think about it, there's never been a greater need to turn your smartphone into a handheld games console than now. Despite plenty of scar tissue, pretty big games are now regularly released on mobile platforms, and not only that, but Microsoft, for example, insists that you should be able to access a console-like experience on the go via Xbox Cloud Gaming.

So a product like Razer's Kishi makes an amount of enormous sense, which is why they've naturally now released a V2 edition. First of all, it's worth pointing out that the design is completely different now, and instead of the rubbery elastic from the first Kishi, there's now a plastic "bridge", which obviously makes it not nearly as portable, but provides a more solid grip in use. The new design also means the Kishi V2 can handle any Android phone.

The buttons have also been improved, and the controller D-pad, for example, feels a lot more responsive. It's perhaps harder to describe, but the whole thing is more "clicky", and more like the feedback you get from the more premium Wolverine controller than a cheap accessory. However, it also means that others around you will really be able to hear you tapping away.

It's odd that a headphone jack is missing, because what we have to assume is that a good portion of gamers will be throwing themselves at Fortnite, Call of Duty: Mobile or similar titles where timing and audio is crucial, so that consumer group might just want to use a headphone jack to limit lag and get a better sense of their surroundings, rather than... well, a set of Bluetooth-based in-ears.

The new Nexus app can also act as a hub for the games you play with the Kishi V2 in a relatively seamless way, and it works decidedly brilliantly most of the time. It all works very well, and while you'll probably be spending what looks £100, a Backbone, for example, costs roughly the same, so it's a different experience to buying a cheap plastic lamp for an existing controller.

If you're serious and want a more immersive gaming experience on the go, this is now a very good companion, despite a lack of headphone jack. Besides, it's easy to accuse something like the Kishi V2 of being a bit pricey, when there exist the aforementioned accessories for existing controllers.

That said, the Kishi V2 is pretty cool, and while overall I would have liked it to be a bit bigger, it will fit most people well.