Gamevice Flex Mobile Gaming Controller (Android)

Thank you Gamevice for sending us this controller to review!

I very recently got back into Android gaming, when Turtle Beach sent us their Atom controller to review. After being impressed not only with that controller but also how far Android gaming has come, Gamevice had to send us this controller, upsetting the apple cart and showing us how to do an Android controller even better.

There are two main form factors for Android and other mobile game controllers. The first is the traditionally-shaped controller that connects to your phone or tablet via Bluetooth, or a USB OTG (On The Go) cable. In this case it's a rather bulky experience, as you need to set down your phone and hold onto the controller while you play. Some include a clip or clamp that you can attach to your controller and phone, so the phone is held in place floating above the controller. This does work, but it's probably not the best approach for making it easy to fit in your pockets.

The other main common form factor is what this device uses: side gripping controller halves, not unlike the Nintendo Switch. (Gamevice even sued Nintendo over this, and lost.) It makes sense that Android controller makers would target this form factor; it's comfortable and balances the weight in your arms well. It’s also easier to make it portable; the controller can slip into a bag or pocket rather than take up tons of space.

Since Android phones come in all different shapes and sizes, the Flex uses a chamber with adapter plates, as well as a flexible strap to hold it in place. The strap pulls horizontally to squeeze the phone, keeping the grips on. It doesn’t squeeze the phone top to bottom, but I find that it doesn’t need to, at least with my phone. Sixteen interchangeable case adapters are included, so you can easily swap them out to make sure that your phone fits in the controller’s grips. If you make sure it’s a snug fit, the phone is unlikely to slip out or do anything unexpected. I have to say that my fairly large phone with thick case on it, my LG V60, is close to the maximum size that this Gamevice Flex can support; you’re going to want to double check the size of the case against the maximum supported dimensions of 163.7mm x 78.1mm x 8.8mm.

For those who may not know, Android has many of the flexibility advantages of PCs like multiple stores, easy loading of your own programs and so on, as well as an open ecosystem. What this also means is that gamers have a ton of options on how to play games on it. There are emulators for many gaming systems, lots of game streaming services, and an uncountable number of native games available as well. While games that offer a console-like experience are smaller in number, there are still quite a few, and with emulators and streaming, there are countless games you can enjoy even if you find mobile gaming’s traps, like constant ads and micro-transactions, troubling.

As it turns out, Gamevice is actually one of the earliest mobile gaming controller manufacturers, and is an early innovator in that space. One controller that came out a bit more recently to a huge splash and universal acclaim was the Razer Kishi. That controller was developed in collaboration with Gamevice, and this new Gamevice Flex clearly is made from the same DNA, with lots of shared design, and some notable improvements – including one massive one, which is honestly enough for me: a 3.5mm headphone jack.

I admit, I am a headphone jack die-hard, and also a holdout. My LG V60 is one of the best phones outside of Sony’s line (which I may need to move to next) that still offers a 3.5mm audio jack and a microSD card. I like to be able to load up my phone with music, games, and whatever else I feel like, and I want a lossless, lag-free connection to it all. Is that too much to ask? So the fact that the controller offers all of those same benefits – nearly lag-free physical controller connection, 3.5mm audio jack – well, it’s right up my alley. And thankfully, the rest of the controller is solid, too.

Compared to the Turtle Beach Atom controller I mentioned before, the D-Pad on this Flex is solid and a big step up, but it’s not nearly as good as say a PS Vita’s D-Pad. Even so, I had a good experience with the Android version of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which demands precision, even if it’s not really a twitchy game. I tested it with a few other platform and beat’em up games with no trouble. But I also tried it with Street Fighter II (on both Steam Link and an emulator) and found that while it does work, it’s not really up to that difficult task. Other than that, it worked well.

The analog sticks work well and feel nice, though not as nice as a full-size controller (or TB’s Atom), it’s good enough for me. The face buttons are great and remind me of the first-party Xbox controller, and the triggers and bumpers are nice, though I give the edge to the Atom controller in this area. They do promise to be hall sensor based, which means that the triggers shouldn’t drift.

In use, I found the connection to be solid, and there was no noticeable lag. It instantly starts working the moment you connect it to your phone. I also tested the passthrough charging, and it also works as you would hope. I had hoped that the controller might work on Windows or Linux with some creative USB-C adapters; I wasn’t able to get it to do so.

I played several games, some streaming and some local. I tried streaming from Xbox and Steam, and it worked really well, as that'’s an advertised feature. I also streamed from PlayStation using Chiaki, and it works well with also. I tried RetroArch, Ys Chronicles 1, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Android version) and they all worked flawlessly with the controller. The position of the face buttons and right analog stick is just perfect, so that I don’t accidentally hit the right stick while in use, which unfortunately is the case with some other controllers.

On the right controller half, there is a set of speaker cavities that does a decent job of amplifying the speakers on your phone out towards the player. I found that this does work but the TB Atom has a larger cavity that sounds better. Thankfully, with a 3.5mm headphone jack, it doesn’t really matter to me as I can just plug in a pair of earbuds.