Padbox GS Review
Combining the ubiquitous dpad with a leverless form factor housing arcade buttons, Arkodd’s Padbox was a promising device that was great for fighting games, with plenty of other fun niche use cases.
The Padbox GS is Arkodd’s second take on the idea, sporting the same excellent microswitch dpad, but trading arcade buttons for the more common keyboard switch buttons. Alongside the loss of the thumb button, the GS loses some of the flexibility in control schemes and button options. In return, the GS receives a sleek overhaul, with a redesigned grip, slimmer profile, custom pcb modules and dual hall effect analog sticks.
It’s still made using the same 3D printed materials as the first Padbox, but the new custom components give the GS a more cohesive look, one that feels fantastic to hold. I love the matte texture of its shell and face buttons, with the only visual roughness being in the layers of the grip, though even that has been intentionally designed to to fit the aesthetic.
The GS is light enough that you can hold it at the same height as a regular controller, but you’ll more likely be resting it on your lap, or a table. Either way it feels natural and balanced in my hands. The dpad and analog stick sit at comfortable positions near the grip, with no stretching needed to reach them. The GS is too wide to hit the action buttons with your right thumb, but anyone coming from a fightpad or leverless controller should be comfortable with the keyboard style hand placement required.
When resting my hands on the top row, there’s ample palm space below, and my right thumb falls right on top of the right stick. The sticks are slightly recessed to make using them easier from a more flat hand position, though it should be noted that it can slightly interfere with wider thumbstick toppers if you like to use those.
On the back of the grip is a single shoulder button, now upgraded from the previous model with a clicky microswitch, to match the switches of the dpad. The dpad comes in split and pivot based variations, with both included in the package. The split dpad is better for games requiring clean separation of cardinal and diagonal directions, while the pivot dpad makes rolling inputs easier to do. Personally, I‘ve tested both and been able to perform as well in all games, though I prefer the pivot style as it's more comfortable across the majority of game genres.
One issue I have found is that when using the split dpad my inputs can sometimes be eaten by SOCD cleaning when I’m imprecise. Since there’s no pivot to prevent opposite directions from being pushed at the same time, you can hit left and right or up and down together, and because the Padbox GS defaults to the tournament standard neutral SOCD, this cancels both inputs out. I found this happened the most to me in anime fighters, where I was frequently performing jump and super jump cancels. Thankfully, you can change the SOCD settings to ensure your desired input always wins out, whether that’s prioritizing up, or only reading the first or last input.
How you go about that depends on which variation of the Padbox GS you pick. The GS comes in Essential and Cross Platform variants. The Cross Platform uses Brook’s Gen5X board, costs more and supports PS5, Switch and PC, which is good if you intend to bring this to tournaments, or play on modern consoles.
I personally opted for the Essential, which uses GP2040CE, costs less, and supports PS3, Switch, PC, and PS4 and PS5--albeit only when using a passthrough device or converter. I rarely play on anything other than my PC or Switch, and I already use a converter for PS5 at local events, so the Essential variant worked best for me, especially since it opens up a massive set of advanced controller options.
By remapping the buttons and saving them to multiple profiles using the GP2040CE web config, the Padbox GS goes from a great fighting game controller to an all around great controller. I haven’t found a fighting game controller that can outright replace a standard controller in every scenario, but the Padbox GS is a satisfying substitute in many of them. With its clicky dpad and the rapid fire advantages of an arcade style layout, paired with the hall effect sticks, I’ve had many test sessions that have become multi-hour play sessions because it feels that good.
One surprising favorite was Stellar Blade. Once I worked out a control scheme that made sense on an arcade layout the action made a lot of sense. Combo strings came naturally, parries were satisfying with the microswitch shoulder button, and I even had an opportunity to push the aiming capabilities of the GS during a small survival horror style area where they take away your sword.
Assault Spy, a Devil May Cry style action game, worked great as well, allowing me to keep certain weapons charged as I constantly dashed around and kept enemies juggled with other moves.
Batman Arkham City’s rhythm combat lent itself to the layout, with counters and criticals feeling especially good on the low travel buttons, compared to standard membrane controller switches.
Platform fighters are one of the most persuasive arguments for the GS, with the rapid, precise buttons are made much easier compared to a standard controller layout, but it doesn’t lose the full analog controller or need tilt modifiers like you would need on a standard leverless or rectangle controller.
Keep in mind that I’m coming from an amateur perspective, but techniques like wavedash, waveshine or other cancels are much easier for me here, by virtue of being able to piano the inputs rather than have them spread along the face buttons and triggers.
The one caveat is that it is not free of snapback, something competitive players are going to be sensitive to. In my testing, the amount of snapback is comparable to most modern controllers, such as a Sony or Xbox first party controller, though the hall effect sticks do have the advantage of having better centering and deadzones, which can also be adjusted on the Essential variation.
And of course nearly every 2D game benefitted from the layout and microswitch dpad, making playing retro games and new titles like Absolum feel incredible. (For those interested I’ve put together a showcase with gameplay of a variety of titles).
With the praise out of the way, I did have some issues I needed to get to.
I was immediately unlucky enough to receive a malfunctioning unit in my first order, which would randomly shut down when rapidly mashing buttons, or after some undetermined amount of time. Thankfully, Arkodd immediately responded to my issue, and I was offered a full replacement for no charge, with Arkodd even going back and forth with me to test issues, revise the firmware, and even the PCB design to try to prevent future issues.
It’s an unfortunate situation, but the response gave me confidence that should problems arise Arkodd will do right and that the quality and consistency will only improve. The replacement unit I received since hasn’t had any of these problems, so hopefully future units will be free from those issues.
One notable design weakness is the single shoulder button. Even on the original Padbox I said I would like an additional shoulder button, since that would give more flexibility for games outside of fighters. The original at least had the additional thumb button to offset it, but in the GS the right stick takes that position instead.
The addition of the stick click buttons might make you think that frees up other buttons, but unfortunately that’s only half true since the right stick button is functionally useless. Due to limitations of the Brook Gen5X board, the R3 button can’t be used, and on the GP2040CE variant, the right stick button mirrors the shoulder button, meaning you can’t make it its own independent button. I ended up using one of the face buttons as R3, so practically speaking, it’s fine, but it ends up with a few limiting or awkward control schemes in games that make heavy use of every button.
This is a niche consideration on an already niche controller, so that’s probably less of a problem outside of people like me who relentlessly optimize controls. Speaking of, I did replace the linear red switches that come with the GS with Kailh Autumn switches. It lends an additional sense of feedback and satisfaction, and matches the clicky switches of the shoulder button and dpad better. Linear switches are probably a good default choice for most people, since they’re quieter and have fast response, but the clicky switches made a huge difference to me.
If you’re looking for fightpad alternatives, the GS easily outclasses the current competitors like the Hori Octa or the Victrix BFG, with the potential to give you a fresh experience across many more genres. A small outfit like Arkodd can’t compete in terms of material quality and price, but in the actual experience of playing games--there’s no competition.












