For the past week, I've been spending the bulk of my gaming sessions using the Razer Prio, a new pocket-sized mobile controller from the iconic brand. I'm extremely picky about my mobile controllers and rarely ever like smaller ones. The Game Sir Galileo G8 is my favorite to date, and that thing is a hefty chonk. But the Razer Prio has convinced me that smaller can be better when it's done right. I've complained about Razer's smaller controllers in the past -- the Kishi V2 was particularly annoying to me because of the Switch-like joysticks -- but Razer has defied my expectations by creating a tiny controller that not only feels good to use but also fits perfectly in my pocket.

Nailing the basics

Going into this review, I was skeptical. I'm extremely particular about joysticks on controllers, and Razer didn't have the best track record there in my experience. Not only are the Prio's joysticks impressive in their own right, but they're downright miraculous considering what the competition pulled off at this size. They felt every bit as good running around in The Witcher 3 Remastered (on GeForce Now) as they did catching victory royales in Fortnite. I've never used a controller of this size that worked this well for this many genres, especially shooters. Small, short joysticks usually mean poor precision, but Razer did something different here, and it shows. The company says these are "contactless" capacitive sensors. I can't recall ever using a controller with this style before, but I've been quite happy with the feel. Razer ensures that these are drift-free, which is always great to hear.

The Prio's unique rubber band swivel at the back ensures a nice, tight fit around your phone without adding weight. Again, I was skeptical of this design going into the review, but it proved surprisingly effective. This thing fits very comfortably in a pocket and is about the size of a standard wallet. Plus, it weighs next to nothing in your hand compared to other controllers. My favorite controller, the Game Sir G8 Galileo, weighs 252g. The Razer Prio is just 101g. Yeah, it's a huge difference. Folks with large hands might not have such a positive experience, though.