There are many gaming peripherals out there, and outside of mainstays with big names, there are some other lesser-known brands with interesting products. One example is CRKD, pronounced as “cracked”, and it has what it calls the Atom+, a controller that’s small enough for you to use as a keychain. Despite its size, it’s surprisingly feature-rich, and pretty well worth its asking price.
On that note, it’s about as wide as the average person’s palm, and as thick as about two or three smartphones stacked on top of each other. With that in mind, it is pretty large if used as a keychain, and will definitely draw attention when it’s seen dangling around a bunch of keys. On the flip side, this makes it very small as a controller, and those with larger hands may struggle to use it comfortably.
Sort of making up for that though are the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) sticks. With these, stick drift should not be an issue even as the controller goes through the same amount of abuse as the average keychain. It is charged via USB-C, which can also be used as a connectivity option. Otherwise, there’s Bluetooth. Despite its size, it still features vibration feedback for compatible games, as well as motion control, a turbo mode, and programmable buttons, though that’s accessed via the CRKD app.
The CRKD Atom+ comes in four colours – Smoke Black, Glacier Blue, Retro Purple or PAL Grey, and is priced at RM137, according to its page on the CRKD site. It’s a pretty compelling price, and unless you need features like analogue-input adaptive triggers, you’d be pretty hard-pressed to find controllers of this feature set and price. And at that point, the size, if it’s to your liking, is the icing on the cake.
