- The Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller’s GL/GR buttons have some handy features
- You can remap them without exiting your game session
- Furthermore, the assignments will be saved on a per-game basis
The Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller has a bit of an ace up its sleeve, and it relates to the remappable GL/GR buttons found on the rear of the pad.
A spotlight for the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller was featured on the Nintendo Today mobile app (spotted by GamesRadar), showcasing some of the functionality of these extra buttons.
It confirmed that the GL/GR buttons have a couple of fantastic quality-of-life features that are sorely missing from the likes of the DualSense Edge and Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 – two premium gamepads that also house additional remappable buttons.
With the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller, the major difference is that the GL/GR remappable buttons can be assigned (and reassigned) without backing out of your current play session.
By holding down the Home button, you’ll gain access to a ‘quick settings’ menu, within which you can assign the GL/GR buttons instantaneously. Furthermore, the controller will remember which inputs have been assigned to these buttons on a per-game basis.
This differs greatly from, for example, the DualSense Edge. While Sony‘s controller has a pair of exceptionally handy Function switches that let you swap button profiles on the fly, said profiles still need setting up in a separate menu on your PS5’s dashboard.
For Nintendo Switch 2 games, this makes it incredibly easy to quickly assign a secondary input to the GL/GR buttons, but also test it out immediately to see how it feels in-game.
Quick remappable button assignment, in and of itself, is nothing new. Plenty of the best Nintendo Switch controllers feature button combination macros that let you remap on the fly. The downside here, though, is that this can be quite cumbersome, and you’ll often need to dig into a controller’s instruction manual to figure out what these macros are.
We’re now less than a couple of weeks away from the Nintendo Switch 2‘s launch on June 5. Be sure to check out TechRadar Gaming around that time, as we’ll have plenty of coverage on the console, its hardware, and games in the months to come.