I enjoy touching all the hardware bits that pass through PCG's offices, but this bit of kit was all but made for my upsettingly small baby hands

There's a lot I love about this job—particularly all of the opportunities I now enjoy getting to smear my sticky little mitts all over a wide range of hardware. Looking back on a year of hardware reviews, plenty of premium bits of kit didn't impress me much—especially when each penny has felt especially precious in recent years. So, setting the coveted category awards aside, it's definitely tricky to pick one techie thing that really spoke to me this year. That said, it's not like I don't have some cracking options to choose from for my personal pick.

Could it be the Razer Kraken Kitty V3 Pro, the kitty-eared gaming headset that's just as much a fashion statement as it is a really premium audio device? Or is my personal hardware pick the Be Quiet! Light Mount, the quietest gaming keyboard anyone at PCG towers has had the pleasure of tinkling the keys of? Nope, it's a gamepad you can buy for less than $30/£25.

"But wait," I hear you cry, "Haven't you reviewed two Pro controllers, both worth six to seven times that?" Yes, the wireless version of the Scuf Valor Pro and the Razer Raiju V3 Pro, respectively. Instead of sticking with either of these admittedly rather lovely review units, I went out and, basing my decision solely on the personal testimony of my fellow hardware team aficionados, I bought something with my own money. As such, my personal pick is the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C wireless controller for the simple reason that it offers something neither of those Pro controllers do: it comes in my preferred shade of purple.

I'm only half-joking.

Now, to be fair, our top pick for the best budget PC controller, the GameSir Nova Lite, costs five bucks less and also comes in a colourway described as a 'Dark Purple'—but let's be honest, that's a deep navy at best. The Ultimate 2C enjoys a pitch-perfect, all-over lilac colourway that pairs nicely with all of my other purple hardware, but colour acuity aside, there's plenty else to love about this similarly budget PC controller.

First things first, you're getting more banging buttons for those five additional bucks. These extra, remappable buttons take the form of the R4 and L4 bumpers along the top edge of the gamepad. Alongside the more standard shoulder and trigger buttons, plus the joysticks, they're all Hall effect too. Effectively banishing the spectre of stick drift isn't bad for 30 bucks.

Yes, alright, if you give it some welly on the handgrips, that 30 bucks price tag feels a lot less appealing; squeeze hard enough, and both the GameSir Nova Lite and the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C are betrayed by their creaky plastic construction. I'd argue the GameSir has just a bit more flex, but there's really not much in it. That said, I haven't really had to white knuckle my way through any games this year—save for perhaps Labyrinth of the Demon King thanks to its incredible soundtrack.

Sure, if you're going pro in the competitive scene, this pad's (still very high) 1,000 Hz polling rate and kinda squishy D-Pad resistance may not be for you. However, I am resolutely mediocre at all things multiplayer, and the Ultimate 2C meets me where I'm at. After all, I don't really need the most responsive PC controller in the world when all I'm doing is hiding in a bush in Arc Raiders (besides that, I can confirm not even the Nova Lite hurt my parry game in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 one bit—that was firmly a skill issue).

Anyway, while we're comparing controllers, I simply prefer how the Ultimate 2C feels in my weirdly tiny baby-hands. The GameSir Nova Lite has a fairly standard silhouette, with handgrips that jut out at a slight angle, whereas the Ultimate 2C's form factor is more comparable to the Nintendo Switch Pro controller (though at half the price). What may lead to aches and pains for larger palms is just right for my tiny mitts.

To elaborate, the outer edge of the Ultimate 2C's handgrips is a straighter line that makes for a more compact controller overall, and shearing off what is likely only centimetres of width makes for a gamepad that's far less fatiguing for my itty-bitty palms to use. 8BitDo haven't left that chonk on the cutting room floor, though, with the underside of this controller's palm rests possessing a more noticeable curve compared to the Nova Lite. In all, it's a well-balanced pad that I am glad to have and to hold through long gaming sessions.

If I may circle all the way back around again, hardware looks really do matter alongside its performance. I cast my gaze upon all of my purple gear and, while my first thought is often, "Do I have a problem?" That's quickly drowned out by one joyful notion: "Matchy-matchy." In other words, if a bit of gear doesn't even spark joy to look at, then what's the point of allowing it to clutter up your gaming setup?

So, while I enjoy testing a wide array of hardware for the purpose of review, this was the bit of kit I went out and spent my own hard-earned money on. And if that's not high enough praise from a hardware reviewer, then what is?