CRKD ATOM keychain controller review — Compact, cool, and collectible

CRKD is certainly bringing us back to the age of colorful accessories. The first Nitro Deck has more variants than you can shake a stick at, and the Plus model is starting to heat up. If you’ve followed our coverage of CRKD, you’ll know I personally think the Nitro Deck+ is the best Switch accessory out there. Now, CRKD has dropped a device many might look at as a novelty: the Atom keychain controller. This teeny tiny controller definitely turns heads because of its size, but is it a competent gaming controller?

If you’re in a store trying to find one, you’ll want to look closely, because the packaging is microscopic. The saving grace for the Atom is going to be the color variations, coming in a rainbow of colors that catch your eye. In the box you’ll find the CRKD Atom keychain controller, a wrist strap, a very short USB-C cable, and the paperwork. Similar to a new pair of earbuds, the Atom doesn’t come with much, and the USB charging cable is almost too short to be useful. Given the Atom will work with any USB-C cable, however, the need for a better one is minimal.

As soon as I took it out of the box, I felt like I was transported back to my childhood. The setup of the face buttons and D-pad remind me a lot of a Super Nintendo controller, along with the benefit of shoulder buttons. For those who haven’t enjoyed time with Nintendo’s sequel console, a left joy-con is a comparable device, although with a D-pad in place of the analog stick. Besides those, you also have a power button right in the middle, along with a minus and plus button directly beneath. While there are a ton of great color choices, this particular “Glacier Blue” variant is killer, with a translucent shell that is perfect 2000s-core.

My first thought was one of shock at the size. Being advertised as a keychain controller sets a reasonable expectation, but I didn’t think it would be as small as it is. If you take a look at the below picture, you’ll see that it’s even smaller than a joy-con, and by a decent margin at that. Big hands beware, while my hands are smaller and the fit is okay, it might be unplayable for some. This does make it stupidly portable, attaching to a keyring or dropping in your pocket with ease; almost non-existent when it comes to space.

When holding the controller for use, I’m surprised at the comfort level. As mentioned above, the small size might make it impossible to use, but for me, it’s not bad. All of the buttons are in the right positions, and the spacing works so you aren’t accidentally fat-fingering the wrong input. Even the shoulder buttons feel well placed in their cramped positions up top. Between this and all of the buttons also having a nice feel when pressing them, the Atom exceeds expectations.

It’s also quite versatile. While PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile are the official platforms, connecting it to each one is simple. Bluetooth is available and pairing can be done in seconds by simply holding down the power button. There are two modes for your controller as well, one that mimics a Nintendo Pro controller (which the face buttons are designed after), and a more PC centric (which swaps your buttons prompts to resemble Xbox). If you run out of battery or just want to be wired, that’s even possible via the USB-C port. It may not work on every device, but the ease of connection for the Atom is fantastic.

The main question you’re here reading this review for is this: Can you REALLY play a game with it? After a bit of testing, the answer is a resounding yes. All of the controls are extremely responsive, making my way through a level of Super Mario Bros. Wonder and some Hollow Knight with precision. If it’ll work right with a platformer, it can handle just about anything else.

That said, my concern lies more in compatibility. It felt like I was making educated guesses as to what game would work with the Atom rather than knowing specifically they would. For instance, Grime on PC is a platformer, but I’d have to go into the settings to make it work, and even then I don’t have enough buttons to play it at its best. On my phone, Retro Bowl recognized a few of the buttons, but I’d have to hit the settings to get it working smoothly. This does hamper my enthusiasm for the Atom, because even if it’s easy to take with me, there’s no guarantee I can use it.

I am glad that its small size doesn’t mean small battery life. So far, it’s been humming along with no issues at all. CRKD advertises ten hours of charge, and especially with a USB-C port on it, won’t be a hassle to charge quickly.

The last piece of this review will deal with the collectibles aspect of CRKD products, which I think is really cool. Via their mobile app, you can register your particular Atom controller by the NFC chip inside. Once you’ve done that, your controller will be assigned a rarity, which is just an epic idea (I’ve registered my Nitro Decks as well). Given these controllers are only twenty bucks, this makes them feel even more valuable than they already are.

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