$50 is enough to buy a standard console controller. Maybe it's a last-gen model, maybe it's a used current-gen model, maybe you bought it alongside a PS5 Pro, a headset and a gaming monitor from a recent divorcee on Facebook Marketplace. In any case, if you're a company that makes a $50 gamepad, you're competing against the likes of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo - so you've got to offer something a bit different. For Voidjoy, the choice was clear: go small.

The $50 Skylark S1 Pro is essentially designed to be as much controller as you can fit in a pocket, with a boxy 133x75x24mm design that includes two staggered low-profile sticks, triggers set inline from the shoulder buttons, and mode controls along the front edge. Android and iOS compatibility is a natural fit for a compact controller, but you also use the Skylark with Switch, Switch 2 and PC. While the buttons are traditional membrane jobs, instead of trendier and clickier microswitches, the sticks are modern TMR, with optical triggers and six-axis motion control.

It's a pretty solid package from the specs, so how is it to use - and is it worth choosing against a full-size controller at the $50 mark? To find out, I tested the controller for a week on PC, spending most of my time in Hades 2 and Tokyo Xtreme Racer, with some extra Switch 2 sessions playing Fire Emblem Engage. (I did try to play Red Dead Redemption 2, too.)

Hades 2 requires a moderate amount of controls and rewards precise joystick movement, and I found the stubby sticks surprisingly usable for room clearing and boss fights alike. I came a little unstuck against the underworld main boss, but overall impressions were better than expected given the small size of the controller. This is far from an ergonomic shape, but I didn't experience any hand fatigue or other issues when playing several runs in a row - perhaps around an hour in total before taking a break.

Tokyo Xtreme Racer involves long periods of on-throttle action, and it's here that I found the biggest issue with the controller for me: it's simply uncomfortable to keep the trigger held down for minutes on end, as the small rhomboid shape ended up digging into the pad of my finger. The amount of travel here is also not massive, so it's a little harder to modulate your throttle and braking inputs compared to a full-size controller - though at least it's possible, unlike a huge number of Switch controllers which are digital only. The game is still fun, ultimately, and this is miles better than trying to play a racing game using touch controls.

The Skylark S1 Pro also performed well in Fire Emblem Engage, where the d-pad and the face buttons come more into play. It was a bit weird trying to remember that the layout was the same, but the key legends were inverted in the usual Switch manner (A/B and X/Y are swapped versus Xbox), but beyond that the controller was usable. The d-pad here is far from as satisfying as on a premium controller, like the Elite or SteelSeries Aeon Pro, but it's fine, and the turbo mode made the repetitive training challenges a breeze.

Note that the gamepad is compatible with both docked and portable Switch 2 play, but you'll need to use a full-size USB-A to smaller USB-C adapter if you want to play without the dock. I also tested wake support, which isn't a given for Switch 2, and after going through the specific setup procedure, it worked fine.

Ultimately, the Skylark is the best miniature controller I've ever tested. I still wouldn't take it over a full-size controller for use at home, as the ergonomic disadvantages are evident, but it's a genuinely usable option for most game genres and reasonably priced at $50 for the tech on offer. If you need something that you can stuff into a pocket or a small bag, this could be just the ticket.

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