Amazon Luna, we have already said on our pages, has also opened its doors in Italy in recent days. In the editorial office we are still testing the service in order to be able to give you a good review. In the meantime, however, we want to tell you ours first impressions of the controller by Amazon Moon in this review.
Controller yes/controller no
Let’s clarify one point straight away: purchasing the controller is totally optional. We can easily play Amazon Luna games with any controller connected to our PC or tablet/phone. Indeed, if we are playing with a PC and the game supports it we can also use mouse and keyboard with the good old WASD.
Even if we want to play directly with the television using a Firestick or Amazon Cube we can use a generic Bluetooth controller. Just configure it in your device settings.
Setup and ease of use
The controller is extremely simple to set up. Removed from the box, insert the batteries (we’ll talk about this again) and it is literally ready to use.
For setup you need to use the companion app on your mobile phone, but it’s a matter of a couple of minutes. Using the Luna app we set up Wi-Fi and connect the controller to our Amazon account. Since then, every time we turn it on, it will automatically connect to our gaming session on Luna.
We can use it in three ways:
- through Wi-Fi, connecting it directly to the Amazon cloud;
- via Bluetooth, connecting it to the PC;
- with a USB cable.
In the last two cases we can use it like any controller, even with non-Luna games on other platforms.
Ergonomics
The controller is quite classic. In the sense that there are no deviations from the design of other manufacturers, including a button for muting the microphone. The layout of the controls is the one adopted by Microsoft and, we must admit, we appreciated it a lot.
The only report we make is that more than one person in the editorial office perceived it as “a little small”. It seems like those 2/3 millimeters are missing on each side to really have a grip if you have slightly large hands.
Structure and materials
This is one of the points where we discussed the most. You can feel the plastic to the touch not be of the same composition as the other controllers. However, the material seems resistant and has such a roughness that it can ensure a good grip.
A very important aspect for a controller is the resistance to mechanical stress. Because, we know, it’s not nice to be in the heat of a battle and have something creaking in your hand that you don’t know if you can let off steam properly.
We took the controller and practiced a lot of twisting alternating with pounding the keys. At the end of We didn’t hear any annoying creaks. Just the minimum that you feel with everyone else too. The buttons they resisted without problems. However, we must admit that we also felt the keys a little softer than the competition. Especially the triggers, they seemed to have a bit of a short ride.
The battery
One of the features of this controller is that It works with two AA batteries. And Amazon certainly makes no secret of it; as you can see the video explaining the setup below.
Now, if we’re being honest, the battery issue left us a bit perplexed.
Mainly for the batteries themselvesAnd. The last mainstream controller that ran on batteries, as far as we know, was the Steam one (in 2015). Certain, it can be useful in some situationsfor example when we are traveling but it is also true that today there are valid alternative solutions.
Secondly, a device with disposable batteries is disposable It doesn’t seem very sustainable to us from an environmental point of view. Especially if Amazon (we hope so) sells millions of copies.
Amazon Luna controller review at a glance
We think it’s the Amazon Luna controller we saw in this review of good workmanship e quite responsive; it certainly covers all your needs non-professional player. Anyway, it is not a mandatory purchase to access the platform. The launch price – €39.99 – makes it particularly interesting, while at full price, i.e. €69.99, it becomes more a matter of personal taste.
We recommend purchasing it especially if you plan to make one mixed use between television and PC; possibly with the price reduced at launch.