The THEMIS controller feels much better in hand in terms of comfort when compared to the STRATUS DUO we have reviewed quite a bit of time ago; the AQIRYS model has more features, dual-motor vibration to enhance immersion, a six axis motion sensor and a 2-point touchpad for a selection of games, a stereo headset jack with microphone support but also an integrated 1W speaker, used in games where developers have made use of this particular feature.

The RGB lighting allows you to be noticed in the crowd and is also handy when playing in a room with little to no lighting; however, it will eat up quite a bit of battery life (12h autonomy without RGB turned on, 6h with all lights on) and if needed it can be turned off by keeping the analog sticks pressed for about 3 seconds. To conserve battery life, we can always turn off the gamepad manually by pressing the Home button for about 10 seconds; the controller will also turn off quite fast if it loses Bluetooth connection for power management considerations.

To test the controller, we have tried multiple games such as Mortal Kombat 1, The Crew Motorfest, Tekken 7, Tekken 8, Street Fighter 6 but also Forza Horizon 5. We did really enjoy the vibration feedback and how the controller feels in hand, but also the easy access to the frontal buttons, along with the bumpers and triggers, nothing feels off! We did not notice lag while operating the controller in wireless mode, while in wired mode it is a non-issue in terms of mobility thanks to the supplied flexible braided cabling.

In Romanian shops the controller is already available for about 35 Euros, which is great bang for the buck!

 AQIRYS THEMIS Gamepad is Recommended for:

We would like to thank again to AQIRYS for making this review possible!