Razer Kishi Ultra review: Now you're gripping with power

Controller grips for mobile phones can be a tricky thing, because they often have the same problem that a gaming handheld like the Steam Deck and the Nintendo Switch have. Yes, they're great to play in small doses, but after a while, they start to feel rather uncomfortable. One starts to develop hand cramps and then just want to stop playing or take a long break. It's a problem that hardware manufacturer Razer has run into with its Kishi line of phone grips and one that the company has sought to solve. A potential fix comes in the form of the new Razer Kishi Ultra, a deluxe controller grip that the more avid gamer may be interested in checking out.

The Razer Kishi Ultra goes in a slightly different direction from its predecessors. With the previous Kishi grips, Razer noticed a fascinating sales trend, in that it mainly sold to more casual users. Part of that is because those who tend to play for longer periods of time develop discomfort over the old Kishi's form factor, an issue that's usually more negligible to the casual user. With a more hardcore player in mind, the company has fixed up the product's base form factor for the Razer Kishi Ultra, creating a more ergonomic shape that's designed for longer sessions. As someone who likes to leave the work chair and sit on the couch to take breaks, I can say that the Kishi Ultra feels comfortable and stays that way after playing for at least an hour.

Razer goes out of its way to make the Kishi Ultra as versatile a device as possible. With a USB-C connector, it supports Android devices, as well as the iPad Mini and the newer iPhone 15 generation. The connected device will power the grip, as well as its RGB Chroma lightning, but if that device needs a power pick-me-up, there's a 15W USB-C passthrough along the bottom-right corner of the Kishi Ultra. The buttons feel mechanically clicky, just as one would expect to find in the Razer's Wolverine line of controllers. With that said, the transition from playing on PC and console to playing PC and console games on a phone isn't always smooth, as I'll touch on in a moment.

The Kishi Ultra is automatically detected when bringing up most games, but Razer does offer its proprietary Nexus app. It's not the most user-friendly of layouts, as it's often difficult to find the specific game or service you're looking for. There is an option to pin titles or apps, which quickly proves to be a necessity. What the Nexus app does have going for it is that it allows for button remapping, RGB Chroma lighting customization, and thumbstick deadzone calibration.

Getting into actual games, many of them are perfectly playable and enjoyable through the Kishi Ultra and take advantage of some of its unique features, like haptic feedback. However, there were some drawbacks. Many Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation titles require use of Start and Back buttons and the Kishi Ultra doesn't always appear to be prepped for those. I had a few instances where these buttons (represented by the Kishi's Menu and Options buttons, respectively) were unresponsive, but they seem to happen on a game-by-game basis. Most of those issues came up in games played via Steam Remote Play.

As far as controller grips go, the Razer Kishi Ultra is among the best that I've used. That's mainly because of its comfort and versatility across different mobile devices. It can even connect to a PC in a pinch, able to slot in as a controller with no trouble. The Nexus app is there to find games, albeit with a layout that doesn't feel user-friendly, but it does offer button remapping options, which is a plus. Whether the Kishi Ultra works smoothly with games across the cloud gaming universe or not can be a roll of the dice. When it works, though, it's a fabulous complement to the mobile gaming experience.

This review is based on a review unit issued by the manufacturer. The Razer Kishi Ultra is available now for $149.99 USD.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?