I’m a massive fan of the Evercade and its ecosystem of various platforms on which to play official retro compilations (as well as new titles for retro consoles). One of the best consoles that Evercade offer is the Evercade VS, a home console that makes up for the lack of portability that other Evercades have, with some great flexibility and extra features the handhelds lack.

For example, the initially baffling choice to have two cartridge slots side by side, which actually means you can combine two wildly different compilations to have something for everyone whenever you turn the console on, or indeed to make use of being able to hide secret games that are unlocked when you have specific combinations of cartridges inserted. Being able to make use of up to four player multiplayer modes on classic titles, which of course isn’t possible on the handhelds, is also a vastly underrated feature.

Just as I’m a big fan of the Evercade, I’m also a huge devotee of CRKD and their collector-focused range of controllers and accessories.

Their Neo S controller, which offers an incredible array of customisable options and features, has really impressed me, and its versatility in terms of what machines and consoles you can use it on (PC, mobile, Switch and more) means that it can slot into almost any set up you have at home.

Now I’ve also discovered that you can combine the Evercade VS with the Neo S; and it’s simpler than you may expect. In order to use the Neo S with an Evercade VS, you just need to attach it using a USB C to USB cable, and you’re done. It functions as a wired controller, and with the latest firmware update (which is simple to download on an Evercade VS, straight from the console’s menu using WiFi), the console also supports analogue control as well.

With the button mapping options of the Neo S controller, which you can do from a mobile app, it becomes an incredibly personalised, reliable and brilliantly performing controller for your Evercade VS. With four controller ports on the console, you can even use up to four Neo S controllers too, as long as you have enough USB cables to do so.

Though of course the Evercade VS does come bundled with its own controllers, you don’t realise just how basic and plasticky they feel until you’ve used something like a Neo S instead. Now that I have, it’s nearly impossible to go back to using the standard controller, as functional as they are. Not only is it great to have discovered that the Neo S works in an Evercade VS, but it’s awesome to have found another use for my favourite controllers too.