There’s a pretty high chance that the GameSir T4 Kaleid Wired Controller will be of no use to you. You see, even though this is a ‘multi-platform device’, it is fairly limited in those platforms.
Off the bat, the T4 Kaleid doesn’t work with Xbox consoles. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, even for someone who is very much embedded in that way of life. That’s because with the power of Game Pass, being tied down and restricted to only playing on an Xbox console is seen as a thing of the past; cloud gaming powering Xbox play on the likes of PC.
And that’s what we’ve been using the GameSir T4 Kaleid Wired Controller for. And whilst it’s made us happy, there’s a little bit of us that has been left disappointed by the non-Xbox console play.
We’re old enough and ugly enough to let that slide though, keeping the T4 Kaleid for PC play only. And honestly, it’s been a really solid little controller, one that has been a delight to have in our hands.
GameSir continue to thrive
It comes from the GameSir team who have, slowly and surely, been worming their way into the mid-upper echelons of the gaming accessories market. As a whole, GameSir have dropped a ton of different pads, controllers and the like over the last few years and whilst we were initially hesitant to take a punt on an unknown brand, their quality has turned us around.
So we come to the GameSir T4 Kaleid controller prepared. We know exactly what the Chinese based company are capable of and they’ve not let us down in this instance. At least not too much.
Diving into the T4 Kaleid and we find a standard Xbox shaped controller, coming in at just a smidge smaller than usual. I mean, in hand you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, but sticking this alongside our pimped out MegaModz controller, and the T4 feels a teeny bit smaller. It’s hardly noticeable though.
The T4 Kaleid is standard controller fare
From there, layout wise and this is all standard fare, with some added extras to try and stand out from the crowd. We’ve got the thumbsticks sitting pretty, both concave, textured and full of non-slip grip. Running Hall Effect senses, precision-tuned and promising anti-drift and ultra-longevity, GameSir are really getting behind these sticks. We’ve not had an ounce of an issue with them, but only a much longer term use scenario will prove how they ultimately stack up.
The D-Pad feels okay in use too, although it’s a mile away from more modern offerings, running much more in line with an old-school compass design.
The face buttons work an Xbox vibe to a tee too. Super clicky, micro-switched and feeling good to press, these have hardly missed a beat in use. In fact, whilst we’ve steered away from uber fast-paced play, preferring to kick back on PC with the likes of DREDGE, Harmony: The Fall of Reverie and Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles, those face buttons have felt good to use.
Texturing is a boost
The triggers (textured) and bumpers (smooth) are equally decent and there’s a definite feel to these as well, especially straight out of the box before any personalisation is made (more on that later). The trifecta of Start, Back and Capture (albeit only when set up in ‘Switch’ mode) accompanied by a glowing GameSir logo’d Home button fill out the face well. It’s super easy to keep hold of the T4 Kaleid too, mostly thanks to some serious texturing on the hand grips. No matter how hot, you’ll never find this thing slipping in your hands.
A 3.5mm audio jack rounds off the standard controller offerings.
There’s also a Mode button dropped in on the T4 Kaleid, allowing for a variety of uses. Most notably we’ve utilised its power for programming a couple of ‘L’ buttons on the rear of the controller. Again, these are well placed and of a good enough size to ensure that you can hit them with ease. Sticking an ‘A’ or ‘B’ button prompt round the back is most certainly the way to go.
The power of configuration
That Mode button also helps in terms of controller configuration (out of the box, a variety of button configs are available), whilst it also helps the T4 Kaleid light up your room. You see, this is a transparent-ish controller, filled with RGB lighting inside. If you’re one of those that just HAVE to have your gaming set-up glowing all manner of hues, this is a good option controller wise.
Those RGB lights run numerous vibes – flow, rainbow, pulse etc… – and whilst we’ve seen everything that it can offer on other similar controllers, the NACON Colorlight, for instance, it’s always a joy to mess around with lighting.
Similarly the T4 Kaleid can be further personalised through the GameSir T4K App. Disappointingly, this isn’t currently available on the Microsoft Store like the GameSir Nexus App is, only downloadable at this time through GameSir.hk. Get it installed on your PC though and all the usual deadzones, hair triggers, vibration motor amends and more are available. Honestly, do we need it? Not really, and we’ve been more than happy to use this out of the box, updating the firmware alone. But the options are most definitely there if you do need to tinker.
Hall Effect and Turbos!
Throw in other things that we personally care little for – Hall Effect and Turbo Functions (anyone care to indulge an old man with the real need for Turbo?) – and ultimately there’s little lacking with the GameSir T4 Kaleid Wired Controller.
At least that is aside from the obvious – the fact that this ‘multiplatform’ controller is fairly limited in those platforms. There’s even a 6-axis gyro system in place here. This has been of absolutely no use to us, but should motion support be your bag, you should feel safe in the knowledge that GameSir have got your back.
We guess we should mention that you can only use the T4 Kaleid with a cable tied into your device of choice. For some a cable will be a killer. For us, it’s neither here nor there. We’ve rarely been worried about that need, even if we would prefer a straight up USB-C to USB-C cable instead of the bundle USB-C to USB-A.
The GameSir T4 Kaleid Controller is worth considering
At the end of the day, should you play on PC (or Switch/Android TV if you must), you may well be fairly surprised by what the cheap and cheerful little GameSir T4 Kaleid Wired Controller can do.
It feels really nice in the hand, it lights up your gaming life with ease and it’ll power you through your gaming sessions with no fuss nor bother. It’s just a shame that GameSir couldn’t get this running with Xbox.
But then, that Xbox gaming is covered by the GameSir G7 Controller. No?
Huge thanks go out to GameSir for providing us with the T4 Kaleid Wired Controller for review. Grab one for yourself by visiting GameSir direct. It’s only going to cost you around £41 too.
