It works wheely well!
The Nintendo Switch isn’t hurting for racing games by any stretch. Many of those, of course, are either kart racers (the sub-genre Nintendo itself helped popularise in the SNES era) or arcade racers.
The Switch, however, is quietly building a set of racing ports that lean more towards simulation, even if not wholly realistic.
Most notable in this category are GRID: Autosport and, more recently, Wreckfest.
Both are undoubtedly fantastic ports, but there is one thing holding them back: The lack of analog triggers on all Nintendo’s own controller offerings.
Even if neither game leans fully into racing simulation, both still need realistic racing techniques for success. That means applying just enough brake so you enter corners at the right speed, hitting the apex, and accelerating smoothly out.
Without analog controls, making the fine adjustments needed is not impossible, but not ideal either. For example, feathering the triggers or timing button presses earlier achieves similar effects, but neither option feels quite right.
Some racing games account for this with control schemes that map gas and brake to Up and Down on the right analog stick, allowing for subtle changes. Both GRID: Autosport and Wreckfest have these options.
Andy’s offshoots
To my knowledge, Sony and Polyphony’s Gran Turismo, which launched alongside the first Dual Shock controller, was the first racing game with this control method.
I never got on with it. Trying to steer while making adjustments with the right stick felt like trying to pat your head and rub your belly at the same time.
Namco’s NeGcon controller was a much better option. It offered analog pedal control on its face buttons, and more realistic steering with the twisty, springy thing it did. Bring the NeGcon back, honestly.
In 2019, HORI released two Mario Kart-themed racing wheels for Nintendo Switch in ‘Pro Mini’ and ‘Pro Deluxe’ flavours. I’ve used both, and though not premium wheels by any stretch, they’re fun to use as long as games treat the gas pedal as either on or off.
Here’s the thing: The pedals are analog and would work well enough for sim-leaning racers. It’s simply not supported out of the box.
The good news is that if a racing game has a control scheme that maps the pedals to an analog stick, you can get it working with some button remapping. Here’s how!
Setup guide
Before you start
You need a:
- Hori Mario Kart Racing Wheel Pro Mini or Pro Deluxe
- Racing game for Switch that allows you to assign gas and brake to an analog stick.
Steps
- In your game of choice, switch to a control scheme that maps accelerate and brake to an analog stick:
- GRID: Autosport - The developers recently patched in a preset option for HORI’s wheels. The preset only sets the wheel-mounted buttons (previously you’d manage this with a custom controller config), so you still need to follow this guide to set up the pedals. For now, select HORI WHEEL from the control options.
- Wreckfest - Select PRESET 4.
- Set the control toggle on top of the wheel to match the analog stick that controls the pedals:
- GRID: Autosport - Select LS as the HORI WHEEL preset maps these controls to the left stick.
- Wreckfest - Select RS as ‘Preset 4’ maps these controls to the right stick.
- Hold the wheel’s Assign button until the green light flashes slowly.
- Press the right pedal down and the green light will flash faster. Quickly press Up on the d-pad.
- Hold the wheel’s Assign button until the green light flashes slowly.
- Press the left pedal down and the green light will flash faster. Quickly press Down on the d-pad.
- Switch the control toggle on top of the wheel back to DP.
If you have any problems with the pedal’s range feeling off, restart the game and it should work as intended.
Put the pedal to the… plastic
That’s it! You’re now set for a more realistic racing experience on the Switch.
I’ll update this post with more compatible games as I discover them.
