The arcade and fighting game scene is now completely dominated by a growing number of ‘leverless’ controllers, meaning the classic joystick used for movement is replaced by individual buttons for each direction.
For the uninitiated, leverless controllers might look completely bonkers, but once you get used to the layout, it’s a remarkably compelling method of control – one of those ‘if you know, you know’ kind of things. But if you’re dead-set on a more traditional arcade stick, it’s tough to get much better than Punk Workshop’s FightStick G01 Edition.
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Priced at £225, the FightStick G01 is a remarkable bit of kit designed to give you a tangible advantage when playing games like Street Fighter 6 or Virtua Fighter 5. Of course, not everyone gets along with an arcade stick, so if you’re completely new to the scene, I’d recommend trying one out first to get a feel for it, or maybe opting for a more budget device like the 8BitDo Arcade Stick.
If you know what you’re getting into, the FightStick G01 comes rocking the company’s own lever system along with its PWS V1 mechanical buttons. These things are super low-profile and feel almost identical to the click of a PC mouse. They’re specifically designed to give you the fastest possible response time when executing moves and combos. In practice, they feel nice and tactile without making much noise.
You’ll also notice that there are more buttons than your average arcade stick. You’ve got your usual eight-button layout in the middle, but then there are two larger buttons underneath, and a single extra button on the top right. These are handy for shortcuts, macros, and function commands, for example when knee-deep in training modes, you can quickly hit one of the extra buttons to reset your fighters’ positions with ease.
Even more buttons can be found on the sides of the unit itself. Over on the right side are your function commands like home, start, capture, etc. On the left, meanwhile, are extra buttons that you can map to whatever you like. Above these, you’ll find a nice, chunky tournament lock switch, which disables all function buttons to minimise disruptions during gameplay. As a side note, keeping these inputs on the sides also helps avoid any accidental presses.
As for the lever itself, it feels awesome. You get audible, tactile feedback when you hit the actuation points, and it’s so satisfying that you’ll want to just mess around with it even when you’re not playing anything. Compared to the Hautepad X — which uses microswitches within the lever system — the feedback is a lot more noticeable, which is good for ensuring that you’re executing the correct commands.
In terms of height, the lever feels about right — not too tall or short — so you can comfortably rest the side of your hand on the top surface of the unit while wiggling it about. The shaft stays locked in place when inserted, and you simply need to pull the outer metal spring cylinder upwards to unlock and remove it (Punk Workshop also offers a silicone rubber lever, if you like). The G01 also comes with two dust washers to prevent any nasty buildup on the interior while in use, so that’s nice.
As for where you store the lever while it’s not in use, it actually goes inside the main device. The unit is made up of two plastic casings that fit together via magnets. To access the interior, you simply separate the two by hand and lift the upper casing away, being careful not to pull it too far as the buttons are connected to the lower casing. The lever then slots into a handy plastic holder on the side of the device.
Having easy access to the interior is also useful for any maintenance or modding that you might want to do. You might want to swap the joystick gate for a different one, and Punk Workshop includes an additional octagonal gate as standard. You might want to go even further and swap out the joystick entirely, or perhaps even the buttons.
What’s nice is that the interior is super clean, with all the wires kept neat and the magnetic connections positioned around the outside. Yet despite the almost ‘hollow’ nature of the device — there’s really very little housed within — it’s still pretty hefty, weighing in at roughly 2kg. That sounds really heavy on paper, but the weight combined with the size means that the G01 feels great on your lap. If you’re playing on a desk, Punk Workshop has also provided two non-slip pads to apply to the bottom of the unit yourself.
All of this is complemented by an excellent carry case that includes a main compartment for the controller itself, then a smaller compartment for your cables and dust washers. The interior is incredibly soft to the touch, while the Punk Workshop logo can be seen on the front. It’s worth noting too that the arcade stick itself has zero garish logos on the exterior – it’s very elegant.
The only thing I would say needs improving is the connector cable. It’s a USB-A to USB-C job, which is fine, but I’ve seen plenty of products that provide a strong, braided cable, whereas this one is about as basic as you can get. It’s also a tad short for my liking, but you can easily swap it for something more suitable.
One final point to note is compatibility. The model I received contains a Brook Gen-5 Mini board, allowing it to work seamlessly with multiple consoles, including Switch, Switch 2, and PS5. A version that’s only compatible with PC is also available at £197.
Punk Workshop has garnered a strong reputation in the fighting game community, and it’s easy to see why. The Fightstick G01 is a superb bit of kit that’s well worth the investment if you can stomach the price. It feels premium, allows for easy mods/maintenance, and is surprisingly portable thanks to the included carry case.
The cable is the only thing holding it back from perfection, but you can easily swap out the default option for something more rugged. Otherwise, this is exceptional.
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The sample used in this review was provided by Punk Workshop EU.
