NEO S Purple Wave 5-Fret Fortnite Festival Edition review: does the job, but can’t rock hard
Neo S Purple Wave 5-Fret Fortnite Festival Edition: One Minute Review
Neo S Purple Wave 5-fret Fortnite The holiday version is a new variant CRKD’s NEO S Controller. Functionally the controller is exactly the same as a regular one, but this particular variant is bundled with a 5-piece attachment that is specifically bundled with Fortnite Festival and other rhythm games Guitar Hero and rock band.
The FRET accessory slot goes into the bottom of the controller through the headphone jack, and starts there. The obvious comparison is Guitar Hero: Tour A series of games with similar Nintendo DS attachments. However, the problems that plagued the release ten and a half years ago remained.
Compared to regular guitar controllers, the cargo buttons are small, with little spacing, and holding the controller in the form of a guitar can become very uncomfortable, especially when there are insufficient hands. I’ve tested the Neo S Purple Wave 5-fret for about three months and found it difficult to play for hours.
The biggest problem is that there is no good way to play guitar-led rhythm games. The default option is to click the RB button, which is useless when you have to hit it in a fast and continuous manner; at the same time, mapping it to the stick works slightly better, but still irreplaceable. If you are looking for a way to play rhythm games casually, it won’t be useful. However, anyone who wants to seriously study this type is better looking for a more suitable controller PDP Riffmaster.
The controller has an Xbox layout and Bluetooth connectivity, making it a perfect PC-friendly. However, it doesn’t connect to the Xbox console (although this is something that can be promised in future updates). It does connect to Nintendo Switch – However, playing the game is awkward since you usually switch buttons from the usual Nintendo layout.
Neo S Purple Wave 5-Fret Fortnite Festival Edition: Price and Availability
- Price: $59.99 / £59.99 / au $119.95
- Purchase in the United States through the CRKD website
- Available in the UK via Argos and Amazon
The Neo S Purple Wave 5-fret Fortnite Festival Edition launched in November 2024 and costs $59.99/£59.99/au $119.95 – making it $10/£10/au $20 more than a regular NEO S controller. However, for the moment, this is the only way to get the five-speed connection attachment of the controller. Currently, it is compatible with Nintendo Switch, PC, smart TV and mobile devices, and Xbox Support promises to arrive later.
Neo S Purple Wave 5-Fret Fortnite Festival Edition: Specs
| price | $59.99 / £59.99 / au $119.95 |
| aspect | No attachments: 5.9 x 2.75 x 0.78 inches / 15 x 7 x 2 cm with attachments: 5.9 x 3.5 x 0.78 inches / 15 x 8.8 / 2 cm |
| Connection type | Wired (type-c), wireless (bluetooth) |
| compatibility | Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS, Android, Smart TV |
| software | CRKD Application (iOS, Android) |
Neo S Purple Wave 5-Fret Fortnite Festival Edition: Design and Features
- Guitar accessories designed for rhythm games
- Game-inspired custom fortress festival design
- Programmable back button and fret button
One of the main heads of the Neo S controller is the custom designs available, such as the translucent variant of the 90s, and working with such Rocket League and Hellboy.
this Fortnite Festival The Edition is a purple variant with a wavy design with different shades of purple, while the D-pad, shoulders and back buttons are bright pink. Meanwhile, the back of the controller is a pure purple shell. This is a lovely looking controller until you notice luxury Fortnite Festival Logo slap in the middle. More subtle Fortnite A design or logo is desirable.
This design doesn’t extend to guitar attachments, which is also just pure purple – although the lighter pink does appear on the edges of each button. It does feel a little fragile when the attachment is not on the controller, just like plastic is easy to capture.
This doesn’t help when putting it on the controller. You need to pop it at an angle before pushing the top into the ridge, but the downward lining can be a bit cumbersome. The accessory comes with a Velcro strap that you pop up between the controller and the guitar, making it easier to hold like a standard guitar neck.
Guitar attachment has five buttons to mimic the classic Guitar Hero Formulas; these buttons are automatically mapped to the buttons used for each lane Fortnite Festival.
The controller comes with three modes: one for easy, neutralized hard mode in the game, the other for expert, and the other for Pro mode (a type designed for guitar controllers). You can swap all three modes by holding down all five frets, and the LEDs on the attachment change the color to represent another mode. You can also restart these buttons for use in regular games, although their position may not make it the best.
Unfortunately, I found the new S Fortnite Festival version to be very uncomfortable after a long meeting – even more uncomfortable than the discomfort of a regular guitar controller. However, it is much more comfortable in wireless mode due to the USB-C port on the top of the controller otherwise.
Neo S Purple Wave 5-Fret Fortnite Festival Edition: Performance
- Strong battery life
- Easy to set up
- Custom button mapping requires using mobile apps
The NEO S can be used directly from out of the box and connected to your PC via a USB-C cable, or hold the CRKD button and then left and right on the D-Pad to enable Bluetooth connectivity for your PC or mobile device. For the Nintendo switch, it’s as simple as holding the CRKD button on the controller connection screen. The battery life of the Neo S Fortnite Festival version lasts about eight hours. When using the guitar attachment, I didn’t notice that the difference in battery drain was too large.
The controller is completely repairable; however, if you want to restart the button, you need to do it in the CRKD application. This also extends to guitar attachments that can be mapped to any button on the controller and even works outside Fortnite Festival. However, there is no way to actually select and enter a song Fortnite Festival No regular controllers are used.
The default mapping of the Strum bar is the bumper button, which is great for casual gaming, but it will be obvious to you once you face the Metallica’s battery. While the Strum rod allows you to replace directions at faster moments, hitting a button can make this boring or nearly impossible in some cases. You can remap the control stick to a spring rod and it feels like the ideal solution, however, I can’t get it to work Fortnitebut it does work in fan games Cloning Heroes.
CRKD was founded by former Chong Zhong staff who created the original Guitar Hero Controller – Means that these buttons are in line with the original series (i.e., DS guitar handle). However, if you want to play this kind of music game seriously, I recommend you invest in the proper guitar controller.
Should I buy the Neo S Purple Wave 5-Fret Fortnite Festival Edition?
If…buy it
if…
Consider also…
Still not for sale in the CKRD NEO S Purple Wave 5-fret Fortnite Festival version? This is how to compare with other guitar controllers on the market and more conventional reference mats.
| Header Unit – Column 0 | Neo S Purple Wave 5-Fret Fortnite Festival Edition | PDP Riffmaster | gamesir nova |
|---|---|---|---|
| price | $59.99 / £59.99 / au $119.95 | $129.99 / £129.99 / au $199.95 | $34.99 / £39.99 |
| aspect | No attachments: 5.9 x 2.75 x 0.78 inches / 15 x 7 x 2 cm with attachments: 5.9 x 3.5 x 0.78 inches / 15 x 8.8 / 2 cm | 21.38 x 10.51 x 3.23 in / 54.30 x 26.69 x 8.20 cm | 6.26 x 5.98 x 2.56 in / 15.9 x 15.18 x 6.50 cm |
| Connection type | Wireless (Bluetooth), Wired (type-c) | Wireless (2.4GHz dongle), wired (type-c) | Wireless (2.4GHz and Bluetooth), wired (type-c) |
| compatibility | Nintendo Switch, PC, Steam Deck, iOS, Android, Smart TV | Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, PC | Nintendo Switch, PC, Steam Deck, Android, iOS |
| software | CRKD Application | PDP control center | N/A. |
How do I test Neo S Purple Wave 5-Fret Fortnite Festival Edition
- Test for about 15-20 hours
- Play with it Fortnite Festival and Cloning Heroes On PC
- Use it as a regular controller on Nintendo Switch
I’ve been using the Neo S Purple 5-Fret Fortnite Festival version on my PC and Nintendo Switch since mid-December 2024 (and so less than two months). During this time, I’ve played a lot Fortnite Festivalbut my true love Cloning Heroes. I tested the controller in a variety of different musical situations: relying on the sound of playing patterns with multiple notes, requiring a lot of fast-paced play and songs with crying guitars (yes, I did play for free bird).
In my experience, it works best in slower songs and songs due to my issues with the Strum Bar. The highlight of this experience is playing a custom chart of a possible Giant’s All-Hong album, which contains many piano (and other instruments) charts. Guitar hero Clear notes, I don’t need to play.
First reviewed February 2025
