The best gear shifters of 2022

Right out of the box, the Mario Kart Racing Wheel looks like it came straight out of a turbocharged go-kart belonging to Nintendo’s most profitable plumber. In addition to the good looks, this desktop-mounted racing wheel comes with everything you’d expect from hardware for racing games where you’re not throwing blue turtle shells of death at opposing players. It has flappy pedal shifters on the side of the steering wheel, traditional pedals for your feet, and a ton of buttons to use, making it more than just the perfect peripheral for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

You can easily connect this moderately sized beast to the Switch via the USB port on the base, and the only real drawback is that it doesn’t have force feedback to wake your hands up when it’s taken a turn too fast behind you. . That minor flaw aside, this is easily the best-looking wheel on the list thanks to the bold color scheme that highlights the Mario Kart affiliation and its ability to be used in other games within the fast-vehicle genre.

For family members with smaller hands, the mini Mario Kart racing wheel is a scaled-down version of the previous peripheral. You still get a solid steering wheel, pedals, smooth paddle shifters, and tons of buttons, all compressed into a more compact size. Just like his older big brother, this mini version of the Hori-produced racing wheel also instantly catches the eye with its Mario-themed colors; Plus, the smaller size also means you’ll save a few bucks.

If you prefer a more subdued color scheme on your racing wheel, you can’t go wrong with the overall appeal of the PXN V3II. Not only is it compatible with the Switch, you can also connect this peripheral to your Xbox or PlayStation consoles, and it even has an old-fashioned manual shifter built in. The pedals are also included, the wheel has some grippy textures, and its attractive price tag makes it a solid choice for a single wheel that can be used across multiple devices.

Are you strapped for cash and looking for a steering wheel option that comes without cables? Orzly’s budget console wheels provide an affordable option for replicating the feeling of turning the wheel when you take a corner, and for a multiplayer game like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, one purchase will give you four brightly colored wheels to place your Joy-Con controllers on. With. in. Thanks to the gyroscopes built into Nintendo’s detachable input devices, these wheels will do a capable job of replicating steering, and for the younger members of the family, it’s worth checking out Orzly’s offerings before spending big on hardware. more serious.