As we continue to add more devices to our lives, sometimes it’s important to start consolidating where you can. Cooler Master, best known for its plethora of PC components and peripherals, aims to simplify your gaming lifestyle with its Storm controller, allowing you to bounce seamlessly between multiple devices. While it’s a good choice for on-the-go gamers, its lack of console support really keeps it from achieving its full potential.
Cooler Master Storm – Design and Features
The Cooler Master Storm controller design is a bit like a mix between the latest Xbox wireless controller and the old Xbox 360 gamepad. It’s got the offset stick layout that many people appreciate, but features a slightly wider, more flared grip that harkens back to the 360 era.
However, despite many Xbox controller similarities, the Cooler Master Storm isn’t actually compatible with Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One – instead, it’s designed to work with PC, Android, and OTT (over-the-top) TV boxes like Roku or Fire TV devices. It features both a wired connection via USB-C and a Bluetooth 5.0 wireless connection for supported devices. Interestingly enough, it paired just fine with devices like iPhone and iPad as well as Apple TV, even though it doesn’t officially support any of them.
Where the Cooler Master Storm really shines, though, is its multi-device connectivity. It features four built-in wireless profiles that allow you to quickly bounce between devices without having to unpair and re-pair the controller each time. Swapping between each profile is a breeze as you can toggle between each one using the Bluetooth button on the face of the controller, and a combination of three LED lights indicates which profile is currently selected. The only downside is that you’ll need to remember which device is associated with which LED light as there’s no companion app you can use to manage your stored devices.
The fourth profile is technically reserved for only Android devices (as indicated by two LED lights illuminated and a green ring around the large hexagonal button in the center of the controller). The only meaningful difference I found when paired to an Android device is that you can enter a “Multimedia Function” mode by pressing the mouse button on the controller twice. This displays a mouse cursor on the device’s screen and allows you to move it around using the left analog stick. Some of the buttons’ default actions change, too, allowing you to simulate a left and right mouse click, as well as quickly adjust device volume and control media playback. While this is definitely an interesting addition, I’m not sure there’s a situation where I’d want to control a touchscreen device with a controller that’s imitating a mouse. But, to each their own, I guess.
As far as the controller layout goes, it’s pretty much par for the course. It features a black and purple color scheme as well as what Cooler Master calls a “hand-sculpted form factor.” It’s comfortable to hold, and extremely lightweight at just 220 grams. Both grips are textured to keep your hands in place while gaming, but I found the texture to be almost indistinguishable from the rest of the controller. It also includes built-in rumble as well as a whopping 40-hour battery life on a single charge.
As previously mentioned, the controller features an offset analog stick layout and has a much deeper concave form factor that I wasn’t necessarily a fan of, but some might enjoy depending on how you hold the sticks. There’s also a nice textured grip around the edge of each one to keep your thumbs firmly in place. Both sticks are snappy, responsive, and rotate smoothly.
The four membrane face buttons are a bit hard to read with the letters being a slightly darker shade of purple than the background, but it’s the standard Xbox A/B/X/Y layout. All four buttons are snappy and firm without much wiggle. They are a bit smaller in size and more spaced out than many modern controllers – again, very similar to the Xbox 360-era gamepads.
In the center of the controller is a large hexagonal button in the shape of the Cooler Master logo, although without any branding. It features a ring around the outside that illuminates in purple when connected to a device, or green when in Android device mode. There’s also a menu and view button, as well as the aforementioned Bluetooth and Mouse buttons.
Taking another page out of the 360 controller’s book, the D-Pad features a hybrid design with a raised, circular shape. It features distinct directional controls, but also has the ability to rotate smoothly in 360 degrees for games that require sweeping combo inputs like fighting games, for instance.
Lastly, the analog triggers are a bit smaller than most controllers and also have a much shorter travel range. Although they have a bit of stiffness, they feel solid and springy. The shoulder buttons, on the other hand, almost feel hollow and have a bit of a mushy click when pressed.
Cooler Master Storm – Software
The Cooler Master Storm controller doesn’t require any additional software as it offers plug-and-play support for PC, OTT boxes, and Android devices out of the box.
Cooler Master Storm – Gaming
I tested the Cooler Master Storm controller across PC, Android, and yes, even an iPhone and Apple TV – despite not being officially supported. During my experience, I found the controller performed well in both wired and wireless modes
On the PC side of things, Bluetooth seemed to work just as well as the wired option, with no discernable input latency. If you are playing casual games and don’t want to fuss with wires, I think you’ll be happy with the wireless performance. However, if you want to ensure your button inputs are registered the moment they are pressed, you’re probably better off sticking with the wired mode.
One small quirk I found while using the device with PC was how Windows recognized the controller. Over Bluetooth, it showed up as an Xbox One wireless controller. But, oddly enough, when connected via the included USB cable, Windows identified it as an Xbox 360 controller. What did I say – this controller really wants to be an Xbox 360 gamepad.
Jokes aside, I found the controller to be quite competent across Destiny 2 and Dead Cells on PC. The built-in rumble felt great while shooting aliens, and the D-Pad controlled well as I navigated the varied biomes of Dead Cells.
Pairing to an Android phone was a breeze, and I streamed a bit of Hi-Fi Rush from Xbox Game Pass without any hitches. If you plan to frequently use the controller with a phone, Cooler Master also has a phone clip designed for the Storm that you can pick up separately to make your on-the-go gaming experience a bit better. I also messed around a bit with the aforementioned Mouse mode and while it definitely worked as advertised, I couldn’t help but feel it would’ve been better suited for PC. Not to mention, you can’t actually use the mouse during gameplay, so it’s strictly for navigating the OS.
Arguably the best feature of the Cooler Master Storm is the multi-device connectivity support. At one point I had four devices paired to the controller: PC, an Android phone, an iPhone, and an Apple TV. While I obviously couldn’t control all four at once, I could easily bounce between each of the devices by pressing the Bluetooth button on the controller, and I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly each device reconnected. To me, this is definitely the selling point for this controller. The biggest drawback is that there’s no official console support for Xbox, PS5/PS4, or Nintendo Switch, which limits its overall potential as the one controller for all of your needs. Instead, it ends up being the one controller for most of your needs.