Buttkicker Gamer 2 review

[little P]

So one of my Christmas gifts was something I'd been wanting for a while now since getting a racing sim cockpit - a Buttkicker Gamer 2 to add another level of immersion to my VR setup.

All I can say is... wow.

It takes a little setting up but as long as you do your research (and have some helpful friends, thanks @Nejtun !) it's easy to get working okay. After spending a little while getting it all set up properly I would be happy to help anyone set it up with their system.

The results?

Holy f***** s***.

This thing is just crazy level good! You don't just hear explosions now, you feel them. You don't just see the road anymore, you feel the road, you feel when you just hit the apex instead of relying on false feedback through the wheel, and drifting out on the exit rumble strip... it is just fantastic even on a 2D screen.

When I drove with it in VR all of a sudden that holy grail of VR, the feeling of actually being there is all of a sudden not just there but it's dialed up to 11. Sitting in a GT3 car in Assetto Corsa in the pits I can feel the car idling as if I were actually there, rev it and you feel the vibrations of the chassis, it's absolutely uncanny!

If you have the means or some generous relatives I would wholeheartedly recommend this fantastic bit of kit, even for 2D simulations or games. If you've got VR and use driving sims or flying sims, you need this in your life or you are just not getting the full effect of VR. I can't believe what I've been missing all this time... blown away!

 

[Daunt]

Lemme know how it goes in dcs.

Sounds really sweet and I can imagine it being one of those things, especially for racing games, that you don't realize how much it adds until you have it

 

[little P]

DCS is great bud, I've got it tuned just right now, adds another level of immersion to take offs and landings, also got it set to kick in when I fire the machine guns and cannons. I love how customisable the Simvibe software is (which is a must if you are getting a tactile transducer of any form), so you can feel the forces you want to feel and set how intense each one is rather than just run the buttkicker off the audio signal which is great and all but simvibe takes the data directly from the game and transmits that data directly to the buttkicker seperate from the game audio. It's a night and day difference.

Playing Dirt Rally was insane, in that I've got it set to replicate the engine and the gear shifts, and it's fantastic feeling the car now, and the little thump you get upon shifting a sequential box up and down, absolutely brilliant! Had a great big grin on my face the whole time

I just had some family jump into VR No Limits Rollercoaster 2 with the buttkicker on and the fan on for replicating the wind blast and it was so funny man, even the adults were screaming, was great to watch and when I had a go I was shocked with how I felt. It's not just like being there, you are there.

I can't recommend this thing enough, I honestly can't go back to not using it now, the whole experience of driving/flying/riding just feels numb and empty without it...