Two years after teaming up with 8BitDo on a gamepad, Genki has finally built a controller from the ground up - and it looks like it skipped leg day. The Manta, unveiled today, sports a chunky design with thumbsticks and buttons perched above a massive 2.9-inch LCD screen. Because nothing says 'ergonomic' like a tablet strapped to your gamepad.

But the Manta isn't just about looking like a brick with buttons. It's all about customization, and we're not just talking about swapping thumbstick caps. This thing has a settings interface powered by a dedicated Raspberry Pi RP2350 microcontroller, because why let your PC have all the fun? Players can switch between profiles for different consoles, games, and users, adjust thumbstick response and dead zones, crank up the haptic feedback, remap buttons, and even record, edit, and combine button presses into macros. It's like a Swiss Army knife for your thumbs, if the Swiss Army knife had a touchscreen.

The Manta is also one of the first controllers to feature 'tristage triggers.' While high-end controllers typically offer two switchable trigger modes for racing or FPS games, the Manta adds a third in-between option that Genki claims is optimized for 'fastest repeated presses.' Because sometimes you need your triggers to go from 'press' to 'PRESS' to 'PRESS-PRESS-PRESS' faster than your opponents can say 'noob.'

The face buttons are analog too, letting you adjust exactly how deep each button needs to travel before a press registers - perfect for those who want a hair-trigger or a deliberate thunk. Other features include linear magnetic ram motors in the grips for haptic feedback, drift-resistant tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) thumbsticks with adjustable tension, a 2,600mAh user-replaceable battery, and six extra remappable buttons on the back and shoulders. There's even a dedicated button to switch to keyboard and mouse mode, because why not turn your controller into a desktop peripheral?

Connectivity options abound: Bluetooth, a 2.4GHz dongle for low latency, or a USB-C cable for good old-fashioned wired play. The Manta is launching today on Kickstarter, with early birds snagging it for $189 - a steal compared to the expected $279 retail price. This is Genki's ninth crowdfunded device, so while backing a Kickstarter always carries some risk, Genki has a solid track record of actually shipping what they promise. Now, if only they could ship it before you finish your current game.

In a world where controllers are as common as opinions, the Manta stands out by being a customizable, screen-having, Raspberry Pi-powered behemoth. Whether that's a good thing remains to be seen, but at least it's not another boring black box.