Gamer Goo Aims to Make Gaming Better By Reducing Sweaty Palms—But Does It Work?

I play a lot of video games in my free time. While I experience sweaty palms pretty regularly, I never thought there was much I could do about the problem except take breaks to wipe my hands.

Gamer Goo decided they'd be the solution. The company specializes in hand antiperspirants made especially for gamers. When they reached out to see if I'd be interested in a sample, I was eager to find out if it really worked.

The Product

Gamer Goo is a product for combatting the gross, clammy hands that plague gamers everywhere. It's an anti-sweat gel you rub on your hands, and it's designed to keep them dry  and increase grip for up to four hours, making it great for long play sessions. It's sold in 2 oz. bottles and comes in a number of scents, including peppermint, orange, cinnamon,  vanilla sugar, teakwood and cherry blossom. There's also Gamer Goo Sports in orange made specifically for more active pursuits where you might want to avoid sweaty hands. It retails for $12.95 per bottle, or $31.95 for a three-pack. Gamer Goo also offers sample packs, free of charge.

The Experience

My tube of Cherry Blossom Gamer Goo arrived right around the time that Nintendo launched a bunch of SNES games on Nintendo Switch Online, so the timing was perfect to get my game on. While I'm not a profusely sweaty person, I've seen my controllers (Joy-Cons in particular) get a bit grimy with sweat from time to time, so I was curious to see how the experience would go.

But before I rubbed the stuff all over my hands, I had to give it a whiff. I was surprised by the sophisticated and slightly perfumey, floral scent, and I was happy to take the next step. The bottle looked pretty cute, too.

Before my first session with Gamer Goo, I followed the instructions on the back. I started by washing and drying my hands—which I admittedly don't do enough before I pick up video game controllers—before shaking the tube up and squeezing a pea-sized amount of the lotiony white liquid on my hands. I then rubbed it all around for half a minute to coat my hands, and soon found that they felt fresh and dry, but not dried out.

This first time, however, I might have squeezed out a little too much, or not rubbed my hands together properly, because I was left with some residue on my hands. The marks slightly resembled Wite-Out, and primarily filled the deep lines on my palm.

But it wasn't a big deal. I simply washed my hands again and reapplied it, making sure I was more thorough this time, and got the same clean feeling without the opaque white smudges.

Even more impressive, my hands maintained their dryness even after hours of play. Over the weeks, through countless rounds of Tetris 99 and long sessions of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, it consistently kept the sweat at bay for longer than my attention span could keep me playing. I know, because neon-colored Joy-Cons have a tendency to build up a gross plaque around the edges if you're not careful, and Gamer Goo kept mine looking spotless.

In fact, I'm such a fan of the scent and that pristinely fresh feeling that I've also taken to using Gamer Goo when I'm working on the computer or on my phone for long stretches, doing tasks that might make my hands clam up. I also like that it prevents some bad gaming habits, like snacking while you play. With my hands covered in antiperspirant, I always had to think twice before reaching for chips as I waited for the next round. I'm thankful my bottle looks like it'll last a while.

Bottom Line

If you're constantly wiping your hands on your pants or losing grip of your controller when you play video games, and your controllers are covered in sweat crud, there's no reason you shouldn't go on Gamer Goo's website and order a free sample to see if it works for you. Though not everyone will be willing to invest $13 in this sweat remedy, I think it smells great and works like a charm, and it might be a lifesaver for certain people.

With highly anticipated titles, including Sayonara Wild Hearts, Untitled Goose Game and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening all dropping this week, I think I'm going to get a lot of use out of the rest of my tube of Gamer Goo.

Not sure what you want to play first? Click HERE for our definitive ranking of the SNES games on Nintendo Switch Online.