It took me a while to assemble this, because by mistake I used 4x4mm button footprints instead of the 5x5mm, so I had to order matching switches. But it's there, and it's working. Here's a comparison photo with the old version:

The friction-fit alternating pins work really well, and make the whole thing much smaller. The chip, even though SMD, is still pretty huge — I'd love to find a small, preferably QFN, chip that can handle buttons over I²C, but I'm too lazy to look for it specially. The buttons are much more convenient than the old "joystick", even though they are still not very friendly to your fingertips.