What separates good touch controls from bad ones

Touch controls are the hardest part of mobile design, and it shows. For every game that feels natural in your hands, there are three that seem to have been designed on a desk with a mouse and never actually tested on a phone.

The best games keep everything within reach of your thumbs. That sounds obvious, but plenty of titles stick crucial buttons in the top corners where you have to shift your grip mid-action. One-handed play is a huge bonus for anything you'd play on the go.

Good games also give you options. Tilt versus buttons, adjustable button sizes, the ability to reposition controls — these small choices make a big difference for comfort. Racing games are usually the best example of this, offering multiple steering schemes.

When I review, I pay close attention to whether the controls ever caused me to fail unfairly. If I lost because the game misread my input, that's a mark against it. If I lost because I made a bad call, that's fair — and that's what good controls should deliver.