Touch Controls: The Difference Between Great and Unplayable

A game can have gorgeous art and a clever idea and still be ruined by controls that fight your thumbs. On mobile, input is everything, and it's where we focus a surprising amount of our testing.

The best-feeling games give you feedback for every touch — a little bounce, a sound, a flash. Nacho Casinacho does this well; you always know your input registered. That tiny confirmation makes the whole thing feel responsive.

Bad touch design usually shows up as buttons placed under your fingers, or gestures that overlap and misfire. We check for this by playing one-handed and on the go, because that's how phones actually get used.

When you're trying a new game, spend two minutes just moving around before judging anything else. If the controls already annoy you, no amount of content will fix it.