Why some touch controls just feel right

We talk a lot about controls in reviews, and it's not just nitpicking. Bad touch controls can sink an otherwise great game. The best ones share a few traits, and once you notice them you can't unsee them.

The big one is not covering the screen with your thumbs. Games that put important information under where your hands rest are fighting you before you even start. Good layouts keep the action visible and the buttons at the edges.

Consistency matters too. If a swipe means one thing in menus and something else in play, you'll fumble it. The games that feel best keep their gestures predictable, so your hands learn them and stop thinking about it.

And then there's giving you options. Tilt versus buttons, adjustable button size, left or right handed layouts. The more a game trusts you to set it up your way, the more comfortable it usually is. Neon Drift Circuit does this well; some bigger games strangely don't.