There’s plenty of sneering when it comes to gaming on a phone but there’s no doubt it’s a huge deal. One look at some of the numbers when talking about the likes of Fortnite, PUBG Mobile and Genshin Impact clearly demonstrates that for a cohort of players, using their phone is the default playstyle. That said, the nature of phones also results in several compromises across various aspects of gaming, including graphics, gameplay and most significantly controls. Objectively speaking, using the on-screen electronic buttons and analogue sticks that pop up when playing mobile titles cannot beat the tried and tested controller.
While, of course, the option is available to connect a traditional controller via wireless, or to attach one of the many peripherals to the sides of phones to transform the device into a gamepad, they all come with their own compromises – from curtailing portability to just being impractical on a daily basis for gaming. The PuK Thumbstick aims to address some of those compromises – offering a magnetic attachment that sits on the back of the phone acting as an anchor to the thumbstick that then gets placed on the mobile’s screen in the position where whatever title being played happens to display its movement or aiming indicator.
Immediately, it emerges as a neat solution and the biggest standout factors immediately are both the portability and robustness of the thumbstick, which magnetically slots together into a sleek bowl-shape that can fit in the palm of a hand and doesn’t fall apart when carried about thanks to its strong attraction. While the thumbstick is aimed at the budget end of the peripheral category, the silicone material and finish of the product manages to give it a premium and satisfying feel.
It also comes in a perfectly sized box that avoids any needless additional packaging, simply including a thumb sleeve, a handy extra thumbstick stylus, and a sticky disc pad for devices that might have a slippy rear surface from which to attach the anchor. While in theory Puk Gaming’s PuK Thumbstick can be used across the vast majority of devices, obviously some phones will work better than others. Using a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, one issue that immediately cropped up is that a significant chunk of the anchor space on the rear of the device is taken up by a camera section, which doesn’t work with the thumbstick.
That limitation might be quite significant if the particular game being played has a fixed part of the screen dedicated to analogue controls. Of course, one option would be to rotate the screen orientation, but again, these choices can sometimes be dictated by specific arrangements in titles and individual phone set ups. The limitations of a device that attaches to the screen as opposed to attaching options like grips to the side of the device also means part of the view of any game is also disrupted, which on a mobile where screen space is at an absolute premium, is always going to be somewhat of a compromise.
With all that said, there is no doubt that for most experiences, the PuK Thumbstick proves to be an enhancement to the gameplay and controls. There is a satisfying snap feeling when moving directions thanks to the strong magnetic pull, which adequately replicates the natural analogue stick movement, and while this isn’t on the level of a PlayStation or Xbox controller – instead think closer to a shallower Nintendo 3DS analogue – there is most certainly a premium feel to the grip when using it.
