Usually, Living In My GameSpace focuses on cool tech that enhances my battle station and surrounding space. However, my gamer lifestyle extends beyond that. Although I may not be able to have the same long gaming sessions while on the go, I am always pulling out my phone for some quick mobile gaming when I’m out of the house. But let’s face it, using on-screen virtual controls sucks. I don’t play enough to lug around a controller – five minutes here, fifteen minutes there – so I just deal with the messy controls. PuK Gaming must have been reading my mind, because they recently reached out to see if I wanted to give the PuK Thumbstick a try. A controller that fits in my pocket? You bet I do!
What the PuK?
Not familiar with PuK? Neither was I. New to the mobile gaming scene, PuK Gaming was created in 2023 with Simon Burgess, best known as co-founder of Scuf Gaming and inventor of SCUF controllers, at the helm. With years of controller expertise, the team set out to create a comprehensive ecosystem of accessories that would address many of the issues with mobile gaming. PuK recently launched the PuK Thumbstick, which we’re looking at today, alongside the PuK Grips, PuK Triggers, and PuK Link Cable.
The PuK Thumbstick is about as low-tech as you can get. With zero mechanical parts, you won’t find any wires, servos, or switches. The PuK Thumbstick is just a small, puck-shaped thumbstick that sits on your device’s screen and is held in place by an anchor magnet on the back side of your phone. Along with a protective lid, the entire thumbstick can fit in your pocket along with a phone or car keys.
Low tech doesn’t mean the PuK Thumbstick isn’t responsive. The same magnets that hold the whole thing in place also play a key role in the feel of the stick. Unlike the tactileless feel of sliding your thumb along your screen, the magnets in the PuK Thumbstick give it a similar feel to that of a regular controller’s sticks. The magnets also help recenter the stick, so you don’t have to pull your thumb up to stop on-screen movement, and you’ll never have to worry about your thumb slowly drifting around the screen as you move.
Your thumb sits nicely on the convex stick, and it is a major upgrade to using just your thumb with a virtual stick, but the other draw of the PuK Thumbstick is its compact size. Even with the top cover in place, the whole thing is about the size of a walnut. It only takes a few seconds to align the stick and anchor on your phone, and you won’t even notice it in your pocket when you aren’t using it. No, you aren’t going to get the same precision and functionality of a full-sized controller, but you also don’t have to worry about lugging around a controller everywhere you go.
Although the PuK Thumbstick glides smoothly across your screen, it’s not perfect. Even though the magnets are strong enough to work through just about any regular case, you can still push the stick beyond the magnetic influence of the anchor during extremely tense situations. I also found that although the stick generally self-centers, there were a few instances where it didn’t completely center, resulting in the all-too-familiar effect of stick drift. It didn’t happen anywhere near as often as with a regular stick, but without any software to set a dead zone, you will never completely eliminate drift.
Final Thoughts
So is the PuK Controller a must-have for mobile gamers? Probably not, but it is a good quality of life upgrade if you play the right kind of games. If you spend dozens of hours a week playing single stick games like Vampire Survivors or Brotato, then the PuK Thumbstick is for you. You’ll still have to deal with the loss of a small amount of screen real estate that comes with using on-screen virtual controls, but the PuK Thumbstick gives you the familiar feel of a controller or backplate without the extra bulk.
You’ll get the same single-stick benefits when using the PuK with an ARPG or shooter, but you’ll still have to use put thumb to screen for the additional controls. In this case, the PuK Thumbstick isn’t as good as using a conventional controller. As a casual mobile gamer, the compact size and universal fit of the PuK Thumbstick is more convenient than finding a full-sized controller that is compatible with my mobile device. And should I ever decide I need more control, the full PuK ecosystem will have my back.
