Hey all, I'm looking for recommendations of the best games on the platform that defy your expectations in terms of touch controls. I'm thinking of something that reminds you of the awesomeness of 16-bit era 2D platformers: action-oriented, deep (made for gamers, not a causal affair), and really designed for the platform. No on-screen analog sticks.
I understand that without physical buttons, it is hard to recreate many genres with touch and tilt, but I am hoping there are some good examples out there where the designer built his or her game specifically for these inputs and still produced something you'd really want to spend hours with. The most obvious solution to the 'platformer' problem on phones these days has been the endless runner, but those are awfully watered down (low gamer agency) compared to the classics.
Have you seen anyone achieve this? What's the closest you think someone has come?
Beyond the Rayman Jungle Run recommendations already mentioned, definitely check out Kid Tripp -- it's an auto-runner (not endless, it has discrete levels), but with variable run speeds, projectiles, and finely tuned jumping controls. It gives the player a great deal of choice regarding how to approach each level while maintaining the simplicity that seems to make auto-runners popular on the platform.
I'm also a big fan of Bit Pilot -- it uses two thumbs on the touchscreen more as a trackball than as virtual sticks, and I think it works flawlessly. And I remember Space Miner working really well with virtual sticks because it functions more as a circular wheel than as an actual analog stick.
There's also the Duet and Super Hexagon school of control, where left/right sides of the screen work as left and right directionals. And there's also the League of Evil style control, where the game is 2D and you only have left/right buttons. Generally speaking, I find virtual controls very manageable when they discard the full "virtual analog stick" in favor of left/right controls.
But seriously, I am hyped.
