Scuf Nomad

There are certainly only a handful of major mobile game launches each year that aren't a gacha-style, aggressively monetised free-to-play mess. But thanks to a variety of streaming services, streaming PC and console games directly to your iPhone is now not only possible, but readily available, and for that reason there's renewed interest in controllers that can make that gaming experience a little more tactile - and bearable.

You may already know Scuf as a pretty serious controller manufacturer that prides itself on offering controllers that you can customise to an extreme degree. The latest Scuf Nomad comes in black with some fake carbon fibre-esque details, and that's about it. Leaving aside the fact that Scuf is ditching a key part of their DNA, this iPhone-centric mobile controller offers a number of exciting initiatives that make it a worthy opponent to the likes of Backbone and Razer's Kishi.

First of all, Scuf changes course here, offering exclusively Bluetooth pairing with your iPhone. There's no USB-C port here at all, which means you can keep your cover on while gaming. It's funny that it's specifically designed for the iPhone, when Bluetooth is a universal standard that could easily be offered to other phones with a similar shape.

It's ergonomic, no doubt about it, and especially thanks to the sculpted shape at the back, it's also good for gamers with slightly larger hands, something that Razer Kishi hasn't really nailed before. The quality is also spot on throughout, from the Hall Effect analogue stick end to the face buttons D-pad and the extra buttons you find on the back. Scuf knows what they're doing, and while it's a shame that it can't somehow be folded down to take up less space when not in use, it's hard to find anything to complain about right off the bat.

There's a dedicated button for the Scuf app and one for recording gameplay, and both work pretty much flawlessly. Not only that, the Scuf app is surprisingly robust already, with dedicated shortcuts for mobile games with controller support, as well as the ability to boot into Xbox Game Pass streaming or PlayStation Remote Play. It's one of the most intuitive app-based interfaces I've seen, and it's pretty amazing that Scuf got it right the first time. It's even really easy to make granular settings for your triggers, among other things. That's what I'm talking about!

The only thing really missing, and I mean really, is the ability to charge the phone you're using while using the Nomad. Precisely because there is no physical USB-C inside the phone, it is not possible to offer passthrough, and this is the key drawback. In addition, it should be said that for this reason, no additional ports, such as a 3.5 millimetre jack, are offered either. This would again require the Nomad controller to physically connect to your iPhone.

But it's all of sky-high quality, no doubt about it, and at a price that's just about 25% lower than an equivalent Backbone One in, it's hard to recommend anything else - if you have an iPhone.