Review: Gamevice for the iPhone

Like the Vita’s controls for your iPhone

Mobile gaming is becoming closer and closer to console gaming, and with the line thinning the only thing missing is phones coming with dedicated controllers.

That is where the Gamevice comes in, to try to fill that hole by turning your iPhone 6 into a fully-fledged gaming console. While it does the job well, it certainly isn’t without some minor flaws.

Gamevice for iPhone 6/6+/6s/6s+
MSRP: $99.99 
Released: December 8, 2015

The Gamevice fits around any caseless Apple iPhone of the 6 family, as it is extendable via a small slider on its backside that locks into place. The Gamevice adds most of the buttons you’d find on an Xbox controller to your phone: four face buttons, two micro analog sticks, a d-pad, and four shoulder buttons.

The face buttons feel a bit more hollow and cheap than say the Xbox One controller’s buttons and are slightly smaller while the analog sticks feel nearly identical to the Vita’s only a bit more stiff. The shoulder buttons are clicky without too loud or annoying. The d-pad is easily the worst part of the entire controller as it is so stiff it doesn’t seem possible to pull off a half circle as it all kind of presses down onto itself. Luckily most games don’t require the d-pad for much of anything, just don’t expect to become a fighting game champion with this.

There are already tons of games that support the controller, with more being added all the time. Gamevice Live is a free app that keeps track of all the games that support the device as they release and is updated regularly. Many fan favorite games are supported already from Downwell, to Minecraft, to the Grand Theft Auto series, all which are far more enjoyable once you ditch the touch screen interface. 

Since the Gamevice adds a bit of length to both sides of the phone, I found it rather uncomfortable to use the touch screen. It is impossible for my thumbs to reach the middle of the screen without taking a hand off the controller, which isn’t ideal for games that still require some touchscreen interactions. 

While it isn’t the best controller I’ve ever used, it worked well enough that I got sucked back into Fallout 4 when playing it via the recently released Moonlight client that takes advantage of Nvidia’s Gamestream service meant for Shield devices. The aiming with the sticks was a bit annoying due to their tiny size, but it was manageable. 

If you already game a lot on your phone and feel the need to get a controller, and you specifically want one that physically connects to the phone, the Gamevice may be the one for you if you can overlook its lackluster d-pad and just Vita-like sticks. For me? I’d rather have an external Bluetooth controller that doesn’t get in the way of me using the touch screen on my phone as much. 

_{[This review is based on retail hardware provided by the manufacturer.]}