Touch versus tilt: which racing control actually wins

Every arcade racer offers touch buttons and tilt steering, and everyone has an opinion about which is better. So I spent a week racing the same circuits both ways to figure out what I actually preferred.

Tilt feels more immersive and, once you find your sitting position, more precise for long sweeping turns. The problem is it falls apart the moment you move, so it's useless on a bumpy commute.

Touch controls are the reliable choice. They work anywhere, they don't care how you're holding the phone, and good games make the buttons big enough to hit without looking. The tradeoff is you lose some of that connected-to-the-car feeling.

My conclusion: tilt on the couch, touch everywhere else. And if a game only offers one of them well, that tells you where the developers spent their effort.