The Asus ROG Tessen Is A Peak For Mobile Gaming Controllers

You have so many options when looking for the best controller for mobile gaming – devices that give you a console-like experience even when playing something on your phone. The Backbone One set the example when it comes to gamepads that can latch onto the sides of your phone for a Nintendo Switch-like experience, but there’s also the Razer Kishi Ultra and GameSir X2s which are great choices. Now there’s the Asus ROG Tessen – its software support may not be as robust as others, but after using it to play shooters and action games on my phone, it’s proven itself as one of the best mobile controllers available now.

One of the key features unique to the ROG Tessen is that it’s foldable, letting the controller collapse into a much more compact form for easier storage. It doesn’t sacrifice durability either, staying sturdy whether you’re extending it to fit your device or breaking it down to toss in a bag. I used the Android-based OnePlus 8 smartphone for testing, and snapping the ROG Tessen into place was a cinch. Since the controller folds, I could simply slot the phone into the USB-C connector, then unfurl the rest of the controller and extend it into position. There are a few rubber brackets that can be slotted inside the controller to help your device sit flush, depending on its dimensions, one of which was handy with the OnePlus 8.

This is a more compact gamepad so handles themselves aren’t as big as normal console controllers, of course. But this helps it keep its weight down and stay compact, yet it’s ergonomic so as to still feel like a full gamepad. Part of that is because of the way the handles curve slightly outward, letting them fit right into the palm of my hand to help me maintain a comfortable and solid grip throughout gameplay. Button placement all feels natural, which includes the A, B, X, Y face buttons, analog sticks, D-pad, triggers, and bumpers. What really topped it off was how simple it was using the two back paddles on the ROG Tessen – not only are they perfectly placed for my middle fingers to actuate, but they’re smooth, light on the touch, and satisfying to press as well.

The face buttons and D-pad have a springy tactile feel to them, akin to the clicks of an optical switch on a gaming mouse, as opposed to the normal squishiness of a traditional console controller. Whether or not this is a good thing will come down to preference, but for me, I loved the clicky responsiveness of each button and wished I had a gamepad for consoles that felt similar. The triggers have a consistent resistance and the bumps are easy to tap to actuate, and they all curve in a way that makes finger placement feel just right. There’s also Start, Options, and Home buttons along the bottom, as well as the button to program the back paddles to whichever action you want.

The last thing to mention on the design front is the USB-C passthrough conveniently found on the bottom of the right handle – this lets you connect other accessories while the ROG Tessen is in use, and allows for 18 watts of power to also charge your device.

While the ROG Tessen is largely a plug-and-play device, Asus has its Armoury Crate software available on mobile devices to let you customize the RGB lighting strips that outline the sides of the gamepad. You can also change the button assignments to your liking easily in Armoury Crate. However, compared to something like the Razer Nexus app, Armoury Crate feels rather primitive for the ROG Tessen and certainly has room to grow.

An important thing to note is that you’re still beholden to the compatibility limitations that come with certain mobile games. For example, USB-based controllers like the ROG Tessen are not natively recognized by Call of Duty: Mobile even though the game has native support for Xbox and PlayStation controllers – but then Call of Duty Warzone: Mobile works seamlessly without having to customize a thing. There are workarounds for the former, though, but it’s a niche situation that highlights something like the Razer Kishi Ultra, which has software-based button mapping to let you assign touch controls to the gamepad– a feature that’s not found here.

One of my go-to mobile shooters, Gunfire Reborn, required me to manually map each button before it was able to recognize inputs from the ROG Tessen. It also takes some time to properly calibrate the analog stick inputs by fiddling with settings for them to behave properly when it comes to deadzone, sensitivity, and making X- and Y-axis inputs flow naturally. These were minor inconveniences all things considered, but it is one thing to keep in mind when using a device like this one from game to game.

The ROG Tessen’s responsiveness and comfort provided a console-like feel to games such as Zenless Zone Zero, the aforementioned Gunfire Reborn, and Call of Duty Warzone: Mobile almost making me wish I could just use it on other platforms.

For ZZZ in particular, button-mashing and stringing combos together in its stylish-action gameplay was arguably more comfortable with the ROG Tessen than it was with a normal Xbox controller connected to my PC. I mostly attribute this to the mechanical springiness of the face buttons, which allowed for easier and faster-to-execute rapid-fire presses. Even after tearing through waves of enemies, my hands didn’t feel fatigued since every input was effortless to use.

Playing through the roguelike dungeons of Gunfire Reborn highlighted how good the analog sticks felt for movement and aiming. As I said above, it took some time to get the controller settings just right, but once I did, it was just like playing the game on PC with a full gamepad. The analog sticks have a full range of motion and are consistently smooth when trying to aim or move in certain directions. And the seamlessness of pulling the triggers and tapping the bumpers made shooting and using items easy.

I felt similarly while playing Call of Duty Warzone: Mobile, which is a game I’ve primarily played on PlayStation 5. While the ROG Tessen doesn’t necessarily stand up to the more sophisticated DualSense, I dropped into matches without missing a beat. Juggling all the different controls and navigating menus in high-stress situations was much better than doing so on touch controls, in addition to my console muscle memory translating one-to-one in this mobile version.

In all games, having the back paddles programmed to frequently-used actions was a major help as well. For ZZZ, I liked having my charged up special attack mapped to a paddle since I needed to pull that off on a dime to keep combos rolling. In Gunfire Reborn, having the dash button on a paddle encouraged me to use it more often, helping it become a much more natural part of playing the game. And with Call of Duty Warzone: Mobile, mapping sprint and interacting with objects to the paddles kept me moving and aiming without a hitch.