iOS Prairie King iOS port is genuinely awful – controls make the game almost unplayable

[Ryuujin]

I wanted to rant because the iOS version of Prairie King (in my case I play on iPad) is incredibly frustrating compared to the Android and PC versions.

The game is challenging but fair and enjoyable on PC — I’ve beaten it multiple times and even completed Fector’s Challenge. On iPad though, it feels borderline impossible, and most deaths feel like they’re caused by bad controls rather than player mistakes.

1. No keyboard or alternative input support Unlike Android, iOS has zero support for keyboards or external controllers.
2. Virtual joysticks require massive movement. You have to drag your finger extremely far to change directions, and there’s no option to resize or adjust the deadzone/sensitivity.
3. Joystick loses tracking easily. If you make wider movements to compensate, the joystick frequently loses your finger and snaps back to center.
4. Unreliable small adjustments. Slight input changes are often ignored. For example, I can have the shooting joystick maxed to the right, but the character keeps shooting right-down. When I try to correct it, it suddenly jumps to up-right. This is very reproducible.
5. Ability button is terrible. The idea that you have to click its icon is atrocious since it is so far away from the joysticks. You have to lift your movement finger to tap the ability icon, which stops your character completely. In a game where abilities are most useful when you’re getting overwhelmed, this design is deadly.
6. General input glitches. The controls randomly stop registering movement or shooting until you lift and reposition your finger. I know this for certain since it happens even in safe situations. I have literally watched my character running around shooting down while the joystick was pointing upward.

Overall, the iOS version doesn’t feel challenging — it feels unfair and broken. The furthest I’ve gotten is barely beating the first boss. Even with save scumming I cannot imagine beating the game completely. On PC it was satisfying skill-based gameplay where deaths were caused by misplay. Here it’s mostly fighting the controls and losing almost always feels like "I wanted to shoot there but the game refused".

I really love Stardev Valley and that includes both Praire King and Junimo carts. But on Ipad it is torture. I can only be thankfull that it is not required for perfection..