The Best Mobile VR Apps

Source: http://www.geek.com

The Best Mobile VR Apps

To experience virtual reality, the tech wonks say, you need a beefy-ass desktop PC hooked up to an Oculus Rift or an HTC Vive, a hardware layout that will run you hundreds of bucks (or a PlayStation 4 with PSVR, but that’s close to the same cost). But the whole point of the future is to make high-tech available to just about everybody. That’s why Google, in their infinite wisdom, developed a VR platform for smartphones called Cardboard.

With a simple eyepiece that your phone slides into, you can dive into 3-D virtual spaces anywhere. Sure, a phone can’t deliver the polygonal power of a bigger computer, but app developers are geniuses at doing more with less. Goggle up and come with us on a tour of the most impressive mobile VR apps to date.

Jaunt VR

One of the most logical uses for VR apps is to capitalize on the sheer volume of panoramic photography out there courtesy of Google Street View and other explorers. Jaunt VR is a free app that lets you virtually travel to locations all over the globe, as well as enjoy VR experiences built around popular TV and movie properties. The sheer volume of content available through this service makes it a great place to start.

VR Noir

Adventure games are a compelling use of the platform, and one of the best is VR Noir. Placing you in the role of private detective Veronica Coltrane, you investigate a murder in classic style. The interactive elements are fairly minimal and the performances aren’t quite A-list, but the holistic experience is a whole new step forward in storytelling. It does end on a cliffhanger, though, so if you need closure be warned. Available for android and iOS.

InCell

Game developers are still trying to figure out the best way to deliver unique experiences directly to your eye sockets, and InCell is one of the most successful. The popular title puts players in control of a tiny spacecraft zipping through a human cell, battling influenza viruses. It sounds dry, but it plays out like a twisted version of F-Zero as you whip through microtubules at breakneck speed picking up proteins. Available for android and iOS.

Coastiality

If YouTube reaction videos are anything to go by, the #1 use of these things is strapping them on an elderly relative and running a roller coaster simulator. Coastiality is our favorite of the many on the market, featuring real 360 degree recordings of real coasters from around the world. All you need is for somebody to barf hot dogs on the back of your neck for the full experience. Available for android and iOS.

Chair In A Room

Horror might be VR’s killer genre, as anybody who played Resident Evil 7 with goggles on can tell you. Losing your peripheral vision and being trapped in the experience ramps up the tension exponentially. One of the best horror experiences we’ve seen is the oddly-titled Chair In A Room, a tale of psychological abuse that also makes amazing strides on a technical level. Available for android.

End Space

Shooting seems to be one of the most popular mechanics for VR games, and few pull them off with the skill of End Space. Putting the player in the pilot’s seat of a small, fragile fighter, you bob and weave through massive space conflicts. Available for android.