Best Augmented Reality Games to Start With on Android and iOS
Whether it is battling aliens, solving mysteries, or creating kingdoms—AR gaming technology creatively layers thrilling worlds and concepts into your real-time environment. With no need for expensive headsets, all you need is an AR-enabled console or a smartphone with a camera to get started.
Augmented reality games use GPS technology to perform geocaching, which pinpoints a user’s location to create personalized maps. The games also use a device’s compass, gyroscope, and accelerometer for tracking motions and orientation as captured by an Android phone’s or iPhone’s camera. This is used to create the AR experience.
In case your camera stops working during gameplay or if you face a problem with accurate GPS or gyroscope, make sure you give the iPhone repair experts a call for all your issues.
Not only does AR gaming let you complete fun tasks and befriend other players—becoming part of larger online communities—but it’s also more affordable than buying VR (virtual reality) titles.
To help you find the best adventures, here are our picks for the best AR games for Android and iOS devices:
Pokémon Go
Fuelled by childhood nostalgia, Pokémon Go saw 130 million downloads during its first month of release.
In their quest to become a Pokémon Master, players must travel on foot to capture unique creatures—including regional exclusives—scattered around their city. Toggle the AR+ mode, and you’ll see Pokémon appear in your real-world environment, ready for a photo opportunity or a fight against your Pokéball.
Like the original PC games, you can challenge trainers to a battle, collect resources, and win territories. Developed by Niantic Inc., the latest update is a Raid Battles feature allowing gameplay from home.
The Machines
An RTS (Real-Time Strategy) game, The Machines turns any flat surface into a grueling battlefield. The objective is to command hero units, called Champions, to move across a map and destroy your enemy’s base.
The game begins on a single-player mode, and you need to reach Level 3 to enter the multiplayer battle arena. Gamers must protect their bases, heal damage, and use the best abilities from each Champion to defeat their opponent. Curious how you fared? Check the global leaderboard!
Released in 2017, The Machines was Apple’s first multiplayer augmented reality game.
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite uses the same base layer engine found in Pokémon Go—Niantic’s Real World Platform—to complete tasks in real-world locations.
Players begin the game as a recruit of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force, which is investigating the appearance of Foundables (magical items, beings, and memories) in the Muggle world. Your mission? Avoiding ‘The Calamity’ of normal people finding out that magic exists.
Use the Knight Bus to travel across iconic places from the franchise, and encounter traces of magic in a 360-degree AR experience. Potions, Portkeys, and inns support your journey, coupled with appearances from popular characters.
Ready your wands, get set, go!
Ingress
One of Niantic’s older games, Ingress (and now, Ingress Prime) asks players to join one of two factions—the Resistance, or the Enlightened—who are fighting over a substance called Exotic Matter (XM). The Enlightened wants to harness XM to elevate mankind, while the Resistance believes it’s beyond human control. Depending on their pick, players will jump into an ideological war. The game has an open narrative with enough codes, strategic options, weapons, and clues for each side to achieve their goal.
The geocaching in Ingress is used for ‘portals’, which open near a player’s real-world locations. Owing to COVID-19, Niantic is encouraging at-home play—you no longer have to interact with multiple portals for progress.
The Walking Dead: Our World
This is the official mobile game to relive zombie apocalypse series The Walking Dead. In place of finding colorful creatures, players must gun down and escape from—you guessed it—brain-eating zombies. Defend your neighborhood, help survivors, and fight off the ‘walkers’ creeping up on you. On rescue missions, you can collect weapons, supplies, and valuable items based on your real-time surroundings.
Characters from the series will help you on your way, and you can team up with friends—or use the in-game chat—to discuss survival strategies. Keep an eye on the game’s Facebook page to enjoy timebound missions and rare item hauls.
Angry Birds AR: Isle of Pigs
This augmented reality game transports you to a remote island of pigs to collect stolen bird eggs. Walk around physical objects superimposed on your environment to find the best angles for the attack, and use your smartphone like a slingshot to send the birds flying!
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