7 new Daydream VR games and apps to check out (and the phones that can run them)
Looking to check out some content on your new Daydream View headset? Thankfully there are several options that have been prepared for its launch.
Here’s what they are and what they do:
Daydream VR Games
- Fantastic Beasts: This app lets you meet and interact with beasts and perform spells in the universe of Fantastic Beasts, the new movie based in the Harry Potter universe.
- Hunters Gate: In this rails shooter, you fight through the town of Hunters Gate to defend it from a demon invasion. You can play as 2 different characters with a variety of weapons, spells, and skills. There’s also local co-op over WiFi.
- The Turning Forest: Less game than it is app, this interactive fairytale takes you on a journey through a magical forest with a young child who connect with a mystical creature to share the experience.
- Mekorama VR: You control B, a robot stranded in a mechanical world. His only way out is for you to help solve the diorama puzzles and get him home safely. It’s like Fez mixed with Monument Valley — in VR!
Daydream VR Apps
- CNN VR: It’s CNN… in VR. Alongside your usual droves of CNN video content that can be enjoyed n a cinema-like capacity, the app also has specially curated 360-degree video content for news coverage, investigative pieces, and other featured content.
- The Guardian VR: The Guardian’s app is less about news and more about immersive story-telling. They place you in the shoes of a subject — say, a prisoner — so you can sort of experience what it was like from their perspective. New content is added monthly.
- Google Street View: This one was a given. Use your Daydream VR headset to view Street View maps in 360 degrees, just like you’ve been able to do on almost any other device to date.
Daydream VR System Requirements
Of course, you’ll need a Daydream-ready phone to enjoy all of this on the Daydream View. That group currently consists of the Google Pixel and Pixel XL, and the ZTE Axon 7.
For what it’s worth, though, here are the system requirements Google is putting on OEMs who want their phones Daydream-certified:
- Bluetooth 4.2 LE
- Display between 4.7 and 6 inches
- Resolution at least 1080p @ 60Hz display with 3ms or less latency and 5ms or less persistence. (Quad HD or higher recommended.)
- OpenGL ES 3.2 and Vulkan
- Able to decode 2 instances of 60fps video simultaneously
- Consistent 60fps rendering
- Temperature sensors capable of reading device surface temperature
None of that sounds like tall tasks for 2017 flagships, so we imagine the list of compatible phones will grow greatly in the months to come. The Daydream View headset is expected to be in hands by November 10th.