“Boys never actually grow up, their toys just get bigger and more expensive” – you can pretend to be a grown-up all you want, but this will remain true as ever! It’s no wonder that last year, according to Newzoo’s report, the gaming market was worth $101.1 Billion, with $38.6 Billion just on mobile!
And now, shit just got real – quite literally, with the advent of Augmented Reality (AR). AR, without doubt, will be the next giant step of the gaming world. It’s already creating tsunami-like waves in the market. Global Market Insights predicts that “Augmented Reality… is slated to record an astronomical revenue of $165 Billion by 2024.”
But AR sounds crazy expensive right? What if I told you that you can play the best AR games on your mobile for free! So without further ado, let’s go ahead and check out the coolest AR games for Android and iOS!
Pokemon Go
If you haven’t heard of it, you must be from outer space. Released on July 6, 2016, as a joint venture by Niantic, The Pokemon Company and Nintendo, the game has been downloaded over 650 million times! The game maps the real world into a virtual battlefield. You have to run around to catch Pokemons and train them to fight epic battles with other players. The game went so viral last year that servers kept crashing constantly because of the crazy traffic. And even after nearly a year, this game remains one of the most popular AR games!
Go ahead and get the game for Android or iOS!
Ingress
Released in 2012 by Niantic, Inc., Ingress is another geolocation AR game with an insanely complicated storyline. A new form of matter called Exotic Matther (XM) was discovered by researchers at CERN, and now it is slowly infiltrating the world. Scientists believe that it has the power to control thought, and therefore, the world is split into 2 factions:
- “The Enlightened” who want to embrace the power and control humanity
- “The Resistance” who want to prevent humanity from being destroyed by it.
You have to choose which side you are on. The gameplay involves going to famous monuments and landmarks to capture “portals”, and raging “battles” with the opposition. The war is raging, come to join!
Get the game for Android or iOS!
Temple Treasure Hunt
Yet another geolocation game, Temple Treasure Hunt blends Indian mythology with AR. As the name suggests, it’s a treasure hunt, where you can either be the treasure protector or the treasure hunter. For the former, you need to set clever clues for your partner, and for the later, you have to hunt for clues to finally discover the temple of Shiva. But unfortunately for iOS users, this game is only available for the Android platform.
If you find this game appealing, you may want to check out Tourality GPS Treasure Hunt – but let me warn you, it is paid!
It’s time to start hunting in Android!
SpecTrek
Don’t want to push yourself to do a workout, just play this! In this awesome AR game developed by Games5All, you need to hunt and capture ghosts. When you start the game, on your map several locations are marked where ghosts are lurking. You need to get there before the ghosts flee. Once you get to a ghost, simply point your screen, and capture it! And yet again, this game is only available for Android platform!
Zombies, Run
Yet another super-immersive game for Android and iOS, Zombies Run lets you work out while having fun! Just put on your headphones and step outside – and suddenly, the world is havoc, where you are the only survivor of a zombie apocalypse. And all you can do is RUN! Integrated with awesome music and narrative, you have to run to collect vital supplies and get home to safety before you are shred to pieces!
Though our promise was to guide you to the best free AR games, it would be a grave sin not to mention this one. Priced at a mere $4.49, without a second thought, you should get it!
Honorable Mention: Real Strike
With an arsenal of 25 insane guns, a palpable animation, and brilliant sound effects, Real Strike is just the game for you if you want to experience outdoor combat! To sum it up – it’s Call of Duty in real life. It has the capacity to turn any street, any backyard, any rooftop into a real military combat scene. Additionally, you can equip yourself with night vision, thermal vision, and tactical flashlight. If virtual combat is your thing, just go for it!
These games just touch the tip of the iceberg. You can find many more augmented reality games to have a blast. The future holds promises of even cooler games, with better graphics and smoother gameplay. But until then, go ahead and check these out!
