I desparately want a deep, immersive Harry Potter VR game. The Fantastic Beasts experience on Google Daydream is hardly more than a marketing gimmick and it’s not actually a game. Titles like inVokeR, The Unspoken, and Wands do a good job of tapping into that desire to shoot spells and throw fireballs inside a VR headset, but it still doesn’t come close to actually walking the halls of Hogwarts and fighting Death Eaters alongside my fellow Ravenclaws (that’s the best House.)
We still aren’t there yet, but the previously mobile VR-only magic dueling game, Wands from Cortopia (read our original review,) is now getting the Oculus Rift port treatment to offer plenty of enhancements over its Gear VR and Google Daydream counterpart. You can see the Rift teaser right here:
In Wands you take on the role of a wizard that can attach runes to your wand to designate different spells and abilities. During fights you’ll select from your arsenal of spells and teleport throughout levels as you face off against other magic-wielders in intense fights.
However, one of the game’s glaring issues on mobile VR headsets, is that you can’t positionally move your head to dodge attacks. That means if someone shoots a magic missile at my face, I can’t duck or move to the side, which would be my natural inclination. Now once the game is on Oculus Rift, players can do just that.
Additionally, all of your characters, upgrades, and progression will be saved on the same account across platforms so you don’t have to juggle multiple save files and the Rift version will also enjoy improved visual fidelity and graphics.
“The 19th century steampunk world of Wands is taken to a new level of quality and whether new or experienced, the time has never been better to immersive yourself in to the world of wielders and magic,” reads a prepared statement for the announcement from developer Cortopia. “Compete for the top spot in the global ranking, acquire new relics for your spells and join a community of players from all around the globe.”
You can visit the official website for more information or play the game now on Samsung Gear VR through Oculus Home or Google Daydream through the Google Play Store. The Oculus Rift edition is currently slated to release before the end of September.
