Highlights
- Fitness-based AR walking games, like Magic Streets and Orna, offer players a fantasy RPG experience while they walk, with excellent gameplay and engaging combat.
- Draconius GO, although similar to Pokemon GO, has its own unique features and cute dragon designs that make it a great AR game with smooth gameplay.
- Pokemon GO, the grandfather of AR walking games, remains a popular and excellent game for both Pokemon fans and new players, offering quests, raids, and cute visuals. It's the ultimate creature-collecting game for casual and veteran gamers alike.
Fitness and gaming are two categories that have never exactly gone hand in hand. However, there is a phenomenon of fitness-based games available on mobile devices, and that's the AR walking genre.
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After the success of Pokemon Go, gamers have spent hours walking hundreds of kilometers just to catch the very best Pokemon, take over gyms, and battle other trainers. There's something about seeing the real world around the player merged into this augmented reality hybrid that feels quite special, not to mention it's great for fitness and health! With that being said, there have been many other AR walking games that have increased in popularity over the last few years (some more than others).
10 Magic Streets
Apple App Store Rating: 4.8
Made by a 1-man development team, Magic Streets is a fantasy AR walking game where players can explore a fantasy adventure whilst they walk. Resources will need to be gathered, bases can be built and upgraded, and of course, monsters need to be slain. There's a true fantasy RPG feeling to Magic Streets that not many other AR games manage to achieve.
The only downside to Magic Streets is that it's a little rough around the edges. The visuals aren't the best and the overall color scheme is quite gray. However, if players are looking for a fantasy AR walking adventure then Magic Streets features excellent gameplay and combat and contains a multitude of events, objectives, and quests.
9 Orna
Apple App Store Rating: 4.8
Orna is a top-down AR fantasy adventure walking game, designed to replicate the style of classic 2D fantasy adventures. It evokes feelings of nostalgia for any classic fantasy gamer and absolutely nails both the exploration and combat elements. Gamers can build a town, join a kingdom, battle epic monsters, and level up as they continue their adventure.
It's essentially a classic multiplayer RPG experience with turn-based combat too. The visuals are excellent, the sprites are top-notch, the map design is awesome, and the combat is super engaging. There's not a lot to be disappointed with here; the only exception is the lower number of players in comparison to more popular AR walking titles.
8 Draconius GO
Apple App Store Rating: 4
Draconius GO combines gamers' phones with the world of dragons as they discover a new reality and collect over 250 unique beasts. This AR walking game features some awesome (and really cute) dragon designs, which players can catch, upgrade, and then use to battle others.
Whilst it's an excellent AR game, and the designs and gameplay are both smooth and awesome, Draconius GO is very similar to Pokemon GO. It's a bit of a shame as Draconius GO could really find its own identity and flourish into a unique AR experience; however, at the moment, it's simply stuck in the shadow of what came before.
7 Dragon Quest Walk
Google Play Store Rating: 3.6
Dragon Quest Walk is an excellent title, and it would absolutely rank higher if it weren't for one thing - it's only available in Japan. Featuring gorgeous visuals and excellent gameplay, this is an AR title that's great for both Dragon Quest fans and newbies alike, although very different from the main games. It's just a shame that it seems the Western audience will never be able to experience it.
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Players need to walk to certain destinations in real life to unlock specific quest events, such as speaking to characters or battling certain monsters. Gamers can also establish home locations where they can set up base and recover HP. It's an overall great RPG experience with the added bonus of exploring the real world.
6 Peridot
Apple App Store Rating: 4.4
One of Niantic's smaller AR games, Peridot, is a cute virtual pet-collecting game where players aim to create as many unique Peridots as possible. These cute pets can be hatched by gamers, which gives the pets 100% genetically unique features, create them through other genetic modifications, or trade them with other players.
The aim of the game is to try and obtain as many unique and rare Peridots as possible, with some Peridots containing rare traits and features that are tricky to acquire. Players take care of their virtual pets by playing with them, feeding them, and walking them, and they can do all of those activities whilst they are out walking in the real world.
5 Jurassic World Alive
Apple App Store Rating: 4.5
Jurassic World Alive is a popular AR game where players explore a Jurassic world on their phones and catch the dinosaurs roaming everywhere around them. It's the perfect game for any Jurassic Park or Jurassic World fans, as it's the closest thing to a real-life Jurassic Park!
The dinosaurs are perfectly modeled and animated, and the sound design will send shivers down the player's spine when they hear the roar of a nearby T-Rex. The combat is great and features quite a lot of depth. Players should just be warned that Jurassic World Alive gets increasingly grindy as their character progresses.
4 Pikmin Bloom
Apple App Store Rating: 4.7
Gamers who love the Pikmin series should absolutely check out this unique AR walking game. This one's not about fighting and battling but rather collecting new Pikmin simply by walking more. The more players walk around the real world and the further distance they travel, the more Pikmin will join their squad. The cute part is that the Pikmin leave a trail of blooming flowers behind them, which changes appearance based on where they are found.
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Pikmin Bloom is all about spreading joy and positivity with the trail of flowers left behind by each player. The closest the game comes to combat is sending a team of Pikmin off to destroy any mushrooms that appear. This is a more casual, friendly, and cute AR walking game, and it's definitely one worth trying due to its uniqueness.
3 Zombies, Run! (ZRX)
Apple App Store Rating: 4.8
Zombies, Run! is a great AR fitness game that puts players at the heart of a zombie apocalypse. Players can stick some headphones in whilst they're walking and listen to heart-pumping audio dramas to encourage them to both walk and run. It's essentially a form of role-playing, encouraging the player to exercise, which is a fantastic idea.
Players establish a base and then go on supply runs in order to gather resources and food and to help other survivors living in the base. Players have to choose what to do with the resources they collect, from strengthening defenses to building farms in order to provide more food. The role-playing elements to Zombies, Run! go deep, and players can take part in a fantastic augmented reality experience, which just so happens to be great for fitness, too!
2 Monster Hunter Now
Apple App Store Rating: 4.8
One of the newest AR walking games is also one of the best. Monster Hunter Now features a merging of worlds between the Monster Hunter franchise and Earth. Players explore the world, complete quests, and battle both small and large monsters throughout their walking adventures. The visuals are great, and the combat system is fluid.
By gathering resources from gathering points and defeating monsters, players obtain items that can be used to craft and upgrade both armor and weapons. The game features all the classic monsters and weapons from the Monster Hunter franchise, and it serves as a great introduction to an excellent series.
1 Pokemon GO
Apple App Store Rating: 4
Pokémon GO
- Released
- July 6, 2016
- Developer(s)
- Niantic , The Pokemon Company
- Genre(s)
- Augmented Reality
At this point, Pokemon GO is essentially the grandfather of AR walking games. It's likely that no other game will ever reach the same heights and popularity. It's well-measured, though, as Pokemon GO is an excellent game for both long-term Pokemon fans and complete newbies. It's simple, smart, and effective, with a great story, quests, and raids, as well as cute visuals and transparent gameplay.
Designed for the casual gamer but also perfect for Pokemon veterans, Pokemon GO is creature-collecting at its finest. It's just an added bonus that it serves as an excellent companion to walking. This is a game that needs no further introduction; it just needs playing.