Aside from watching movies, there's not much you can do with Apple's Vision Pro once you've forgotten about the novelty factor, which is why I was eager to try out some new Disney and Marvel releases. What if…? An immersive story Experiences / TV Shows / Video Games… Available on May 30. The companies promised mixed reality shows that would “push the boundaries of technology.” But what I experienced, while very pretty to look at, ended up feeling like an overly long, no-stakes video game tutorial with no game following it.
The Vision Pro exclusive app lets you stand in one place in the virtual environment and watch things unfold, either joining in when prompted or interacting with cel-shaded 3D AR characters as you move through pass-through. You take on the role of a “Hero of the Multiverse,” an unnamed character who is recruited by the Watcher, the narrator of the Disney+ series, to retrieve the Infinity Stones and save the multiverse.
However, Wong, Doctor Strange's friend in the MCU and a master of the mystic arts, objects to your involvement because of who you are. But he reluctantly trains you, and you then travel through realities to acquire each of the Infinity Stones, for vague, destined reasons across the multiverse. Along the way, you gain different abilities, and Wong teaches you special gestures to activate them: you can wave your hand around to banish enemies to a pocket dimension inside the Soul Stone, or use the Power Stone to clasp your hand and fire fist lasers.
This sort of thing is actually fun to do, but it's also constrained by the fact that you can only do it at scripted moments, which is a shame. It would be fine if the story was compelling, but it just isn't. It's nothing more than a series of short vignettes that serve as a warm-up for the next interactive section, after which you're dropped in to acquire a desired stone, at which point you've learned a new skill that you may or may not use again later. Each vignette basically follows the same pattern, and ultimately feels like it's building towards something that never pays off.
The most unfortunate thing is that many elements right The film arrives in a different package. For starters, it looks great, and it's fun to see the Watcher towering over me in my dining room, giving you a sense of just how big Thanos really is, and shooting lasers with my fists is fun, too. But the end result is an experience that falls short of a full video game or movie, remaining in that half-baked, unsatisfying middle zone.
Director Dave Bushor If…?Said The Verge In an email, he said the experience will be “totally different from the game.” The interactive parts are meant to support the story, he said. ILM Immersive executive producer Shereef M. Fatou also said the team plans to continue supporting the app and will “monitor whether there are any updates that are needed” based on user feedback. The app will be free for a time, but the company did not say how long it will be free or what its ultimate cost will be.
This approach has potential What if…? Immersive story, If the team decides to take it further. From Bushor's response to my question, it's clear that this format won't be taking it any further into the realm of gaming, and from Fatou's response, it's unclear whether the team will make any major changes to the way the story is presented in the future (it would be nice to have multiple branching paths, for example). But for now, if you have Vision Pro and aren't expecting anything revolutionary, it's worth checking out after tomorrow's reveal.
