Stuff UK — June 2017

TEST APPS

MEDIA YOU

CAN JUMP

RIGHT INTO

●The Bohemian
Rhapsody
Experience
The original Bohemian Rhapsody
promo video was weird, but this
VR experience injects you into
Freddie Mercury’s subconscious
mind. With VR specs or just a
device in front of your face, you
get six minutes of deranged
animation, including a spot on
stage with the band.

Stuff says ++++,
£free / iOS, Android

●Metamorphabet
You know those alphabet books
for kids? ‘A is for Apple’ and all
that? This is one of those... only
it isn’t, because the A sprouts
antlers, turns into an arch and
goes for an amble. A further 25
interactive scenes are equally
surreal, as if a mischievous Terry
Gilliam had infiltrated CBeebies.
Pretend to buy it for a youngling,
but enjoy it yourself.

Stuff says +++++
£3.99 / iOS ● £1.89 / Android

●Flux by Belew

Reasoning that attention spans

are dead, ex-King Crimson guitar

pioneer Adrian Belew created

Flux. The app expels a stream

of song snippets and sounds

alongside semi-random visuals

that you can fiddle around with.

It’s never predictable – one ‘song’

Stuff unearthed was memorably

just a countdown, introducing

whatever came next.

Stuff says ++++,

£9.99 / iOS

●Burly Men at Sea

This gorgeous virtual picture

book recounts the exploits of

three fishermen (with hugely

impressive beards) seeking

adventure. Cue gorgeous

animation, a stunning soundtrack

and a branching story you direct.

Brilliantly, you can even order

your most memorable adventure

as a beautifully illustrated

hardback book. How meta.

Stuff says +++++

£4.99 / iOS ● £4.59 / Android

●Islands:

Non-Places

This app’s vignettes subvert

expectations at every turn,

transforming mundane settings

into surreal scenes: eggs decamp

from a bus into an incubator

shelter; laptops freed from luggage

perform a Mexican wave. As pure

animation, it would appeal; but

when you spin the scene and

control its pace, it’s enthralling.

Stuff says +++++

£2.99 / iOS

●Notes on

Blindness VR

This sobering and enlightening

production combines spoken

diary recordings, binaural audio

and echolocation visuals to

retell John Hull’s experience of

going blind. Through immersing

yourself (preferably in VR), you

gain far more understanding

than you’d get from watching

a documentary on the telly.

Stuff says ++++,

£free / iOS, Android

Passive entertainment? Pah! These

interactive apps showcase the future

of TV, music and books when they

harness the power of your own input

Mini meme