Mobile Suit Gundam: Silver Phantom arrives this October on Quest, and we went hands-on with the interactive movie.
Created by Bandai Namco Filmworks and Atlas V, Mobile Suit Gundam: Silver Phantom is a VR interactive anime film with an original story. The release date was confirmed by a trailer shown at Anime NY 2024. We’ve been learning more and more about the upcoming VR experience. You can watch that below.
Set three years after Char’s Counterattack in the Universal Century 0096, Mobile Suit Gundam: Silver Phantom promises battles in outer space with familiar mobile suits. During the UploadVR Summer Showcase we learned the upcoming VR animation movie includes mixed reality support allowing you to engage in mini battles across your home. Argent Keil, a mercenary team that offers an impartial view of the conflict between Earth Federation and Zeon. Neo Zeon remnants formed The Sleeves. If you expect a video game from Mobile Suit Gundam Silver Phantom, then you will be disappointed. Silver Phantom contains brief interactivity such as shooting meteors into space or grappling to get inside the mech. Thankfully, there are also actual battles. When you enter combat, the left and right levers are used to fire your shields, while the headset controls the laser. It’s all very basic, but these moments do just enough to make you feel like more than just a casual viewer of Silver Phantom’s story.
Interactive moments are all very scripted when they happen, so your freedom is considerably limited. You can’t teleport or use a stick to move around in one section. Instead, you have to grab a rail and follow the corridor. Even when moving, there’s usually a visual frame of reference, like a cockpit, to help reduce potential motion sickness.
Beyond this, most scenes unfold like you’re watching a movie but with 360deg environments, and the cel-shaded visuals do justice to the anime art style. The transition from the first-person interactive segments to third-person unfolding scenes is not frequent enough to cause a jarring experience. Mobile Suit Gundam Silver Phantom is available on the
on October 3.
This original article was published in August 2024. This article was originally published on August 24, 2024. It has been updated with the impressions from the Venice Immersive Demo on August 31st, 2024.