Today I browsed looking for new ARKit games and came across a game called Darts AR Challenge. There are two versions of the game, the free version called Darts AR and the paid version called AR Darts Challenge.
After having a bad gameplay experience with Darts of Kings AR, I was hoping that this time I will have an opportunity to enjoy a better Darts experience. I mean, I bad can it be, right?
The problem that I had with Darts of Kings AR is that the game was very jittery and the game controls were just terrible. My favorite casual iOS game right now is Darts of Fury, which is a darts game. The gameplay mechanics there are excellent and this is one of the reasons I love this game so much. In my mind, a developer just needs to make or find a piece of code to nail the dart-throwing mechanics and physics right to make it fun to play.
Let’s watch a gameplay video.
Unfortunately, Darts AR challenge failed to do it as well. I did like that I need to swipe up to release a shot but the controls are so inaccurate, it feels almost half random. I just felt that I almost have no control over the direction where I shoot the dart. It feels really frustrating when you pick up a game like that that all that needs to be done is nailing the gameplay mechanics right but the game doesn’t deliver.
Darts AR Challange has its own rules. The player needs to hit every single number on the board and the bullseye at the end and do that as quickly as possible using the fewest number of darts. You cannot move onto the next number without first hitting the current number. Each time you miss you will receive a 1-second penalty.
The game comes with a global online leaderboard so you can see how you stack up against other players from all around the world.
I am disappointed that I yet to find a good darts game. I don’t mind really what rules the game employs, I just want to enjoy the feeling of shooting darts in AR. I yet to find such a game, I can’t recommend this game in its current build.
I played the 1.02 version of the game on the iPad 9.7-inch 2017.