One of the most popular and visited natural attractions in North America, most people who visit Horseshoe Bend view it from the main lookout point, which offers a truly stunning view. […] We also allow people to view Horseshoe Bend from the far side where very people venture. You truly feel like a bird with wings as you slowly take off and fly around this canyon, going right close to the cliffs, and gliding along the beautiful Colorado River below.
From the product listing
About the Experience
Horseshoe Canyon is a beautiful place to visit. It’s a beautiful spot in Arizona along the Colorado River and is perfect for hiking, boating, or flying over. You can actually get Horseshoe Bend as part of Brink Traveler (along with many other locations), but this app provides many additional views at a very fair price.
Graphics and Sound
This is a beautiful use of photogrammetry. Plenty of drone/helicopter and closeup shots combine to recreate the area in clear detail. In addition to the “main” lookout spot, take off and fly around the scene for looks around a much larger area. This is what really makes this experience stand out.
Due to the large area, the rocky walls and surfaces won’t have the same level of detail as in the initial lookout, but they really are amazing views and worth it as long as you understand the limitations.
There’s no general ambient sound, but many of the hot spots that you can visit include the audio from when they visited it. The audio is generally ok, although it could have been improved by re-recording the spoken dialog in a studio.
Information Content
More than anything, Horseshoe Bend is an interactive travel app. Luke Farrer, as one of the creators of this app, enjoys being part of his experiences (he also worked on several other VR apps including Get Lost in Nature with Luke). He clearly has lots of fun hiking and boating to the locations, and shares his passion in-app. He talks about how he got to a point, other things that happened that day, or what it means to him. This is more about commentary than documentary, but you can still expect to learn about the spots around the canyon if you listen.
Navigation and Interactivity
Navigation consists of tapping on specific points of view, along with free flying. It’s a pretty wide area to explore. There aren’t any elements to interact with, nor are there information callouts. It might be nice to learn more about the geology or natural history of the terrain, but that’s not what this is for.
Free flying lets you choose a direction and start gliding through the air. Unlike some similar apps, turning your head doesn’t interfere with your direction. It’s nice to be able to look around without changing the direction.
Choosing a “hot spot” (green circle), sends you flying towards it in full 3D. Once you get pretty close, it fades into a mono 360° image or video of the location. I found that with or without the video clip indicator, there might be commentary and/or movement in the scene. I’m not clear exactly what that distinction was to be, but all the spots are nice to visit.
Updates and Support
n/a
Summary
Even though Horseshoe Canyon is a few years old now, the graphics are still quite good. I love that this goes beyond the single location at the bend and actually lets you fly around a bit. At the current price ($3.99) it’s a good deal, just know that it’s not going to take full advantage of the latest Quest headsets.
Pros
- High quality visuals
- Large area to explore
- Low price
Cons
- Older title with no updates
