Acron: Attack of the Squirrels!

It's a lot of fun showing off virtual reality to people who have never tried it before, but most VR games are a single-player affair. Even when a game is multiplayer, it often requires multiple headsets, which can be really limiting. This makes it a lot more difficult to introduce people in party settings, which is easily the most fun way to do it. That's why Acron was such an exciting discovery for me. Anybody with a smartphone can join the VR player in a "1 v. All" competitive format, keeping the whole group engaged, even though only one person can be in the headset at a time.

Acron feels like a combination of capture the flag and tower defense, more of one or the other depending on what side you're on. The smartphone players control a group of squirrels that need to collect all of the tree's acorns and return them to their home before the time runs out. They can play as one of many classes, each with their own specialty, such as forming a temporary shield to hide behind or digging a tunnel that can be used by any team member for fast travel, making their side of the game feel very similar to class-based shooters like Team Fortress 2. 

The tree, on the other hand, feels a lot more like playing a tower defense game. The tree's goal is to defend their acorns until the time expires. Although they are entirely stationary, they get a collection of brambles to throw at the squirrels in order to knock them out, sending them back to their base after a short respawn delay. In addition to regular attacks, the tree can set up some pretty sneaky traps for the squirrels using special brambles that occasionally spawn, making it easier to level the playing field. However, the most fun and comical form of defense by far is grabbing any squirrel that comes too close and tossing them off the map. This is especially effective if they've just snagged an acorn because it forces them to drop it before you toss them to their doom.

While it's not the most accessible game thanks to the VR requirement, Acron is absolutely one of the most accessible VR games. There are very few other virtual reality titles that offer single-headset multiplayer, and even fewer that require so little setup. If you're a solo player, you will literally be unable to play this game, so I would recommend you pass it up. However, if you often find yourself wanting to play with friends, I haven't yet found a better option than Acron.

The game is available for Steam here (as of 1/16/22): https://store.steampowered.com/app/1094870/Acron_Attack_of_the_Squirrels/
The game is available for Meta Quest here (as of 1/16/22): https://www.oculus.com/experiences/quest/2345082335516570
The game is available for Android here (as of 1/16/22): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.resolutiongames.codenamelazarus
The game is available for iOS here (as of 1/16/22): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/acron-attack-of-the-squirrels/id1447141775?ls=1

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