InMind VR

InMind VR is the studio Nival's second excursion into the human body, but this time, instead of the bloodstream, it takes players into the brain and nervous system. The goal is to fly through a network of neurons and aim with head-gaze at damaged or overly active synapses, which the game frames as a mildly educational glimpse into how dopamine and other neurotransmitters work, though it mainly serves as a pretext for fast action and a simple scoring system that motivates the player to come back for a better result.

Mechanically, it is a typical on-rails shooter adapted for Cardboard: the flight path is fixed, the player only aims with their gaze and fires with a single button, so there is no need for movement in space, which would not have been comfortable or precise on a cardboard headset without controllers anyway. The environment of the brain is rendered as an abstract tunnel full of light discharges, pulsing fibers, and organic structures, which allowed the developers to work with visuals that were striking but computationally undemanding, suitable for weaker mobile chips.

The game fit into the wave of early Cardboard titles that tried to prove the on-rails action genre was naturally well suited to mobile VR, since it eliminates the problem of movement and orientation in space. Combined with the earlier InCell VR, it showed that Nival could recycle the same design formula into different thematic wrappers, from the circulatory system to neurons, while keeping the same accessible gameplay built around short sessions, which for the technological possibilities of the time was the maximum achievable in terms of comfort and smoothness without risking motion sickness. The two games together formed something like an informal pair and were among the titles that electronics store customers had demonstrated to them as proof that a phone slotted into a cardboard box could offer an experience otherwise associated only with expensive game consoles or computers.

Why play it: For anyone interested in the history of mobile VR who wants to see how Cardboard solved movement in space using on-rails action – ideally paired with InCell VR as its informal twin.