Paper Birds

Paper Birds is a media and video experience from 3DAR: a roughly 30-minute interactive film that mixes storytelling with hand-tracked play. It follows Toto, a young and gifted musician whose sister has been taken by her own shadow. To bring her back, he travels through a magical town that looks like it is made of toys and confronts his grandfather to learn the secret of the Paper Birds. It has been on the Meta Horizon Store since December 10, 2020.

How it plays

In this world, music connects light and darkness. You use it to paint light over sounds and to open portals into an unseen realm. The themes are inspiration, intuition and emotion. The cast features Ed Norton, Joss Stone and Archie Yates.

The developer suggests wearing headphones to catch the detailed sound design and get closer to the characters, and strongly recommends hand tracking for the interactive moments. It is described as suitable for both VR beginners and experienced users. The store page says it was shown at the Tribeca Film Festival and at La Biennale di Venezia, and that it comes from the team behind Gloomy Eyes.

Comfort

Meta rates Paper Birds as comfortable for most people. Supported play modes are standing and room-scale, and you can use controllers and hand tracking.

Platforms and what to know before buying

• Price: $6.99 on the Meta Horizon Store.
• Tip: use headphones and hand tracking for the best experience, per the developer.
• Headsets: Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 3S, Meta Quest Pro and Meta Quest 2, plus the original Meta Quest.
• Internet: not required.
• Ads: no in-app ads.
• Early access: no.
• Languages: English.
• Age rating: 3+.