Defeat the Dreaded 'Sharknado' in the Franchise's New Mobile AR Game

The Sharknado franchise is, somehow, releasing a fifth movie "Sharknado 5: Global Swarming" (groan) next month. In anticipation of the film's release, the company has decided to create an augmented reality mobile game called, prepare yourself, "Sharknado: ShARkmented Reality".

Which ... is just about the most Sharknado name they could have come up with.

Essentially, the legendary Sharknados will be projected into your world using AR. Syfy partnered with mobile AR developer, AR Glimpse, to create this concept and develop the game.

The game works by making you Fin and April, the film's two lead characters. From there, a Sharknado will appear in your surroundings, causing sharks to attack you. You will be given the weapons used in the movie to defeat them, including the iconic chainsaw from that scene in the first movie.

With a certain amount of sharks defeated, you will be able to level up and gain access to more weapons, such as a flamethrower. There is also a built-in Sharknado photo booth from a previously released app "Go Shark Yourself" — another brilliant Sharknado name.

Syfy

ShARkmented Reality Game Preview

Syfy

ShARkmented Reality Game Preview

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Syfy's senior VP Digital, Matthew Chiavelli told the Hollywood Reporter how excited he is about this project:

It's a great opportunity to try something new. We're always looking at what's next. We saw this concept as a great fit for 'Sharknado'. I'd be lying if I didn't say Pokémon GO was an influence.

He also mentioned that they had originally considered using VR for this project, but ultimately decided that AR was the best way to make it more realistic and engaging for their audiences.

"ShARkmented Reality" joins a line of AR games being released as a means to promote media, others being "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and "The Mummy".

The mobile AR app has begun to roll out for iOS and Android today, but it's moving slowly. Don't worry if you don't see the app in your store right away, sharks will be flying into your world very soon.

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Cover image via Syfy/YouTube