Effex is a mixed reality music visualizer for Quest 3
Effex is a spatial music visualizer for your living room. I tried it out and think the idea has great potential.
Anyone like me who grew up in the 90s will remember Winamp's trippy music visualizer. Effex is trying to do something similar, but in your living room and in mixed reality.
Unfortunately, the app is currently more of a demo that shows the direction Effex could go than a full-fledged music visualizer. Many features are still missing, including the most important one: it can currently only visualize a handful of pre-installed tracks, not your own songs. Bummer.
I've reached out to the developers to find out if and when it will be possible to load your own music into the app, and I'll update this article as soon as I hear from them.
Effex was released just a few weeks ago and is developed by the Cypriot studio Xocus, which also created the Wipeout-like VR titles Omega Pilot and Z-Race, as well as the bow-and-arrow adventure Presentiment of Death.
Simple interface, few customization options
Effex currently offers nine visualization effects that fill the space in front of you with oscillating waves, pulsating spheres and a colorful portal into a synthwave skyline. You can darken the room with a brightness slider to make the effects stand out more. The interface is minimalist and intuitive: just grab the effects you want to see and drag them into a portal.
Some of the effects lack a wow factor, and I would also like to see more customization options. I want to be able to place them anywhere in the room, scale them, and decide how they behave. Hand tracking interaction would also be cool.
Effex would be a great augment
There are many trippy apps and apps that allow you to meditate in a headset, but most of them only support virtual reality. Effex fills that gap, and I hope that it will continue to develop and reach its full potential.
I could see this being a great Augment, a feature that will be coming to Quest 3 later this year. Imagine sitting on the couch, putting on the headset, and within seconds relaxing to beautiful visuals that don't take you out of the real world while listening to your favorite music.
My advice is to wait until the app has a music player before you buy it. If you want to try it anyway, you can find it in the App Lab for $5.
Note: Links to online stores in articles can be so-called affiliate links. If you buy through this link, MIXED receives a commission from the provider. For you the price does not change.
