A lot of users may be dedicated to maintaining a curated Instagram feed, but not everything on the platform is all about aesthetic. Somewhere among the color grading and tone enhancing filters in the effects gallery are the occasional wacky ones that virtually slice your face, give you a little arachnid friend and even let you play Pacman.
If you find yourself growing tired of your go-to effects for your daily stories, consider breaking away from the aesthetic a little and try out some wackier augmented reality (AR) filters. We’ve rounded up a few ones you can mess around with.
Dim Sum Chomp by @at.augmented
If you feel like you need to cut down on snacking while on quarantine, you can always turn to virtual food. Catch as many falling dumplings as you can, and watch your face stretch into the shape of a dumpling too.
User at.augmented also created a bunch of other variations of his dim sum game like Cake Chomp and Eat Me, as well as familiar games like Tetris and 2048. Try and see if you’re just as good as making block combos using your face (and mouth).
Flying Face by @dvoshansky
You may remember that tapping frenzy of an app called “Flappy Bird” back in 2013. The hype surrounding it may have been short-lived, but the game’s legacy lives on. With this filter, you guide the funny looking bird (with your face on it) through a jungle of green pipes by blinking.
Not as easy as it seems, but if you can get a high score on the Google Chrome dino game when your internet’s down, you can bat your eyelashes beating this game.
Rabbit Puzzle Game by @nik00lo
Switch your camera from selfie to rear-facing mode and look for a flat surface to find a square-shaped pool and a tiny boxy rabbit excited to feast on a carrot. Guide the rabbit on its way to the carrot by keying in the directions on the virtual controls. The rabbit will follow your directions, and you lose when it falls into the water.
Face Invaders 3D by @dude.sg
Giant yellow heads are destroying the earth, and it’s up to you to stop them―board your virtual spaceship, point laser beams at the heads to obliterate them and save the planet.
This is one of those filters you encounter on the weirder side of the effects gallery. But props to user dude.sg for this peculiar, galactic masterpiece, utilizing a 360° view so there’s something to see wherever you point your camera.
cut fruit by @cj_danco
You may claim to have mastered the art of the finger-controlled blade back when you had Fruit Ninja installed on your phone, but this game is harder than it looks. You use your face to guide the orange blade and slice as many fruits as you can, each unsliced fruit depleting your health bar. Sounds simple enough, until the hassle of slicing smaller fruit comes along.
IG recently added a “Stay at Home” section in its story effects gallery, which features AR filters from various creators like user cj_danco designed to keep users entertained while on home quarantine. You can access collections like this when you tap on your profile photo and browse for more effects.
Read more:
This IG filter takes you to IV of Spades’ CCTV dreamscape
For your consideration: ‘Animal Crossing’ alternatives to aid your FOMO
Your quarantine to-watch list, as recommended by Guillermo Del Toro, Taika Waititi, Ari Aster, Edgar Wright and more
How I’m dealing with quarantine loneliness
Header art by Edward Joson