If you’ve ever watched the opening credits of Doctor Who, the blue police box whirling through a tunnel of time and space, and thought “Yeah, I’d like to be a part of that,” then we have some good news – the BBC have launched a brand-new video game that lets you take the controls of the Tardis and guide it through the time vortex while that iconic theme song blares away.


Instead of colliding with enormous cast names and Peter Capaldi’s angry eyes, however, you’ll be dodging debris, collecting-power-ups and squeezing through obstacles, all controlled by physically moving your phone or tablet in 360-degrees (or your mouse if you’re using a desktop).

Doctor Who Time Vortex 360 gameplay

In practice, the game’s 360-degree nature means players can turn their phone in any direction to face the Tardis sideways, upwards or backwards, sometimes a necessity when danger approaches from different angles. The game is an endless runner, meaning you keep flying the Tardis until you take too much damage, with the difficulty increasing as players get further through the vortex.

Interested? Well, the snappily-titled Doctor Who Time Vortex 360 can be played at this link here – so while it doesn’t need to be downloaded it will require an internet connection (and a bit of space to play it) – and you can also get a look at the action in the trailer below.

“The beauty of this game is that you can use your mobile phone to fly the Tardis wherever you are,” Jo Pearce, creative director of BBC Digital Drama said in a release. “Digital innovation is at the very heart of Doctor Who – this 360 degree game allows people to navigate the Tardis through time and space like never before.

“We’ve seen a lot of innovation recently in the 360 and virtual reality space, but the majority has focused on ‘experiential’ video-based experiences. This game, however, brings together the worlds of casual, arcade-style gaming and 360/VR to create a fun Doctor Who experience that people can easily pick up and play, wherever they are.”

The Tardis takes some punishment in the new game

Doctor Who Time Vortex 360 was designed for the BBC as a mobile-first experience by Goodboy Digital, and according to the release “combines cutting edge HTML5 and WebGL using PixiJS v5.0 to create a breath-taking journey that works on a wide range of hardware”.

And if your breath really is taken away (in a good way, not a murderous spacesuit/going blind sort of way) you can let them know by going to the BBC Taster website, where gamers are encouraged to rate the game and/or provide feedback. Personally, we’re going to lobby hard for a playable skin of Clara and Ashildr’s time-travelling diner…


You can play Doctor Who Time Vortex 360 here