Escape Reality VR

Escape Reality VR
Location: Manchester
Game Date: 22/01/2018
Team: Amy & Ian

We were invited along to the Printworks, by their media rep Sarah, to give Escape Reality’s new VR “Portal” a test drive.
As you may, (or may not know) myself and Ian are big into gaming, so we were incredibly excited to be invited to try some top of the range VR kit, and some games we don’t already have (Ian has a PSVR so we’re comfortable in VR already!)

We arrived to a warm welcome from the staff at Escape Reality, the new lobby is incredible, with a full bar and a cool “backstage” vibe (with the Escape Rooms being movie sets”) Soon Sarah had arrived and our Host, Jamie took us through to the VR “Portal”

The VR is obviously not themed, but is set in a spacious room, which is kept quite dark and there are seats around the side for you and your friends to sit and watch whilst one person plays the VR. This makes it a communal and fun shared experience.

The VR is state of the art Alienware, NVIDIA RTX 2080 and HTC Vive wireless headset. This is a great choice, as well as delivering excellent graphics the wireless aspect made the VR feel much more free, with the tracking being more than capable and there was no chance of getting all tangled up in erroneous wires (which happened to me at ERIC!)

The VR experience is entirely dictated by you, with a big catalog of over 30 games (that will expand) there is plenty of choice as to what style of game you want to play.
Some stand out games are “Beat Saber” “Keep talking and nobody explodes” (that one would be fab in a group!) “I expect you to die” and “Arizona Sunshine” – The range of games is vast, from Puzzle to Shooters and everything in between.

The experience lasts 75 mins and there is a full brief before you start so you understand how the VR works, with the headset and controls, then each games’ controls are explained before you start (as each game is slightly different) so you’re always fully prepared for each game!

The experience is unique to you and is basically a VR free-play, I would reccomend if you have VR, to try new games, harder games….ones you don’t have (as clearly to play games you already have would be a waste) – the selection is vast but the game host will be able to guide you in making your decision!

The set up is very slick and professional yet intimate and friendly. It works great as an introduction to VR, a social thing to do with friends (especially with the addition of the bar outside) and a full on hardcore gaming session, if you’re that way inclined.

Whilst it’s not in the same style as the escape room, it will run quite nicely along side, as something a bit different to do!

Website: https://escaperealityvr.com/
Price:
1 Players £34
2 Players £36
3 Players £42
4 Players £52