Sandbox VR is a long-standing VR attraction chain with a unique VR experience for up to six players in a large shared play space. I recently had the opportunity to check out one of the latest locations in Sandbox VR and try out the two latest experiences.Squid Game Virtual and Deadwood phobia.
Sandbox VR is one of the original VR attraction companies. After nearly going out of business during the Covid-19 lockdown, the company rebounded and now operates nearly 60 locations worldwide, with more than $200 million in lifetime revenues recently.
To promote its success, it focuses on high quality first-party content. Deadwood (This has been transformed into a Sandbox VR Experience trilogy) and deals with IPs that can be recognized by Netflix ( Squid Game Virtual, Rebels’ descentand in the future Stranger Things experience).
I recently visited one of the latest locations in Sandbox VR in Philadelphia, PA. I brought three “non-VR” friends and saw what they thought.
The four of us played two newest experiences in Sandbox VR. Squid Game Virtual followed by Deadwood phobia.
VR experts or beginners, one underlying theme appeared in all four of us. Gameplay, which involves real interactions between players, was the most fun and memorable part of all of it.
Would you like to play the game?
Like the TV series it is based on, Squid Game Virtual Across the various mini-games, they only employ attacking real players on each other.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zavbjdyt-cc
For example, in one game, there was a huge bomb hanging from a rope in the center of the platform, with four people placed in each corner. The goal was to slap the bomb (and at the other players) rather than blowing it up in your face. It felt like a deadly game of Hot Pottert mixed with tetherballs. It was surprisingly interesting to see my friends ducks, dodges, slap the ball back and forth, reinforced what we all had. There Together we will share this otherworldly experience.
Another mini-game had four platforms, each with a different symbol. With each round, one or more platforms were swinging down, dropping someone who was so unlucky that they stood on top of it. But before that happens, there are coins that can be collected, revealing tips on which platforms will drop and which are safe.
Not everyone can grab every coin, so we have full knowledge of which platforms were safe and which were not spreading between us. But we were competing with each other, so we tricked other players into thinking they were in a safe place, perhaps jumping off at the last minute and dropping them (or fake a move to another platform, jumping first and jumping into the blank space!).
This “shared knowledge” scenario turned out to be really fun, especially since it reached the pinnacle of one or more of ones that were dropped to our deaths in every round. But as a VR expert, I have some criticism about the underlying sandbox VR technical We all lost all this moment in the world Squid GameE and while we waited to find out which was destined, we fiercely tried to identify whether we were on the right platform.
One particularly memorable moment came in the final round when we both thought Platform A was safe. We stared at each other as the group split 50/50 and waited for the countdown. I instinctively placed my arm next to me around my arm.
3…2…1…we saw the platform across from us drop and our two friends scream as they plunged into the darkness below. It was an exhilarating climax and Even though it’s hilarious, the four of us laugh together as we move on to the next mini-game. The moment felt like something from the film, but it was purely organic thanks to the game design built around social interaction, not just pointing or filming.
Filming, down and all-around
meanwhile Squid Game Virtual Use only your hands and body for gameplay Deadwood phobia I saw it equipped with a VR gun controller.
This action horror experience has impressive graphics and it’s clear that it took a lot of time to look and direction. From a gameplay perspective, it’s the majority Deadwood phobia We were involved in trying to stop the zombie hordes from overturning us. And there were a bit of an interesting variation on the enemy and the environment, but for a moment, all four of us were looking at the world around us rather than directly interacting with the world around us (except sometimes they would call for high-priority targets or try to cover each other).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxus60mhtia
Through many of Deadwood phobia The experience was continuous in a static play space, but I especially enjoyed the segments riding on obstacle-like moving platforms that we were forced to carefully dodge. With limited space on the platform, we all had to be a bit aware of each other to dodge the obstacles without crashing each other.
The gameplay felt very intense as the zombies fly to you from all directions for the majority of the experience. The shooting felt satisfied, but it was there. a lot That’s it. My index finger literally got tired of pulling triggers frequently (though I’m probably speaking as someone with most finger stamina considering I am). Type to make a living), and I heard the same complaints from fellow peers who also had semi-automatic weapons like me.
For a runtime of just 20 minutes, I have to say that by the end of the experience, I felt like I had experienced an entire adventure with several scenes and arcs of narrative.
After the headset is removed
Squid Game Virtual It wasn’t that intense Deadwood phobia. It wasn’t graphically rich. They didn’t even use a tracked gun controller. But all four of us agreed in the end Squid Game Virtual It was our favorite of two experiences.
That’s not saying that Deadwood phobia It wasn’t interesting. As a VR experience, I was impressed with the visual quality, structure and presentation. However, we all agreed to benefit from the moment of direct interaction with the player and player.
Adding moments of downtime that players have to communicate – puzzle solving, opening complex mechanisms, and working on other collaborative tasks as well as filming on the same target will improve pacing and create more organic social interactions created Squid Game Virtual It’s very memorable.
Ultimately, one sandbox VR room can be used for many experiences, allowing you to choose the experience you want.
After reflecting on my experiences with three “non-VR” friends, we all agreed that we would like to go to Sandbox VR again. In particular, I am interested in trying out more experiences that emphasize player-to-player interaction.
Disclosure: Sandbox VR invited us to visit our Philadelphia location and covered the admission fee for the session. This was a standard booking as far as attendants at the place could see, so we reached the “retail” experience without any extra fluff.
