Escape rooms have taken over Melbourne, but there's a newer breed unlocking its doors: the 'virtual escape room'. The concept is similar: work as a team and solve puzzles in a linear order within an allotted amount of time. But there's a pretty big difference – you're wearing a virtual reality headset and not actually opening locks, finding clues or using tools at all.
Virtual Room was born in France, and there are now hugely popular outposts all over the world.
In Virtual Room, you're not even in the same physical space as your teammates. Each of you is given a three-metre cubicle, a virtual reality headset and two handheld controllers. You're popped into a virtual world that you can explore by walking around your space (don't worry, the scenery will flash up a red grid pattern to stop you walking into real-world walls), turning, bending, and looking up and down.
And you're not alone in there. In real life you're in your own cubicle, but in the virtual world your friends are with you – or at least parts of them are. Human bodies are reduced to coloured helmets, chest pieces and gloves, but that's really all you need. Your teammates' uniforms are different colours but otherwise featureless, so you'll need to ask who is who.
Communication is key, and not just in determining which of your teammates is in yellow. Many of the puzzles you need to solve require constant communication. You'll need to describe what you see and help your teammates solve what's in front of them, and some actions need to be performed together in unison to work. We played the Time Travel Chapter 1 game, which involves shooting back and forth in time to find clues. There are some adventure elements too, as well as teamwork and puzzle-solving.
Worried about motion sickness? Don't be. Being totally immersed in the world – and being able to move around – should alleviate any possible nausea.
The game bills itself as an 'escape room', but it's more like a co-operative virtual videogame. The puzzles are fairly straightforward, and there are shoot-'em-up elements that you'd never find in a traditional escape room. The production values are very high, with a fully interactive world in which you can pick up, throw and use the objects around you. Some of them are useful for solving puzzles, but many are just fun to play with.
Outcome: Success!
Atmosphere: 5/5
Creativity of puzzles: 3/5
Difficulty: 2/5
Fun: 4/5
Best quote: “But I don't want to shoot the pterodactyl, he hasn't done anything to me.”
Our tip: When you throw things, throw them *gently*.