I was recently asked to review Other World, Bennetts Hill, Birmingham. Other World is an immersive VR (Virtual Reality) experience. Using unique, multi-sensory virtual reality technology Other World transports you to new worlds.
Bar Area
I have to admit I’m a bit of a gaming novice, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from Other World. We were welcomed by friendly, helpful staff wearing a uniform of white robes. We were guided through the iPad/manual which included a bar menu, instructions on how to use the controllers and a map of ‘The Island’. This acts as a central hub, it’s where you start from (and where you can return to), and it’s where you choose your games.
It’s a good idea to get there a bit earlier the first time so you have time to study the map, which is split into four seasons to represent varying difficulty (Spring is the easiest, Winter the most difficult) and decide which games you’d like to play. We decided to play a short game of Fruit Ninjas by way of a warm up before going onto Arizona Sunshine, which is a survival game where you fight off hordes of zombies.
pods
We went down to the gaming area and were shown to our individual immersion pods. We were helped to put on the equipment and we were soon alone in our pods, but able to communicate with each other and get assistance from outside too. I suspect we needed a bit more help than average, but the staff were patient, calm and helpful.
The Island
We were dropped into the island and started to experience the immersive experience with the power of 360 degree heat, wind and rumble to heighten the realism of the virtual world. You do feel you have actually been transported somewhere new.
Our favourite game was Arizona Sunshine. We found ourselves doing battle against the zombies. There’s lots of shooting, hiding, escaping and teamwork to be done. You can see your team mates as well as the zombies. I found myself shouting out to warn my team mate when zombies were coming up behind. It was a lot of fun – I could have spent more time doing it.
We came out feeling like we had truly done battle with the zombie hoards and it feels kind of strange to come back down to earth. So it seemed perfect to settle down for a drink before emerging into the street. You can choose from a wide range of self serve drinks and you can even get money off your drinks, by using the points you earnt whilst playing games – how cool is that! If you’re planning a day out in Birmingham and fancy treating yourself afterwards, Patisserie Valerie has a range of cakes, pastries and other sweet treats available to order.
We really enjoyed Other World and I think we will be going back for another go. There are plenty more zombies to kill after all.
Disclosure: I received a free visit in order to carry out this review.
We did a VR experience recently and loved it, it was just so different but a lot of fun too!
I’ve used a VR headset at home and it’s a very strange experience. I’d love to do something like this, but I think I’d need loads of help too as I’m not a natural gamer x