Escape Reality is based in The Printworks, Manchester; they have newly launched a Virtual Reality experience. I was invited by GO PR to trail the experience; on Tuesday evening, me and a couple of friends headed there for the evening.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from a VR experience as this type of event is new to me, I’ve tried VR on a phone previously but that was it; I was super excited to get stuck in. Arriving at the venue, we were kindly greeted by the staff, once the experience was ready we were directed inside the room. The room is quite small and painted black, there were a few seats around the room and some VR equipment, a large TV on the wall, a computer and the game master. Groups up to 4 people can book the room for the experience, this is an hour and 15 minutes slot so gives each member of the group a good amount of time in the VR.

The game master went through everything from safety to game choice before we started, this gave us an insight in what to expect, what to do and what not to do. One person at a time experiences the VR world, the headset that is placed on you has a little weight to it but nothing uncomfortable, you also have two controllers to hold and use; one in each hand and a battery pack which you can attach onto your own clothing or use the Velcro belt that is provided.


To get used to the VR experience we firstly was put into a virtual world under the sea, this wasn’t a game but you could interact with the sea creatures and plants in the experience. I was joined by a huge jellyfish and was able to boop the them and the sea plants which caused them to move; I could also walk around and explore. Next up was ‘The Plank’ in a new VR world I was directed into a lift of a high skyscraper and taken to top of it then told to walk out on a plank that was hanging over the edge of the building! Not lying I felt scared, wobbly and unsteady, I was a little apprehensive about taking that first step onto the plank but I did eventually get to the end of it then the Game master told me to step off the plank ... at first I couldn’t but did step off and fell all the way down the building into the virtual street... it was absolutely crazy!!!


Other members of the group experienced the plank in different situations; one was horror based with a massive spider and a clown character. I’m so glad I wasn’t in the VR kit for this one, my friend did a few screams on this one. After we’d all got a feel for the VR worlds, we started to play some games. Still it’s one member of the group playing each time but we could interact by helping them and directing them as we could see what they see on the TV screen just not in a virtual way.

We played 'Beat Saber' which is a music game a bit like Guitar Hero but with lightsabers, yes that’s correct... LIGHTSABERS!!! It was a little hard to get the hang off but we all super enjoyed this one, I choose ‘Welcome to the Black Parade’ by My Chemical Romance which only had the expert difficulty option but I gave it a go. I’d definitely play this at home if I had all the kit.


There was also an escape game that we all got involved in, one person is in the game using the controllers to move around instead of actual walking although you can move around as well. We were then able to help the group member to find clues to escape this room they were in, it was fun as we had a timer going, we were all shouting try this, try that and laughing throughout the whole thing. We didn’t make it out of the room though but it’s a game I’d like to give another go next time.

The Game master gave us some other game options, there was a shooting one that was in space, again you used the controllers to play the game. This was quite high impact and experienced so would be good for keen gamers. There was also another bow and arrow shooting game which was fast paced and quick to play so this was a fun one to watch and experience. There are so many games to choose from you’d need more than one visit to experience them all.


Our time in the room did come to an end but we all left laughing about the experience and talking about it all the way home, it’s a new thing to try out and something you can’t do everywhere. Escape Reality’s escape rooms are amazing and much fun so to add this VR option into this mix gives the place an edge and adds to the excitement.

You can book an Escape Room or the VR experience via the Escape Reality website here and the more of you there are, the cheaper the price so grab your mates and spend an hour or two at Escape Reality.