If the halls of Star Trek’s holodeck ever felt within grasp, Dublin just moved one step closer with the opening of its latest attraction. Sandbox VR, which its creators say was inspired by the sci-fi technology, has opened its first location in Ireland, on Dublin’s Nassau Street.
The €4 million facility boasts five arenas where customers can gear up with virtual reality headsets, in-game weapons and experience custom-built games.
The growing experience economy – or the selling of memorable experiences alongside Instagram-worthy moments – has long made its mark on the capital. A successful stint hosting the Friends experience and the acclaimed Van Gogh Dublin – An Immersive Journey demonstrated Dubliners are more than keen to give these sort of things a go.
In fact, Sandbox VR’s Ireland and UK chief executive told The Irish Times this week of expectations for Dublin to be its most popular location to date. So how does it shape up?
Descending from the busy streetscape, one is faced with enough LED lights to rival JJ Abrams’s notoriously lens flare-heavy Star Trek reboot. If Tesla’s Cybertruck designers ran loose on the world, it would probably look like this.
Time to choose our game. As somebody raised on a diet of Call of Duty Zombies, Deadwood Phobia will do just fine. I’m told this shoot ‘em up is the most popular choice – and by far the scariest.
My team-mate and I strap on some wrist and hand bracelets to track our movements, and a haptic vest that vibrates when we’re being torn to shreds. The play area is generous, and once we’re confident we won’t crash into the surrounding walls, the game begins.
Though the graphics aren’t lifelike, they’re pretty amazing. I look to my team-mate, who is dressed rather like Halo’s Master Chief, and we practise shooting our vibrating weapons with convincing in-game skins.
There appears to be a convoluted story involving a sorcerer hell-bent on something or other, but who ever played a zombie game for the plot? All we know is to shoot the baddies and rescue our friends.
The enemies come in all manner of sizes and get right in your face. Environmental obstacles keep us on our toes too, demanding we duck and dive to survive. By the time we defeat the final boss and return to the real world, it’s clear I’ve broken a sweat.
The best way to describe Sandbox VR is like being sucked into one of those zombie arcade shooters one used to find in a bowling alley, Jumanji-style. It’s buckets of fun and hard not to lose oneself in the moment.
I must note, though, if you’ve tried VR tech before and felt uneasy, this might be one to avoid. Our game lasts half an hour – a long time to be in that space.
Like an increasing number of things, this experience charges dynamic pricing. During daytime Monday-Friday, the quietest period, games cost €30 per person for a half an hour session. This increases to €37.50 during weekday evenings and Sundays, reaching €45 during “super-peak” time on Saturdays. There is an additional charge of €5 for games based on Netflix properties, including the critically acclaimed Squid Game and the widely panned Rebel Moon.
If the VR wasn’t enough, Ireland’s first fully automated robot bartender is available for beverages after your session is finished. In a city where cocktails under a tenner feels like a bargain these days, €9 for a cocktail and €6 for mocktail seems acceptable – in particular with the added novelty of Toni the robot. I try the Rebel Moon Spritz which, I’ll admit, leaves me with a far better taste than the eponymous film. That’s not a high bar, but it’s a fun gimmick nonetheless.
Star Trek can’t come soon enough.
Sandbox VR opens to the public from today
