I have never played a virtual reality game before, which made me rather nervous when I first stepped into Sandbox VR in Birmingham to take on their Squid Game challenge.
We got strapped in to become our avatars — with a tracker on both wrists and ankles with a huge vest that felt like I was donning something bullet proof. I didn't realise how much I needed to know my surroundings until the headset was on and my ears were covered in a massive set of headphones.
I didn't know what to expect but once the games got underway — I was raring to go — even when I made it embarrassingly obvious I had no idea what I was doing when one of my friends asked: "Why are your legs crossed?"
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"What do you mean?" I replied, completely confused. "I'm standing normally." As you could probably guess – I'd put the wrong straps on each leg so now my avatar looked like she was in dire need of the toilet.
Thankfully, a member of staff came to correct it. "Well, I clearly don't know my left from my right," I joked as I felt but couldn't see someone moving round my ankles.
Now we were ready to go – and I was not disappointed when absolute carnage ensued. The session was made up of eight games as seen in the iconic Netflix show – including Red Light Green Light and the glass bridge.
Red Light Green Light was famed for the big creepy doll that shoots you if you move when it turns around in the TV series, prompting me to let out a nervous giggle when I first saw its giant head on the screen. The aim of the game in virtual reality is to collect gold coins rather than cross the yard as it is in the show so you don't do anything silly like run head first into a wall.
I'm proud to say I was pretty good at this one — of course I mucked up once or twice, but thankfully, it only ghosts you for a few seconds before you can join in the fun again. However, while you're waiting, your avatar goes grey and looks rather like the Cybermen coming through the void in the Army of Ghosts episode of Doctor Who from 2006.
Things continued going well through the Hole in the Wall round — which was just like the show from CBBC of the same name. I felt I was bossing it until… BANG.
Nope, I hadn't ran into a literal wall with the side of my face. My friend had ran into me and when I turned around, his avatar was lying on the wall like a chalk outline of a murder victim in a cartoon. "Are you okay?" he asked me from the floor.
"You're on the floor mate, I think I should be the one asking you," I replied, reaching out to help him up, trying and failing to hold my laugh in. He was fine but I worried my headset had been damaged as I couldn't hear anything through it anymore when the game restarted.
A member of staff rushed in and luckily, we hadn't broke anything. Just unplugged it and got back on with it.
Most of the games were pretty fun but when we got to the glass bridge — I actually got a cold sweat on. It sounds bizarre as the graphics weren't exactly realistic but up until this point dying in the game merely meant turning grey. What happens if you fall? I wasn't ready to find out.
"Kirsty, you have to move," a staff member said as I tried to make myself take the plunge. But like an absolute wimp, I replied: "I can't, I'm scared."
I did eventually get some guts though and made it across no problem… then my friend fell… and I mean literally. Their avatar had fallen in the game and the nightmarish falling sensation the game gave left them so disorientated they went flat on their face.
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We roared with laughter and made sure they were fine before going for it again. They were fine — apart from splitting both of the knees in their trousers. This time I fell — only in the game, though it did make me dizzy.
The rest of the game went by fairly smoothly, with the last round being an energetic game of catching shapes and dodging bombs. By the end of it, we all looked fairly sweaty and dishevelled but it was good fun. I'd definitely go again.
However, if you are to give it a try yourself — make sure to wear stronger trousers than my pal.
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