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The best VR experiences London has to offer

By Holly O'Mahony on 5/8/2019

Virtual reality (VR) technology is slowly seeping into our everyday lives. It's not just tech nerds and gamers who are experimenting with it either, it’s being used for educational purposes and to assist shoppers on the high street, too. Lloyds Banking Group even put 400 candidates through a VR experience as part of its recruitment campaign last year.
Whether or not you’ve tried it yet, you’re probably aware that experiencing virtual reality – or augmented reality as it’s also known – involves strapping on a VR headset, often earphones too, and immersing yourself in a 3D experience. For those keen to check it out, here are some of the best VR experiences London has to offer.

The ‘create your own world’ one: DNA VR

With DNA VR, there's never a dull moment and you decide at all times. A games arcade pushed to the extreme, DNA VR lets the user navigate worlds of their own making, from a handsome list of universes to explore. Whether it's a multiplayer experience or a single player game, the choice is entirely yours. If you're feeling adventurous, team up with friends to challenge a zombie apocalypse and see who's brave enough to save the world. Or, jump on board Apollo 11 to enjoy a virtual reality experience of the moon.

The company launched its first site in Kentish Town back in 2017 and is launching a second hub this April in Hammersmith, offering equally enticing adventures.

Price: adventures from £19 per player

WHERE

1&2, 400-404 York Way, London N7 9LR / Unit A, Foundry, 77 Fulham Palace Rd, London W6 8JA

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of The Worlds: An Immersive Experience

The Jeff Wayne-inspired one: The War of the Worlds, The Immersive Experience

Pioneering theatre company dotdotdot return, this time with a site-specific, immersive adventure based on both H. G. Wells’ sci-fi novel The War of the Worlds and the 1978 best-selling album it inspired: Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds.

The 110-minute experience sees groups of up to 12 guests transported back to the misty streets and lavish parlours of Victorian England. Here they must help win back the city following an invasion from Mars.

WHEN

16 May 2019 - 31 Aug 2019

WHERE

The Old Metal Exchange, 52-56 Leadenhall Street, London, EC3M 5JE

The ‘so many choices’ one: Otherworld

An immersive VR playground – appropriately called Otherworld – has opened in Haggerston. Guests can choose to enter one of 16 different experiences, then discuss their adventure over a bowl of poké and a cocktail. Wearing a state-of-the-art VIVE headset and safely secured in their own VR pod, adventurers can fight zombies or robots, climb Mount Everest, follow a mouse on its own miniature adventure or complete tasks in a virtual workplace (yes, really).

WHERE

Otherworld: virtual reality bar and kitchen, 336 Acton Mews, Haggerston, London, E8 4EA

The ‘coming soon’ one: VR pods at the O2

The thrill-seekers' one: VR pods at the O2

No less than 12 VR stations have been installed at the O2 arena in Greenwich. Designed by Immotion Group, the experiences include a series of VR roller coasters and an ‘Undersea Explorer’ adventure, in which users can swim – virtually – with turtles, whales and sharks. Perhaps the main event, though, is the themed VR arena where visitors can play the internationally popular VR game Raw Data – multiplayer, free-roaming shooting experience. Guns at the ready!

PRICE: £5 - £20 pp

WHERE

O2 arena, Peninsula Square, Greenwich Peninsula, London SE10 0DX

Doctor Who: The Edge of Time, a VR video game

The do-it-at-home one: Doctor Who, The Edge of Time

Following on from the release of Doctor Who: The Runaway, which invites users to don a VR headset and join the Doctor in saving the planet, the BBC is launching another, bigger VR experience: Doctor Who: The Edge of Time. The feature-length production is being released in September and stars you, the player, as the story's hero.

Here, your mission is to find the Doctor and overcome an insidious virus that threatens to tear apart the fabric of reality. In lieu of the Doctor, you will need to pilot the TARDIS and master the Sonic Screwdriver, to recover time crystals and save the universe.

WHEN

September 2019

The foodie one: Virtual Shooting Range

Just when we thought Mac and Wild couldn’t get more inventive in bringing Scottish spirit to London (they brought us haggis mac and cheese after all), the restauranteurs open up a Highlands-themed shooting range and whisky bar downstairs at the Devonshire Square location. The restaurant, famous for its game dishes, are offering Londoners the chance to experience a shoot amongst the heather with virtual shooting systems and replica shotguns. You can choose a selection of targets (birds, deer, boar, bears) and pick out a tweed outfit from their shooting attire wardrobe. If knocking off virtual targets works up your appetite, the bar offers venison Scotch eggs, 'haggis pops' and many more Scottish-themed treats.

WHERE

Mac and Wild, 9A Devonshire Square, London, EC2M 4YN

The nostalgic one: Mario Kart VR experience

If some of your favourite childhood memories involved huddling round the TV with your siblings or pals for a round of Mario Kart on the Nintendo, we have some exciting news: this August, a Mario Kart VR experience has launched within the Hollywood Bowl at the O2. Previously only available in Japan, birthplace of the Nintendo, the experience uses HTC Vive devices to immerse players in the world of Mario, Luigi, Peach and the gang. Once inside the familiar course, instead of using buttons to grab power-ups or banana skins, players must physically pluck the items when they appear. Dodge giant Piranha Plants, leap over huge ravines and watch out for Koopa as he tries to get in your way....

Price: £7.99

WHERE

Hollywood Bowl, The O2, Peninsula Square, London SE10 0DX

The jumpy one: Mind Horror

This multiplayer VR experience from Omescape is not for the fainthearted. Working with your fellow team of cyber-detectives, the plot here involves saving a child from a serial killer known as ‘Silent Man’, who has kidnapped and hidden her in a secret location. With one hour to complete the mission, this is an escape room-esque experience that's more action- than puzzle-led. You’ll swim, smash, shoot and fly the victim back to safety. New to VR? No experience is necessary to play Mind Horror, and all equipment will be explained to your group beforehand.

Price: £22 - £30 per person, depending on number of players

WHERE

Omescape, All Saints Church, Carnegie St, London N1 9QW / Omescape, 75 Greenfield Rd, Whitechapel, London E1 1EJ

The gamer’s one: Four Thieves VR experiences

The Four Thieves in Clapham hosts Inter-Pub Gaming, which offers three different VR experiences. ‘Skyfront’ will see you fly through a floating village while hunting down and shooting at your fellow players. Meanwhile ‘Serious Sam’ involves teaming up with a friend in the VR booth and working together to fight off waves of aliens using oversized guns. Then there’s the single player game ‘Archery’, in which you’ll stand atop your VR castle and defend it from a cartoon horde of invaders. There's also a selection of retro arcade games to play, for those looking to turn back the clocks.

Price: £39 for one hour VR game

WHERE

Clapham Junction

The team-building one: Electronic Theatre

Somewhere between an Escape Room and a Virtual Reality arcade, Electronic Theatre offers an immersive gaming experience that encourages teamwork. No need for bulky headsets or goggles, players put on a visor attached sensors and move around the room to complete adventures in the simulated world. Electronic Theatre's virtual challenges are social and interactive, and make for a fun day out with friends, family, or colleagues.

Price: £20-25 per person

WHERE

Arch 3, 83 Scoresby Street, Southwark, SE1 0XN

The 'survive an apocalypse' one: HUXLEY

After the success of Mind Horror, Omescape launched another multiplayer VR experience. The premise of HUXLEY is a classic of the immersive experience genre: 'the world as we know it has gone forever and mankind has been replaced by the machines.' In this post-apocalyptic setting, your team represents the last vestiges of the human race.Taking the escape room to the next, thrilling level, this free-roam VR experience uses impeccable wireless technology to immerse visitors in the world of 3007 AD. And since you've only got 44 minutes to complete your mission, the adrenaline you'll feel will be nothing but real.

Price: £29.75 - £39.50

WHERE

75 Greenfield Road, Aldgate, London, E1 1EJ

VR in the fashion and beauty world

In 2018, high street retailer Zara trialled an AR app in 120 of its stores. To use it, shoppers simply had to download the app, point their camera towards one of the store’s AR points, and models Léa Julian and Fran Summers would appear on the phone screen, modelling the latest Zara collection. The experience ran as a two-week trial, but Zara plans to use the technology in more of its stores in the future.

Zara wasn’t the first brand to use VR for fashion and beauty purposes. In 2016, WAH nail salon in Soho was ahead of the game, offering customers the chance to choose their nail art having shopped the look virtually first. And Converse introduced their ‘Sampler’ AR App several years ago too, allowing consumers to virtually try on their chosen style of Converse trainer before purchasing a pair.

Meanwhile, in the world of beauty, NYX partnered with Samsung last December to create the 'Impossibly NYX Professional Makeup' experience using Samsung Gear VR. The experience included three make-up tutorials lead by top beauty vloggers Kristen Leanne, Mykie (known as 'Glam & Gore'), and Karen Sarahi Gonzalez. Using the Gear VR Controller, shoppers could select products they wanted to learn more about, before committing to shopping the look.