Alien Zoo lets you walk, soar, and escape alien creatures with friends.
Location-based VR is the culmination of everything we’ve grown to love and expect from immersive technology. These attractions can let you interact with physical objects, walk never-ending mazes, and feel sensations of heat and water—all while in VR.
You can even join your friends in cooperative gameplay, making virtual high-fives with other avatars very convincing. And that’s the promise of VR entertainment attractions and why we’re seeing an accelerated growth of locations around the world. Consumers are looking for more than just a VR arcade. Guests want full experiences that include friends, something they can talk about long after leaving the location.
We’ve seen several companies building out location-based VR attractions, each one introducing unique ways to spend an hour with friends over the weekend. But now thanks to the backing of some big names like Steven Spielberg and Nickelodeon, we have a new location-based VR experience on the scene that the whole family can enjoy.
Dreamscape Immersive has launched a location-based VR attraction right here in Los Angeles. Fans can finally check out the long-awaited immersive VR experience themselves, a first for Dreamscape Immersive, located at the Westfield Century City shopping center in Los Angeles, California.
A limited engagement immersive experience, Alien Zoo takes you on an extraterrestrial journey through a massive zoo filled to the brim with some of the galaxy’s most unique specimens. Throughout your journey you will walk side-by-side with massive Megaraffes, play around with adorable Frogcats, and even evade and outrun the terrifying Sicari.
The entire adventure lasts about 12 minutes, with new “departures” taking off every 40 minutes. A total of six ticketed passengers are permitted in the experience at one time—so long as you’re at least 48 inches tall and at least 10 years old. There are even specially equipped Alien Zoo wheelchairs, which means anyone can experience the sheer abject terror of running from a Sicari.
We got to check out an early preview of Alien Zoo and it was worth the trip, especially when you have five other friends enjoying it with you by your side. The entire setup process does take a few minutes, slapping on a PC backpack, slipping on sensors for your hands and feet, and strapping an Oculus Rift to your head.
But once the group is ready and you’re transported to Alien Zoo in VR, your jaw drops. Your five other friends are now avatars in giant space suits. You can wave, shake hands, and of course give a high-five. You look down and see your virtual hands and feet. This is the promise of VR we’ve been waiting for.
Without spoiling too much, the entire experience has you flying on a platform through Alien Zoo as wind blows in your face. There are creatures that you can reach out and touch, letting you actually feel them in real-life. Interactive elements are scattered throughout the experience, including picking up objects to toss or fight off an alien creature.
The VR experience engages all your senses. At one-point it smelled like a forest or cave as I flew through zoo caverns. Water was misted and fire flames blasted towards you. You know you’re in the fictional land of Alien Zoo, but your mind thinks its all real.
Alien Zoo is open at Westfield Century City’s Atrium Space in the southwest corner of the mall’s first floor from February 7th to March 2nd. Obviously these tickets are going insanely quick so i’d move fast and pick yours up, and don’t forget to bring a couple buddies too.
Can’t make your way to LA to try it yourself? No worries. Thanks to a partnership with AMC to bring the experience to various theaters, as well as other collaborations on upcoming experiences, there’s no doubt you’ll be seeing a lot more of Dreamscape Immersive in 2018.
