I start my game in a dingy train station with the only light source being the flashlight from my gun and after making my way through some dark hallways, making sure to shoot any rats that scurry my way, I find myself on the roof of a factory where I suddenly develop a fear of heights. Wind whipping around me, I carefully make my way over a wobbly plank to cross a rooftop, making sure to not look down at the abyss below; I sprint past the last bit of it and breathe a sigh of relief as it falls apart. Making my way towards the elevator I hit the button to call it down and the moment I turn around I’m face to face with a gruesomely detailed zombie. I quickly gun it down taking no care to bother aiming and as I see more zombies rushing my way I frantically, almost instinctively, start rapidly hitting the elevator button some more as if that’d make it come faster.
VR already offers a visceral experience for the senses, but it lacks that tactile physicality to really complete the package. That’s what new start-up VR companies are trying to offer, by taking the stationary nature of VR and really putting you into the world of the game. I had my first taste of this last year when I tried The Void over in Vegas and was completely sold on the experience. Living in Florida, it was something hard to describe to friends and it’s not like I could tell them to just hop on a plane and cross multiple states to go try it. Much to my surprise, the other week I was hanging around Orlando with a friend when we happened to come across Nomadic, a new competitor on the market who just opened their first location. We immediately assumed this was just another arcade that slapped you into an Oculus or Vive and just had you play a game you could play at home, but our excitement grew when we realized exactly what they were offering.
Partnering with Vertigo Games, creators of Arizona Sunshine, Nomadic crafted a unique sequence based on the game called Arizona Sunshine: Contagion Z that’s exclusive to this experience. There’s a semblance of a “plot” as you explore this factory but really you’re here for the zombie killing fun and boy has gunning down zombies never been more thrilling as you’re thrown into this VR world with an actual physical gun in your hand offering kickback with each pull of the trigger.
With traditional VR headsets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, we’ve become too used to their limitations and the idea that you have to stand in a singular spot when playing a game. And what little space you can move around in, assuming you own a Vive, is still not much. There’s no freedom to actually walk from one end of the room to the other, just highlighting a part of the ground and teleporting over there. These new tactile VR experiences break that norm by encouraging you to play in the environment with windows to stick your head out of, cabinets to open, and buttons to press. Hell, there’s a point where you’re riding on a train and you can actually stick your head out the window and feel the wind whipping at your face as you’re speeding down the tracks. All of these elements paired together can be a visceral treat for the senses.
Unless you’ve experienced it, it’s hard to describe the satisfaction of seeing a pizza crust on a plate in the game and being able to actually reach out and touch those items; or feel the satisfying heft of a lever as you flip it to power on some generators. It’s also a delight running through a game with a friend who’s new to the experience and seeing their wonder as they reach for a door in VR and find one waiting for them to physically interact with and seeing as they cautiously step through, still not believing what they’re experiencing.
Nomadic features two parts to the package, the first is a little more “family-friendly” in that it places you in an abandoned factory during the daytime as you work your way through it mowing down hordes of undead. The second part amps the scares a little more by putting you in the same factory, except this time at the dead of night with more detailed gore effects and actual player death a possibility. While both parts take place in the same factory, and run you through the same rooms, Nomadic was smart enough to differentiate them enough so it doesn’t feel like you’re running the same sequence but with a time of day difference. There’s a moment in the first part where you’re riding a lift upwards through the factory while in the second, that lift is now a raft through flooded rooms. So while logically you know you’re going through the same room/gimmick, allowing yourself to get immersed in the VR experience helps sell it as two different moments.
Unlike The Void, Nomadic carries a more digestible asking price of $25 compared to The Void’s steep $40. The backpack is also significantly lighter, but this does mean a slightly less immersive experience since The Void offers temperature changes and impact vibrations on its heavy backpack/vest suit; it also features smell which was nifty. Are those things worth the extra $15 though? That really depends on the person but I’d personally say no, especially since in the long-term the lower priced model is more enticing for families to try out and thus grow the market for VR sooner rather than later which is something the hardware desperately needs.
As a way to encourage repeat visits, Nomadic actually tracks your performance during the session and totals up a score for you at the end. Things like headshots, accuracy, and kills all add to it but finding hidden Easter eggs like a rubber duck can give bonuses. It’s this sort of “gamifying” element that The Void is missing. After running through the Ghostbusters and Star Wars games there, I left knowing I’d likely never play those ever again because once you get that experience there’s nothing new to pull from it in repeat playthroughs. Here however, the thrill of competing with your friends for a spot on Nomadic’s high-score screen (that’s on full display in their lobby for all to see) is just the right type of temptation to make me want to make the trip back.
I probably used the word “experience” a lot in this article, but that’s exactly what this is. You’re not paying to play some regular VR game, you’re here for a brand new experience that you’re not likely to forget or stop talking about to all your friends anytime soon. Nomadic currently has a location open in Orlando that I highly recommend you visit if you’re nearby, and they have plans to open another in Vegas in the coming months.
