If your wee ones are Minecraftheads, and you fancy letting them jump around, wave their arms like mad, and collect materials such as wood or metal – all for the sake of saving villagers, pop on down to East London’s latest virtual reality experience, the Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue. We went along to review the shiny-new immersive Minecraft experience in East London; here’s what we thought.
Where’s that, then?
A convenient stone’s throw from Canada Water (Jubilee Line and Windrush Overground), a short walk through the Canada Water wildlife reserve brings you to a brand-sparkly-new purpose-built events venue, Corner Corner, where the Minecraft experience lives. It’s clearly signposted on the sides of the building, for those with a penchant for getting lost (that didn’t stop this reviewer from doing a lap around the building, instead of asking the friendly, well-positioned team).
What’s the Log-Down:
Us Secret Londoners were welcomed into a waiting room, given our quest, and a handheld Orb of Interaction (a glowing cube), which allowed us to connect with the virtual world. Visiting groups are spaced out, so we stomped, hopped, and tapped on the floor to collect apples (to build-up resources ahead of the challenge, and to wile away time for the preceding group). We wrapped loops around our wrists and began waving our arms at walls to pick wood for the fight ahead. The entire experience was brought to life by projectors onto surfaces, which respond to contact.
Our real-life assistants were friendly, excited, knowledgeable, and thrilled to be with us, while on-screen Minecrafters Tobin and Dayo implored us to craft items by interacting with floor-bound crates to digitally collect materials (metal, wood, and other materials) to build. Our trio were pitted against each other to produce the most (I can humblebrag that I won, then it all went south very quickly). Proceeding through different rooms, we tapped digital screen-tables to gather items, which were enveloped in virtual swamp and underwater scenarios while being plunged into combat. The physical involvement of being part of the game became apparent after we got sweaty, and ruined hair – all for a stellar cause.
While shadows sometimes block out VR at particular angles like a secondary school teacher in front of a projector, gameplay is robust. For fairness, players can stand on a square (there’s plenty) to activate a baddie for combat. The other cronies will not come for you if a square is not occupied by a person. We took down Creepers with (virtual) arrows and axes.
The experience, by far, is physically engrossing and engaging. We ourselves formed part of the action, becoming a connected virtual fantasy. Kids might scream and screech at the sheer velocity, and generate enough kinetic energy to lift the Tower Bridge.My highlight was throwing real softballs against a wall to knock our virtual baddies in the penultimate room, which neatly brought a physical interaction to a close with the digital elements. In the final room, we placed our orbs on pedestals which impressively churned out smoke and light effects. It threw out our score. We saved 796 villagers; the best-ever score was 8K.
You should know:
While the experience is designed for people of all ability levels – they really want you to BE part of the world – there’s a lot of physical activity – jumping, reaching, and throwing knackered us out. It’s a little on the physical side, which might be great for tiring out child and adult Minecraftians alike.
While the experience inevitably ends at the gift shop (shock, gasp, clutches pearls), there’s also a classy, elegant cafe – which honestly might just be the first point of rest that tired players will encounter. Enjoy refreshments while catching your breath, if nothing else.
What did we think?
A wholesomely fickle bunch, we Secret Londoners came out thoroughly impressed. Families will see their young ‘uns have a ball with the sheer amount of interactivity there is to make the experience so tantalising. And even adults, ideally fans of the game, would have a blast too if part of a grown-up themed day of debauchery.
Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue