BANDAI NAMCO Amusement Europe opened its second VR Zone Portal in the UK, at Hollywood Bowl Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
BNAE opened its first such site, outside Japan, in London O2’s Hollywood Bowl earlier this year. The new site hosts three of the amusement giant’s titles; Argyle Shift, Hospital Escape Terror and the premier release, outside Japan, of The Big Fear of Heights Experience.
Hospital Escape Terror sees players restrained on a wheelchair in a creepy, deserted hospital ward. All participants must work together to escape a terrible fate. Argyle Shift places the player as a test pilot on a mission to drop a space ship into a designated zone, with the help of Eine, an AI humanoid friend.
The Big Fear of Heights Experience is a test of the player’s nerve. Upon entering an elevator of a city hotel, the participant, who is wearing a headset but is free to move around, ascends 200m to the 40th floor way above a busy city. Upon exiting, they must walk across a narrow plank to rescue a kitten, pick it up with the wind and sounds of the traffic below and return with it to the ground floor.
“The opening of VR Zone Portal Tunbridge Wells is confirmation of the growing rise of our out-of-home VR concepts and we will continue to see a roll-out of more innovative experiences and openings throughout the UK,” said Steph Jones, BNAE’s VR training and marketing assistant.
