Virtual reality takes to the streets with Netflix

Netflix embarks on a virtual reality adventure. Target? Defeat the zombies in Las Vegas, and in four US cities starting in July. Based on Army of the Dead, the post-apocalyptic film by Zack Snyder that has just landed on the streaming platform, the game, evocatively named Viva Last Vengeance, consists of an adrenaline-fueled 30-minute mission in which, wearing the headset for reality virtual, you fight against a horde of angry zombies in room scale mode. This means that, unlike most VR games, especially those with home gaming headsets such as Oculus or PlayStation where your character “walks” with cursor and pointer, you really move in space, reproduced in size. natural. After a short briefing on the mission, the participants will have to escape aboard a “militarized” truck, this very little virtual and identical to that of the film, which will take them (really) around the streets of a virtual city infested with zombies, just like in the movie. The goal is to rescue civilians who are about to be devoured by the undead. Make your way through the haunted streets with the experience made even more realistic by the van actually moving, with curves and accelerations. The tour of the game starts in New York, then moves on to Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Washington. Other American cities have also been announced, and soon it could also land in Europe in London, Paris, Madrid and Berlin. Affordable price ($ 24) for what is already announced only by the trailer presented by Snyder himself as an extremely immersive experience of its kind, which brings virtual reality to the road. The adventure proposed by Netflix is ​​certainly unique in terms of graphics and realism, with the director and the special effects of the film behind the VR experience and the element of the truck that really moves on the streets, but the arenas for the virtual reality are not an absolute novelty. Australian startup Zero Latency has already brought its VR arenas to the world in partnership with Ubisoft. Their declared purpose is to overcome the intrinsic loneliness of the arcade, and also that linked to the use of virtual reality in which everyone stands alone with his viewer pressed over his eyes, interacting with an imaginary world. The arenas, 52 in 24 countries, have multiplayer room scale games allowing groups of 6-8 people to play together. I have recently also been in Milan (after announcements and delays due to pandemics), the first experience of this kind in Italy. Each participant wears a headset, a backpack that contains the computer connected to the VR experience, and carries a futuristic rifle-shaped controller. The games are almost all shooters, last from 15 to 30 minutes, and can be collaborative (team versus game), multiplayer (two teams competing) or free-for-all. Among the flagship titles Far Cry – Dive into insanity (inspired by the world of Far Cry 3, and which in a few days will also arrive in the Milan office) and the always very popular fights against zombies. also the experience of Engeneerum, a collaborative puzzle in which participants must manage to escape from a labyrinth suspended in the sky, defying the force of gravity with flying platforms and roads that change direction. The arena is about the size of a tennis court, but by the end of the game it feels like you’ve covered miles in the virtual world. The return to reality is always a bit traumatic: for this you can buy packages in advance, around 40 euros for two consecutive experiences, which combine several games to stay a little out of the physical world.