‘Stranger Things: Catalyst’ review | New VR attraction in Orlando
“Stranger Things: Catalyst,” a new virtual reality attraction, is now open at Sandbox VR locations nationwide, including at Pointe Orlando.
Sandbox VR in Orlando invited Attractions Magazine to enter the Upside Down and try out an all-new virtual reality experience, “Stranger Things: Catalyst.”
In “Stranger Things: Catalyst,” players step into the role of psychically enhanced test subjects who must fight back against Demodogs, Demobats, the even the dreaded Demogorgon himself to once again save the town of Hawkins from destruction.
Sandbox VR features free-roaming virtual reality games that we’ve previously reviewed (like “Squid Game“), so we were excited to come check out this new branded experience. Games at Sandbox VR take place on private “holodecks,” basically large rooms set up with cameras and sensors to track our movement and fans to provide wind effects during the game. Players are fitted with tracking sensors on their wrists and ankles, as well as a virtual reality headset, headphones, and a vest that buzzes and vibrates in the game. For “Stranger Things,” we were also give a controller that looked like a little lightsaber called a “catalyst” which we would use in game to pick up objects and throw them at enemies.
In the game, we played as unnamed test subjects being instructed by Dr. Brenner (voiced by actor Matthew Modine, reprising his role from the series). After being shown how to use our catalyst and other latent psychic powers, we suddenly found ourselves thrust into the Upside Down and forced to fight off waves of its creepy denizens and try to find a way out.
Images courtesy of Sandbox VR / Netflix
Gameplay in “Stranger Things: Catalyst” is very similar to our other experiences at Sandbox VR where we had to look all around to see who was attacking us and to find objects to psychically pick up and throw at them. The free-roaming nature of the game, not attached to a wall by a cable, meant we were able to move around the room and duck to avoid attacks coming from all directions. Using the catalyst and our off-hand to attack and repulse enemies was fun, though immensely tiring. It was truly a workout that left us all sweating after only 10 or 15 minutes and gave me a sore arm I still felt a few days later.
Knowing the lore of the show is not necessary for the VR experience, but fans of “Stranger Things” will get a kick out of Matthew Modine’s cameo and the familiar world of the Upside Down with its recognizable creatures. Not being super familiar with the show, I was still able to enjoy myself as a gamer wanting to experience something different. The game is accessible to people with different levels of gaming experience, as even if you “die,” you will respawn shortly later. Families should be able to enjoy this together, although some scary moments here and there may be unsuitable for younger players.
There remain some quibbles with the technology, as more than once I experienced a complete desync from the game where everything stopped and I found myself looking at nothing. Audio-wise, the headsets let us talk to each other, but there is a slight delay, so being close to a friend and hearing them in real life followed by over the headset a second later was often off-putting.
The limitations of the space does mean that you’re still limited with how far you can move. This is usually explained away in the gameplay by putting us on a moving elevator, or the back of truck, or the middle the damaged room to explain why we could never move beyond the reaches of the large room we were occupying in real life. Except for a few scripted moments requiring us to move to one side of the room or the other or duck to avoid an attack, we often just found ourselves standing in one place since enemies came to us and we didn’t need to move around to find or fight them. At one point, the room split in half virtually, limiting our space even more and causing a few cramped situations.
Photos by Attractions Magazine
Altogether, “Stranger Things: Catalyst” is an enjoyable, if tiring, VR experience for groups looking for something different to add to their Orlando trip. The gameplay should excite those who enjoy video games while the physical nature of the experience should be welcome to parents who just want to get their kids up off the couch.
“Stranger Things: Catalyst” is open now at Sandbox VR locations everywhere, including Orlando. To find a location near you or to book tickets, visit sandboxvr.com.
Stay tuned to Attractions Magazine for daily coverage of theme park news, trip reports, and exclusive interviews from Disney, Universal, and independent attractions around the world.
More Attractions Magazine stories:
Follow us:
No matter where you want to go, our trusted partner MEI-Travel will handle the planning so you can focus on the memories. They offer free vacation-planning services and have nearly 20 years of experience creating memorable vacations. Visit MEI-Travel for a fee-free, no-obligation quote today.
