AN OFFICIAL Squid Game immersive experience is launching and we’ve had a special preview to see if it’s just as intense as the hit Netflix series.
For a whole heart-pumping hour we faced familiar challenges, including the creepy giant killer robot doll, a deadly tug of war and the glass stepping stones of doom.
Keep absolutely still if you want to survive ‘red light, green light’
- Squid Game at Immersive Gamebox from £26 / $24.99 – buy now
It’s the latest big addition to Immersive Gamebox – formerly known as Electric Gamebox – where groups spend time in a single room with clever hats that detect your every movement.
Every step you make is reflected on the wall projections, as are your touches – and it’s extremely sensitive, so prepare nerves of steel.
Don’t go in expecting a room filled with real-life tasks, and certainly not the threat of death if you fail a single one much like the Emmy-winning show.
This is very much a test of agility, slick manoeuvres, keeping your cool and a bit of memory work too.
We took to Immersive Gamebox’s central London location in Southwark in a team of six (the maximum permitted) but there are other locations available across the UK and the US.
It begins with an ominous voice akin to the Front Man – leader of the Masked Men in the series – who explains that in each challenge you’ll earn money, meanwhile the death toll will keep climbing the more you fail.
And just like that, we’re thrown into the first round, faced with red light, green light.
Except, it’s not a red light, green light task.
When the robot doll on screen turns around, you need to position yourself in a dot on screen.
It’s not as easy as it sounds.
First of all, you need to get your head around the idea that moving backward in the room correlates to the dot moving down the screen (not crouching down as we and so many feel inclined to do) and vice versa for moving forward / up.
Secondly, the sensors are incredibly sensitive.
When she turns around, you’ll need to stand completely still – no hand twitches or shaking heads, or you’ll be killed (don’t worry, you get an infinite number of goes until the time runs out).
It’s surprisingly tense, especially as she starts to speed up.
Next up, is the honeycomb cutting task, aka the dalgona candy challenge.
Can you win this virtual tug of war challenge?
- Squid Game at Immersive Gamebox from £26 / $24.99 – buy now
Again, no real elements – to be honest, that might have been much easier than what we actually faced.
We had to cut out the shapes by walking carefully across the room.
Sounds simple? Add a timer and suddenly you realise it’s not going to be an easy task.
Sure, the square shape was fine but once we made it to the circle things got tough.
We never succeeded with the dreaded umbrella.
The third round is the tug of war, which is a test of timing and actually reminded me of the dance mat days.
Position yourself into a pulsing circle in time with the music – but in pairs.
The better you time it, the further back your rope moves on screen.
The marbles round plays out a bit like the old bubble shooter games with a line showing you where you’re shooting.
Meanwhile, the glass stepping stones is a group memory test that gets really tough towards the end.
But the final round, the self-titled Squid Game, is the most agonising.
Somewhat like Pac-Man, you have to navigate yourself around a grid, avoiding foes to reach a safe point.
“I’m actually shaking,” one of my friends who tried the experience with me said.
Of course, nothing will be as intense as actually putting your life on the line.
But this immersive experience does a fun job of virtually replicating Squid Game‘s charm, making it a must for fans.
Throwing in some physical elements would be even greater, but that’s not what this type of tech is about – we’ll leave that to the upcoming real-life game show.
- Squid Game at Immersive Gamebox from £26 / $24.99 – buy now
And starting at £26 / $24.99 per person for an hour (depending on location) it’s actually a reasonable price compared to other virtual group experiences you can try these days.
You even get a cool group GIF emailed to you at the end, as well as a place on the leaderboard, assuming you do well of course.
Squid Game is available to watch on Netflix
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