Immerse yourself in virtual reality games in free-roam spaces, free of obstructions, with multiple players. 

Review by Carla Caruso

Sometimes it can be hard to come up with fun, never-tried-before activities with the kids. Enter Zero Latency at Grote Street in the city!

I recently headed to the colourful, free-roam virtual reality (VR) venue with the family and had a ball.

Even if you have a virtual reality headset at home, like we do, playing a VR game with others is a whole new experience. It’s great sharing the activity with family or friends and having ‘safety in numbers’ – and others to chat to – in a virtual world.

Zero Latency has two large-scale spaces on-site, where you can be plunged into immersive worlds together and move about untethered, without the burden of backpacks, extra wires or other distractions (like worrying about tripping over your pet cat!).

The venue offers three different types of VR experiences: Hero Zone games for younger kids and their families, escape rooms, and arena games for the older kids and adults. The place, which has been around for three years, can also be hired out for events and parties.

During our visit, we tried one Hero Zone game together – Cook’d Up – and an arena experience suited to the older kids and adults.

The latter was Warhammer 40K: Space Marine VR – Defenders of Avarax, which was only released on 25 September 2024 and has been dubbed “the most anticipated virtual reality experience that has been created”. It was pretty cool to be one of the first people in the world to experience the new game!

That VR experience is inspired by the ‘80s Warhammer tabletop miniature war game, which has a medieval fantasy theme. The tabletop game was later adapted into computer games and now a 360-degree, VR experience.

While the PC and console version of the game is rated MA15+, the recommended age for the VR experience is 13+. However, with parental consent, families with younger kids can play together. Up to eight players can take part.

But first up for us was the youngster-friendly Cook’d Up … Being someone who’d never tried a multiplayer VR game before, it was good to start with something lighter to ease my way in.

With Cook’d Up, we would all become fellow chefs in a virtual kitchen and have to work together to flip as many burgers as we could for customers.

After a quick briefing with our host, we were fitted with (previously sanitised) VR headsets and given handheld controllers. Then it was time to be let loose in the game’s world. It was surreal seeing other family members transform into avatars and become part of the action around me.

Nicely, there was no fear of bumping into one another as red squares flash and an alarm sounds if you get too close. The host is also on hand to guide you through any sticky moments.

I was a bit hopeless with the cooking (as I can be at home!), so I was soon relegated to cleaning dishes. In between the gaming, there was a lot of laughter and virtual mustard-and sauce-throwing.

Cook’d Up was a great appetiser before the main experience.

But prior to trying Warhammer, we had a quick drink at the bar on-site and a bite to eat. Zero Latency doesn’t have a kitchen. However, you can buy snacks, like chips, and also bring your own food.

Handily, Square Slice Pizza, which serves up Detroit-style pizzas, is a hop, skip and a jump from the venue. So, we ordered some via a QR code and enjoyed a carb-loaded dinner on-site.

Then it was time for the hotly anticipated Warhammer 40K. Instead of chefs, we were to become space marines, or genetically enhanced super-soldiers “in the grim darkness of the far future”. (I thought we looked a bit like Transformers in the virtual world!). Our mission was to fight off voracious swarms of alien monsters and, naturally, save the world.

Doing the arena experience felt like being inside a movie, such as Indiana Jones, or a video game. I would’ve been happy just to wander around the vividly depicted settings for awhile. What’s good about the game too is that, even if you’re a beginner, your actions don’t hold anyone back. No matter your individual scores, everyone progresses through the levels.

Along with epic skirmishes, some trippy moments during the game included a scene where it felt like we were floating in space, on little platforms, and could tumble into the nothingness at any moment. Plus, several scenes, where we had to walk up and down ramps. When you’re immersed in the game, it’s hard to believe that, in reality, you’re still wandering around on flat ground. It would’ve looked pretty funny watching us from the outside.

Unlike VR at home, you’re never just standing in one spot either. I worked up a sweat, doing over 2km during the half-hour experience.

At the end, when I had to pull off my headset, it felt a bit weird to be back to reality. Almost disappointing! But then comes the competitiveness of comparing your scores with your teammates. (Results are also emailed to you.)

The entire experience was out of this world – even more fun than I expected. My boys are already planning a return visit, with their pals.

AGE GUIDES:

• The Hero Zone experiences are suitable for those aged 7+, with parental supervision.
• The escape rooms suit those 10 years and older (also with parental supervision).
• The arena experiences, such as Warhammer 40K, are recommended for those aged 13+. However, with parental consent, younger kids can play with their families.

LOCATION:

162 Grote Street, Adelaide. Free street parking available.

Open Wednesday to Sunday, with special opening times during school holidays.

Off-peak prices on weekdays, and happy hours before 6pm on Fridays.

Follow Zero Latency for regular updates on Facebook and Instagram.

For more information and all enquiries, please visit the Zero Latency Adelaide website.

At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.

As per all our Play & Go reviews, this is not a sponsored post and our review is done completely independently.

Image Source: all photos by Play & Go

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