Mumbai: Immerse yourself in the Virtual-multiverse for a pulsating experience and adrenaline rush at Zero Latency

Imagine a coven of zombies coming from all directions and you are stuck in a dungeon. The only thing you have is a firearm. While you struggle to save yourself, your friend needs your back to survive. Each time you manage to kill some walking dead, hundreds are born and you find no space to escape and everything greys out — you are dead! It takes about ten seconds for you to get a new life and be back on the battleground again! Of course, we are talking about a completely artificial world where you can look around, interact with objects and actually feel like you're inside the game. That's exactly what we did last Sunday at Zero Latency — an Australian virtual reality gaming studio.

Tucked in Mathuradas Mills Compound in Lower Parel, Zero Latency offers a life-like experience, free roam virtual reality, which allows many players to actually move around the arena. A single warehouse-sized space turns into several battlegrounds for the survival-shooter games where you immerse yourself in the virtual multiverse for a pulsating experience and adrenaline rush. This contrast of virtual reality gaming is simulated with the VR headset. There are seven games to choose from – Singularity, Outbreak Origins, Engineerium, Zombie Survival, Farcry VR – Dive into Insanity, Sol Traiders, and UndeadArena.

We opted for UndeadArena — a post-apocalyptic game show in an '80s-retro world where you have to make your way up a multi-level arena. There's a briefing before the gaming session begins and you are told about the choice of weapons and shields available, the targets, scoring patterns, and how to come back alive in the game. The weapon is quite heavy and has three options — assault rifle, shotgun, and crossbow and lay waste to zombies at any range the way you choose. “Kids are not allowed to play here. The instruments are quite heavy and VR can be scary for them,” one of the controllers at Zero Latency told us.

The game controllers and custom-made simulated weapons elevate the playing experience. The entire surrounding and the graphics of the game may seem overwhelming at first but the headphone and microphone units provide a clear line of communication across players. There's also a moderately-heavy backpack which contains a gaming computer.

The proximity sensors combined with motion capture technology keep the gaming experience smooth ensuring no collision between players. In case you feel uncomfortable or overwhelmed, you can exit from the game with the help available there. This would not affect the game for other players. Each game duration is 15 minutes.

Prices: Rs 1,899 per person