Category: Avengers: Damage Control

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It Looks Like The Void is Returning Reports Suggest

The VOID image1

In its heyday, The Void was a premium virtual reality (VR) location offering pioneering experiences affiliated with big IPs like Star Wars and Marvel’s Avengers. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic and other issues, the location-based entertainment (LBE) closed last year. Now it looks like there’s a ray of hope regarding a comeback, thanks to new investment reports and a job page appearing.

THE VOID - Star Wars

Protocol reports this week that a former investor in The Void has now acquired all the key assets of the company with plans to relaunch in 2022. The patents and trademarks have been picked up by Hyper Reality Partners, helmed by CEO Adrian Steckel, who was also one of The Void’s board members. He’s not the only one returning with former Chief Creative Officer Curtis Hickman and former VP of Content Jason Howard heading up the new team.

Steckel is currently fundraising to help support the relaunch with $20 million USD supposedly already raised. While the company is staying fairly quiet regarding its plans, a basic placeholder page has appeared listing three engineer positions. “Hyper Reality Partners is a team made up of world-renowned industry leaders in location-based virtual reality. Having acquired The VOID assets and IP, our mission is to take VR well beyond where it has been before,” the page notes. “HRP & The VOID are now entering a period of rapid expansion and are looking for more talented team members to join us. This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of VR and the entire entertainment industry.”

This would be a major turnaround for The Void, much like Sandbox VR also managed to achieve in early 2021. Hyper Reality Partners will also be trying to avoid the mistakes of the past, as it wasn’t purely the Covid-19 pandemic that shuttered The Void’s operations.

The VOID

A lot of The Void’s attraction was down to its Hollywood blockbuster franchises, with titles such as Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, Ralph Breaks VR, Jumanji: Reverse the Curse and Avengers: Damage Control. The Void had developed its own in-house technology, utilising a modified Oculus headset in combination with a VR backpack, haptic vest and environmental effects like wind and heat to aid immersion.

However, its 17 facilities around the world were all in pricey locations, premium shopping centres or The Venetian casino in Las Vegas. Pre-pandemic these were becoming difficult to afford and the lack of revenue once they were forced the closure with its IP eventually being sold off to HRP. Because of this, Protocol also notes that HRP is now looking at opening larger standalone entertainment venues instead of shopping centre locations, with the first one planned for Vegas.

As further details arise, VRFocus will let you know.

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Hands-on: The Void – Causing Heroic Mayhem in Avengers: Damage Control

As there are no permanent The VOID locations in the UK at the moment when VRFocus was over at CES 2020 in Las Vegas it seemed like the ideal time to test the location-based entertainment (LBE) company’s latest offerings, Jumanji: Reverse the Curse and Avengers: Damage Control. You can read what the impression of Jumanji in VR was like here. As for becoming an Avenger, don’t expect to be Captain America or Black Widow just yet.

Avengers: Damage ControlYes, that’s right you don’t get to play an actual Avenger, more a supped-up super soldier thanks to Wakanda’s chief tech wizard Shuri. She’s one of the few characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to make a proper appearance, narrating the intro video all The VOID experiences have before you take the VR plunge and don all the kit.

As this is an Avengers experience subtlety and clever puzzles aren’t its forte, this is all about action. Shuri has designed a special Emergency Response Suit (ERS) which has a selection of features including blasters in your palms – aka Iron Man – and a shield. All designed for you to inflict maximum damage whilst hopefully not taking too much yourself.

There are three main attacks, each useful in their own way. The standard repulsor blast which emits from either hand, a larger more powerful beam when using both hands together, or, once the shield has absorbed a certain number of hits there’s a multi lock-on function to destroy several enemies at once.

The VOIDAnd there are a lot of enemies. Avengers: Damage Control might come from the MCU, but its story is entirely original, featuring Ultron and his merry band of robot forces. Hence why there’s plenty of target practice. Each scene tends to be filled with robots – the final boss battle in particular – so keeping your arms up can feel like a bit of a workout. There are pauses in the action to rest but the roughly 20-minute experience soon whips by, keeping your attention with lots of shooting and the occasional camo by some of the Avengers squad.

As with any title at The VOID, levels are split between several rooms ensuring you can (slightly) wander around to get a better feeling of being in this digital space. This is nicely intertwined with the MCU as you encounter Doctor Strange – actually played by Benedict Cumberbatch – who opens those magical portals to step through.

Wind and other effects occur for that ‘4D’ experience, little details that can go unnoticed yet help add that sense of presence which you only be experienced at LBE venues. While the vests have haptic feedback to let you know when you get hit. And to make sure there’s still an element of hands-on gameplay you get to control a ship at one point with a physical steering wheel – as well as shooting stuff, obviously.

Avengers: Damage ControlHaving tried almost all The VOID’s other virtual reality (VR) experiences Avengers: Damage Control didn’t stand out as much as Nicodemus or Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire. The overall gameplay has a far more repetitive feel to it than other VOID titles yet still provided an enjoyable session. Due to the amount going on Avengers: Damage Control is the stronger experience when compared with Jumanji: Reverse the Curse, and if you’re new to The VOID then almost becoming an Avenger will put a smile on you and your friends’ faces.

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The Best Location-Based Centres in the World

Okay, let’s build a complete guide to virtual reality (VR) for a newcomer. First of all, let’s put aside any kind of home use. If you’re a newcomer, you want to try it, nothing more at this point, right? Then, you need a place to go. And there are VR parks, VR arcades, VR centres and VR rooms for you to choose. So where should you go?  

Avatarico hand trackingAsk yourself these questions. 

Did you try VR before?

If yes, hopefully, it wasn’t some low-quality rollercoaster at the mall. 

If no, all the experiences in the market are accessible enough for a first-timer so keep calm about that. 

Did you feel uncomfortable using VR or 3D-cinema?

You should know that it may happen when you’re in VR, especially if you have already experienced it before. Staff in good locations know what to do if it happens and will help you. 

Are you an experienced videogame player?

If yes, ask for challenges because the entry-level experience may look too simple for you. 

If no, it’s not a problem. Stick to attraction-like VR. Go to a VR escape room centre or VR theme park with a bunch of VR simulators. 

What are your favourite genres?

If you like shooters then go warehouse-scale VR to shoot some zombies. If you’re into Dance Dance Revolution or Guitar Hero, then try a rhythm-based title like Beat Saber. If you are fond of adventures then go to a VR escape room centre. 

If you don’t know just ask yourself what do you like to do, what movies are your favourite? And that would be the clue. 

Single-player or multiplayer?

Do you want to go it alone? Then head to a VR arcade or VR park. Most will have a varied selection of videogames to suit most tastes and skill level.

If you want to go with company then choose VR escape centres, warehouse-scale VR or check if VR arcade or VR park does have a title that your group would like. 

VR ArcadeWhom are you gonna take with you?

This is the most important question on the list. Do you want to go with your friends? Will you bring the kids? Or your parents? Or co-workers? 

If it’s a kids party, they will love theme parks and will easily adapt to VR in arcades. If you don’t want them to play anything violent then choose wisely. VR escape is a convenient solution since it’s a complete event and you can choose a theme in advance. 

If you bring elders with you, choose the most accessible VR escape experience, the one which is more of an attraction than a videogame. Try VR park to see how your old folks will manage a VR swing or a flying simulator. 

With colleagues, decide do you want to compete or to cooperate. VR escape is the perfect fit for team building. Some VR arcade games or warehouse-scale VR are good competition. Look at your group. Do your teammates have different videogame experience?

If you’re all experienced in videogames, then go to a VR arcade, and figure it out in the process. And if everyone likes to shoot then just go to warehouse-scale VR. If the diversity is high, either choose a VR park with a lot of attractions or universal experience for everyone which is VR escape game.

If all of you like the same movie may be The VOID will satisfy your needs with its experiences based on famous franchises. 

Also, use this scale of action. It’s not universal, and there are exceptions. Start with this lense, try things and then create your own lenses. 

0 – A visual experience, less interaction VR Cinema
1 VR rollercoasters, swings, bungee
2 Short VR experiences like The Void and Dreamscape
3 – Well-balanced Seated VR escape rooms, VR flying simulators
4 Free-roam VR escape rooms, VR arcades, VR racing
5 – Plenty of interaction, less to experience VR free-roam shooters

 

Top locations across the globe

This is list doesn’t pretend to be full in any way. Here are some examples of perfect client management, diversity of content and unique audience appeal.

Europe

Torch VR in Prague, the Czech Republic is the best VR attraction in Prague according to TripAdvisor. The rating is 5 out of 5. You can play both seated and free-roam VR escape games there. If you’re looking for hand-tracking VR it’s the best place in Europe to try. 

DNA VR in the first VR arcade in London, UK and it keeps the highest ratings on TripAdvisor. It’s a good choice if you want to try different experiences all in one place. Likewise, Vertigo VR in Milton Keynes, UK is another noteworthy arcade but it has VR escape games onboard. The location has 5 of 5 on TripAdvisor. 

Virtual Room has high TripAdvisor ratings in a few VR escape room locations across the globe. One of them is in Paris. If you want to go to time-travelling with your team, it’s a perfect choice. 

VR Games Zone in Oslo, Norway is the best VR centre in the country. You can play both seated and free-roam VR escapes there as well as warehouse-scale shooters. 

VR Gamehouse is a VR arcade in Amsterdam with the highest TripAdvisor rating, offering VR racing simulators. 

Zero Latency is the synonym for warehouse-scale VR, and its Madrid location has an enormous number of reviews. If you’re looking for zombies to shoot, it’s the place.

Beat Saber Arcade Machine

Asia

VR Star Park in China is the largest Virtual Reality theme park in the world recently featured at VRFocus. Check out Nathie’s video about it. You’ll find all kinds of VR experiences from rollercoasters to bumper cars, from swings to warehouse-scale VR shooters. Go there with teenager kids and elders, friends and colleagues. 

Looking for VR escape rooms, check Virtual Room in Singapore. 

Before getting $68 million from Andreessen Horowitz, Sandbox VR started its way as Glostation in Hong Kong. The location keeps its ratings high. The experience is a mix of free-roam VR, escape room and hyper-reality. The Singapore location has five stars as well.

Australia

Virtual Reality Rooms in Sydney, Australia is the first centre in the country dedicated to seated VR escape games. This one was the proof of concept for Entermission opening its locations across the USA right now. Also on the recommendation list is Sydney’s Virtual Room owns one of its best centers in Sydney. 

Australia is also a homeland of Zero Latency, so go check its Melbourne location to know if there are any zombies left to be shot.

Star Wars Secret of the EmpireAmerica

The biggest arcade in America is VR World, New York. It has all kinds of VR arcade games, plus some VR escapes and free-roam shooting titles. Virtual Room’s third-best VR escape centre is located in Los Angeles.

Avengers: Damage Control, Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, Ghostbusters: Dimension, Ralph Breaks the Internet and Jumanji: Reverse the Curse. These are the franchises you can visit at The VOID facilities. Their locations are well spread across the USA. Visit them if you want a short experience in a well-known universe. And in Dreamscape, you can visit an alien zoo with exotic animals for 15 minutes. There are locations in Los Angeles and Dallas. 

Bonus

There is no point listing all the Hologate locations here. Plus it’s hard to understand what locations are actually good since there are no reviews at TripAdvisor or Yelp. But if you want to shoot with your pals at each other, try Tower Tag at one of those. There are accessible across the globe.

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Inside ‘Avengers: Damage Control’, The VOID’s Newest Immersive Experience

The VOID’s latest immersive experience, Avengers: Damage Control is available now. We got a look inside and found a great example of what a VR attraction should be.

Guest Article by Noah Nelson

Noah, a veteran public media reporter and producer, is the founder and publisher of No Proscenium, which covers all forms of immersive art and entertainment. He’s also a founder of the HERE Summit, the next great gathering of the immersive creative community, in Pasadena, CA in March 2020.

In Wakanda, under the guidance of the world’s most fashionable genius and member of the royal family, Shuri, the armor designs of Tony Stark have been updated and given a makeover. That’s right. The latest in Wakandan technology and Stark Industries state-of-the-art are about to be yours to test drive.

But what was going to be a simple shakedown cruise gets turned into a life or death battle as the unconscionable Ultron has returned from the brink of oblivion to menace first Los Angeles and then the world!

Suit up, recruits, there’s no time for learning the ropes. It’s just the four of you and every last living Avenger against one of the deadliest of their foes!

And that, my friends, is the plot of Avengers: Damage Control, the first collaboration between Marvel Studios and ILMxLab, that also happens to be the longest adventure yet to hit The VOID at around 18 minutes. After donning a VR headset and backpack with up to three other friends, all sense of real space and time gets distorted as the story jumps from Wakanda to Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum to a technology graveyard where the past comes back to haunt the heroes of the MCU.

Marvel Studios really opens up the toybox for the ILMxLab and The VOID, with cameos from more characters that you can count, and lead voice performances from Letitia Wright (Shuri), Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) and Evangeline Lilly (The Wasp).

And while this feels like it could be one of the short films that accompanied the home video releases of the major Marvel films, this is a ‘hyper reality’ experience, which stands alongside the work that ILMxLab has done with The VOID in the past. Thankfully, what had started to feel a little rote gets switched up with the gifts from the Marvel toybox.

For starters, The VOID’s signature ‘blaster’ gun peripherals stay holstered, relying instead on hand-tracking and gesture controls, allowing you to strike a superhero pose to blast drones out of the sky or block incoming laser blasts. While we’re still in a shooting gallery, it genuinely feels different—and awesome—to get your Tony Stark on.

SEE ALSO
Inside 'Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire', the Latest VR Attraction from The VOID

The tracking here appears to come from the same forward facing sensors that The VOID’s finger tracking relies on, and at times the ‘fist up’ shield-activating gesture didn’t work as consistently as I would have liked. Considering that the punishment for getting hit with a laser blast is a effectively distracting buzzing sensation in the feedback vest, the gesture failures are unfortunate.

What remains interesting is how good, otherwise, the gesture input of The VOID remains. It’s not laser sharp, as there can still a little sense of miscalibration when directly interacting with other players (like shaking hands or high-fiving), still, this is more of a theme park ride than a test of fine motor skills, and the immersive qualities work well enough to suspend disbelief and get you on your way.

Image courtesy Marvel Studios, ILMxLAB

The best new features in this particular VOID experience come with the traversal elements. With Stephen Strange in the mix we’re now playing with portals, and the usual ‘you’re in a building doing X’ scenario gets tossed aside for a globe-spanning quest. One of the most memorable moments comes from just walking through the twisty halls of the Sanctum, where the floor looks like it’s ramped down, but because you’re on a flat surface it feels like you’re being pulled backward the entire time. And when you finally reach your destination you discover you’ve been walking up the entire time.

Magick! It’s weird, man.

There’s another great thing about the twisted nature of the halls and the portal jumps from set piece to set piece: I totally lost track with where I physically was on The VOID’s underlying stage. After having run most of the VOID’s experiences before, I’d started to recognize the layout of the stage. They’ve rearranged the virtual map and added some physical details that make the space feel radically different, which is a testament to the VOID’s underlying premise: that a virtual skin can be layered on top of a modular set to create an infinite number of virtual world (hence the acronym: Vision Of Infinite Dimensions).

It’s working.

In Avengers: Damage Control, players will fight robots in Wakanda, get their marching orders from Doctor Strange, fight some more robots in Los Angeles, then take to the skies in a S.H.E.I.L.D. drop ship (apparently the new Stark/Wankadan armor doesn’t come with jet thrusters) for a chase sequence ending in an ultimate battle which has the scale of any MCU third act. All the way you’re mostly blasting things or blocking incoming blasts, as Damage Control is more of a thrill ride than a puzzle box. With things stripped down to the bare essentials in terms of interactivity, the new experience feels squarely aimed at newcomers to location based virtual reality.

Image courtesy Marvel Studios, ILMxLAB

Because Avengers remains among most beloved film franchise at the moment, there’s enough ‘oh, cool’ moments packed into Damage Control that we’re bound to see MCU fans headed to The VOID to see what the fuss is about. The good news for them—and those of us holding a torch for immersive entertainment—is that Avengers: Damage Control makes the best case yet for what this kind of experience can be. I envy those who get to have this as their introduction to VR.

For those who have been devouring all things VR, the most interesting things here are the traversal tricks. Redirected walking remains a trip, and there’s some perceptual shenanigans that use The VOID’s stage tech to great effect. We might still be running all this in a game engine, as opposed to doing full volumetric capture of performers, but overlooking the ways in which The VOID activates touch, smell, and kinesthetics would be a mistake. VR isn’t just a visual medium; The VOID recognizes this and engages a broader set of senses. Not to mention that the whole thing is designed so that four teams of four players can use the stage simultaneously. That’s an incredible feat of engineering in and of itself.

It’s also encouraging to see the ILMxLab play in longer formats. They’re already setting the gold standard for storytelling in at-home VR with the Vader Immortal series, and here they get to deliver a blockbuster’s measure of action in a tidy three act short.

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Avengers: Damage Control Review – The VOID’s Best Location-Based VR Experience Yet

The latest location-based VR experience from The Void, dubbed Avengers: Damage Control, has launched and I got the chance to run through the ILMxLAB-developed official Marvel experience while visiting Anaheim, CA last weekend.

Similar to Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, Avengers: Damage Control is an official story directly connected to the franchise’s cinematic universe. In the experience you meet up with Shuri in Wakanda and are granted access to a new prototype armor system that blends Iron Man’s suit technology with cutting-edge Wakanda science to deliver something that feels adequately next-generation and powerful.

While testing out the new suit the base is attacked and you’re thrust into a huge battle alongside The Avengers to beat back a resurgent Ultron that’s erupted out of the Damage Control facility back at a Stark Industries compound.

Narratively it takes place after Endgame in a world that’s still coming to grips with the aftermath of those events. Being able to step into a world I’ve become familiar with over the course of over 20 different feature films is pretty fantastic.

Just like all other experiences from The VOID, Avengers: Damage Control is part video game and part roleplaying experience. The employees at the Downtown Disney location in Anaheim, CA treated us like new recruits at S.H.I.E.L.D. and asked us to “assemble” and select the suit of armor we most wanted to wear inside the experience.

Getting debriefed by the actual live actors from the films via video transmission felt appropriately superhero-esque and it absolutely measured up as an extension of not only the cinematic universe, but as an extension of the Disneyland experience.

In Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire you’re given a rifle that’s tracked using sensors around the facility and the experience is heavily focused on firing the rifle at enemies like Stormtroopers as you move from one room to the next, with some light puzzle-solving elements here and there. Avengers: Damage Control is actually quite different since there is no gun at all.

In lieu of shooting a gun there are four main movements you can do in combat. To fire energy blasts out of your hands you can either point a single hand forward to fire or hold both hands close together for a more powerful shot. In either case it takes about a second to charge up and fire a shot which gives you time to line up your aiming reticle. However, this means you can’t shoot rapidly and are required to wait for energy beams to shoot automatically while aiming.

Alternatively, you can also hold up your wrists, facing outward (shown above,) to absorb enemy fire. Once charged up you can then hold both hands together to fire lock-on missiles for big damage.

The headsets used for this experience are the same as all other VOID experiences, which means they’re original Oculus Rifts that are retro-fitted into helmets alongside backpack PCs to power things, with Leap Motion sensors embedded into the front of the visor. In late 2019 I can definitely say that Leap Motion is starting to get quite long in the tooth. Generally it works well enough and if I hold my hands out directly in front of my face it does a decent job, but it can’t keep up with quick movements and seems to have a very narrow field of view to see where my hands are located.

For an experience that is entirely based on hand tracking, the technology here leaves a bit to be desired. It lacks the haptic feedback and satisfaction of holding a rifle, cradled in your shoulder, like Star Wars and instead preys on the childhood nostalgia of wanting to shoot energy beams from your palms. It worked for me given my nerdy upbringing, but won’t be as awe-inspiring for others.

It’s also worth mentioning that I and one other person in my group lost tracking at one moment and only saw a black void. Neither of our other two team members could see us and we couldn’t see them but voice communications still worked. After fumbling around in the dark for a minute or two we eventually popped back in. This happened during a scene where we all had to walk through Doctor Strange portals and it felt like what I imagine it would to get lost in the Dark Dimension for a bit.

Not only are you not given a physical weapon prop at all, but it actually feels much longer and more involved in general. I didn’t time it specifically so I can’t be absolutely certain, but I’m pretty sure my group and I spent close to 30 minutes inside the experience itself not counting onboarding prep. For comparison, the other experiences I’ve done at The VOID felt more like around 15-20 minutes. Again, I’m not positive, but it definitely seemed longer. On top of that, combat was only around half of the content this time around as there was much more exposition with several characters jumping in and out of scenes from across the entire MCU.

What really makes Avengers: Damage Control stand-out above other experiences from The VOID I’ve tried and even other LBE experiences in general is just how connected and in-tune with the rest of the MCU it felt. This really did make me feel like I was stepping inside of the cinematic universe rather than just playing a quick vertical slice of mostly unrelated content.

Story-based spoilers ahead for the next two paragraphs

From the opening moments that you speak with Shuri, to the final battle against a giant Ultron, it was hard to keep up with just how much was going on around me. I got to stand face-to-face with Doctor Strange, step through his portals, fight alongside Spider-Man, Ant-Man, The Hulk, Hawkeye, Captain Marvel, Falcon, War Machine, and what feels like a never-ending list of iconic heroes.

Words cannot properly convey just how exciting it was to crane my neck upwards as an enormous hunk of metal is rocketing towards me from the sky just before Spider-Man swings into view, catches the debris, and then Ant-Man shrinks us down to be smaller than popcorn kernels on the floor. We got to fly air ships through the city, pass through portals that briefly visited arctic locales complete with snow droplets on our skin and cold air blasting, and even stand side-by-side with the God of Thunder, Thor, himself. It felt extremely similar to the final battle scene in Avengers: Endgame, complete with heroes appearing out of portals at the last minute and everything.

Story-based spoilers are now over

Avengers: Damage Control VR Review Verdict:

Despite the technological limitations of Leap Motion hand tracking, the content on display in Avengers: Damage Control is far and away the best location-based VR experience I’ve had to date. The VOID and ILMxLAB have managed to pack a short film’s worth of Marvel Cinematic Universe-quality narrative power into an immersive and exciting adventure that really makes you feel like a member of The Avengers. From the witty dialogue quips and enormous cast of familiar characters, it’s an immersive experience of unrivaled quality for Marvel fans.

Final Score: :star: :star: :star: :star:  4/5 Stars | Really Good

You can read more about our new five-star scoring policy here.

You can play Avengers: Damage Control at several The VOID locations now with tickets starting at around $40.

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Spider-Man, Ultron Return In Avengers: Damage Control Trailer

Marvel, ILMxLAB and The Void are launching Avengers: Damage Control next week. A new trailer reveals a few surprise returning characters.

The story trailer for the experience just went live. It gives us our first look at gameplay. More importantly, though, it confirms that Spider-Man himself will be stopping by in the multi-user location-based adventure. We can’t tell if it’s Tom Holland voicing him, but we’re just happy to see him flip into our headsets after the recent drama between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures.

Perhaps the bigger surprise is the return of an Avengers villain; Ultron. He hasn’t appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. It’s never been confirmed if Damage Control is official MCU canon but it could well be, marking this return as one fans won’t want to miss.

Also showing up in Damage Control are Hulk, War Machine, Black Panther and Falcon. We also know that Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and The Wasp all put in an appearance too, voiced by their big-screen counterparts. Players themselves will put on a suit of armor that features a mix of Stark and Wakandan technology. It looks like a mashup of Iron Man and Black Panther suits. We’ll be interested to see how the experience feels given last year’s Marvel: Powers United VR was a bit disappointing.

Tickets to Avengers: Damage Control are on sale now, with the experience opening October 18. Prices start at around $40. It’s only showing in the US and Canada for now, but fingers crossed we see it elsewhere in the near future.

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‘Avengers: Damage Control’ Revealed as The VOID’s Latest VR Experience, Launching October 18th

The newest experience heading to VR attraction The VOID is Avengers: Damage Control. Due to launch on October 18th, the experience will take players to iconic MCU locations and have them fight alongside the likes of Doctor Strange, Ant-Man, and the Wasp.

The Void is a location-based VR attraction where players don headsets and haptics vests, and physically navigate through a stage filled with props and immersive tricks which bring the virtual world to life in a unique way. The attraction is home to a variety of experiences based on recognizable IP like Ghostbusters, Wreck-It Ralph, and Star Wars.

The latest experience coming to The Void is Avengers: Damage Control which got a teaser trailer along with the announcement today:

The experience is set to launch initially on October 18th for a “limited run” at 11 of The Voids locations across the US and Canada (and one in Malaysia). Tickets are on sale as of today for $40; you can find a list of the initial locations here.

Here’s the tease:

Assemble alongside Earth’s mightiest heroes in Avengers: Damage Control, an all-new virtual reality adventure from Marvel Studios and ILMxLAB. Shuri has recruited your team of four to test her latest prototype design, a powerful new suit that combines Wakandan and Stark Industries technologies. When a familiar enemy from the Avengers’ past seeks to steal the technology for themselves, your team must stop them before they unleash an oppressive new age upon the planet. Fight alongside some of your favorite Avengers like Doctor Strange, Wasp, Ant-Man, and more in a race to protect the world. Suit up, step in, and save the world in the ultimate Marvel Studios immersive experience. Available exclusively for a limited time at The VOID.

Avengers: Damage Control is developed in partnership with ILMxLAB, Lucasfilm’s immersive story studio, which has been behind a handful of notable VR experiences including Vader Immortal and The Void’s very own Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire.

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Image courtesy The VOID
Image courtesy The VOID
Image courtesy The VOID

The Void recently announced a major expansion which will more than double its number of locations, so if you had any prior interest in experiencing some of The Void’s exclusive experiences it might be worth checking in to see if there’s a location near you.

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Become a Superhero in The VOID’s Avengers: Damage Control

Location-based entertainment (LBE) attraction already has some big-name IP’s available for guests to immerse themselves in, including Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire and Ralph Breaks VR. Today, the company has announced its latest virtual reality (VR) experience in conjunction with Marvel Studios and ILMxLAB, Avengers: Damage Control.

Avengers: Damage Control

Rather than playing one of the famous characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) like you would in Marvel Powers United VR, in Avengers: Damage Control you fight alongside them. Obviously, you’re suped-up thanks to Wakanda’s own tech genius Shuri, who has enlisted you to test her latest prototype design: Emergency Response Suits, created with a proprietary blend of Wakandan and Stark Industries technology.

When sinister forces appear you’re called into battle, fighting alongside famous Avengers like Doctor Strange, Ant-Man, the Wasp and more. You’ll visit iconic locations from the MCU universe and thanks to The VOID’s immersive technology be able to explore real-world sets whilst experiencing physical effects like heat and wind.

“We’re always looking for new stories and corners of the universe for our characters to explore. Now, after more than a decade of amazing support, we are excited to give fans the same opportunity: to be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” said Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios in a studio. “Expanding how people can experience the MCU is something we’re always trying to do, and in Avengers: Damage Control, we wanted to give fans the chance to suit up alongside some their favourite heroes for the first time ever.”

Avengers: Damage Control

“The opportunity to bring such a beloved universe alive through immersive storytelling has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Shereif Fattouh, Senior Producer, ILMxLAB. “Avengers: Damage Control lets you feel what it’s like to shoot repulsor blasts with your own two hands, suited up in Shuri’s latest technology. This original adventure allows you to go beyond the screen, and become a character in the story itself.”

Avengers: Damage Control will be coming to select The VOID locations starting 18th October 2019. These include:

  • Downtown Disney District in Anaheim, CA
  • Santa Monica, CALas Vegas, NV
  • Mall of America – Minneapolis, MN
  • Cinemark – Plano, TX
  • World Trade Center – New York, NY
  • The Battery – Atlanta, GA
  • Genting Highlands – Malaysia
  • The Rec Room at Round House Park – Toronto, Canada
  • The Rec Room at Square One Shopping Centre – Ontario, Canada
  • The Rec Room at the West Edmonton Mall – Edmonton, Canada

Tickets can be purchased from The VOID website. For further updates, keep reading VRFocus.

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The Void Announces Avengers: Damage Control VR Experience, Tickets On Sale Now

Surprise! The Void just announced its Marvel VR experience, Avengers: Damage Control.

We first reported that The Void was making a Marvel VR experience earlier this year. The company creates location-based VR experiences often based on popular IP like Wreck it Ralph and Star Wars. Today, the company surprise revealed its Marvel project, which will be launching on October 18. You can get tickets right here. Check out a teaser trailer below (which features Shuri herself, Letitia Wright).

Avengers: Damage Control Details

In Avengers: Damage Control, players are recruited by childhood prodigy Shuri to test an experimental armor. As you can see from the trailer, the prototype suit combines technologies used in both the Iron Man and Blank Panther suits. A website reveals that Doctor Strange, the Wasp and Ant-Man will appear in the experience alongside other Avengers. The piece will also feature a villain from the series’ history.

That’s all we know for now. The name Damage Control itself is a Marvel easter egg, though. In the comics, this is the name of an organization that cleans up after big superhero battles.  Tony Stark coined the term in the MCU for its debut in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Damage Control is developed by ILMxLAB, the studio that also worked on The Void’s Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire. It also just launched the second episode of Vader Immortal.

The Void says Damage Control will be available for a limited time only. For now, it’s available in the US and Canada, with no word on a possible launch overseas. Tickets start from $39.95.

Elsewhere, we also know the company is working on a new experience with Sony Pictures that’s yet to be revealed.

The post The Void Announces Avengers: Damage Control VR Experience, Tickets On Sale Now appeared first on UploadVR.