Had an amazing first time experience! Jay and krianna made…read morethis experience so smooth and so much fun for us. We can't wait to come back

Sunday marked a great one year with my current girlfriend and someone who means a lot to me. We had…read moreall these ideas on how to celebrate and spend time together, but the weather in the forecast really killed any ability to plan an outside adventure. Luckily, I had an ace up my sleeve and called an audible by suggesting the new Stranger Things: Catalyst experience at Sandbox VR. My girlfriend is a huge Stranger Things fan. It's one of the first shows she was following from the first season until the finale that she got to be a part of the zeitgeist with. The moment I suggested this, any other plan went out the window because to her, this was a must. This was not my first experience with a VR attraction. I got to try The Void when it was still in business at Disney Springs doing a Star Wars experience, and I remember having such a blast with it. This was my girlfriend's first time in a virtual reality space like this. Sandbox VR is the modern, surviving version of this doing a similar concept of suiting you up in a crazy VR suit with a headset, headphones, and a bunch of other bells and whistles before you enter a new world. The one thing that is different is that The Void had you walking through their space in their experience while here you're set in a box for the most part. Sandbox VR keeps you in one space for the entire duration and plays it out like a rail shooter arcade game. Different concepts, but both highly enjoyable. The staff were helpful in making sure we were all suited up and ready to go and we had our pictures taken right before they put us into the room. Once we had our headsets on, the experience started immediately. What's so fascinating about an experience like this is how immediate your brain just tells you that this is reality. You just believe what you're seeing is real. The avatar of my girlfriend is moving in real time, the catalyst is a tangible object I am holding. I am a Stranger Thing or whatever they call it. From the get-go, you are given a brief tutorial as a training and then suddenly the game goes from 0 to 100 and ramps up expeditiously. My girlfriend was hootin' and hollerin' the whole time as demogorgons (and democreatures as she calls them) were flying up on us and attacking us. You're genuinely in panic as these things get close to you. The anxiety feels real. The audio, the visuals, and everything in between just gets you immersed in it. The experience lasted about 30 minutes and by the end I was sweating profusely. I'm in pretty decent shape, but I was an absolute mess by the end. After all the equipment was taken off, we got sat next to a TV to show us our scores to see who leaves with bragging rights and is crowned the MVP (it was me by the way). On top of that, you are shown three videos of the VR experience that are recorded during your play. It scenes from the virtual world with a real camera that's pointed at you acting like a fool. Here, we got a dance scene from the end of the experience, a vertical video, and a horizontal trailer. Each were extremely humorous and given to us free of charge with our purchases. I know it works as free advertising for Sandbox VR to give you those videos to post online and all that jazz, but places like this still seem to charge for the memories. To get them included for free as a little keepsake is an incredible gesture and makes me want to try another experience. As for the videos themselves, they are still frying me, and I've watched them numerous times since the experience. If you are a Stranger Things fan, the Catalyst is a must-try. For someone who's only seen 3 episodes but has a good understanding of the show through osmosis from my girlfriend, I had a blast. Even if you're not a Stranger Things fan, there are 10 other experiences to try. The price with everything considered was pretty fair, and we truly had so much fun that I think it was worth it with what value we got out of it. The 20 second video we got of my girlfriend screaming the entire time might get played at our wedding one day. Who knows! RIYL: An experience out of this world

This place was EVERYTHING! This experience was more than I expected, along with a great workout…read more Brought my boyfriend here, it was our first time here. The guy that helped us throughout the experience was super helpful, friendly & encouraging. We have been telling everyone about our experience. Will be doing this again in the near future.

This is a pretty fun place to go. My out of town guests always enjoys. It's a bit pricey, but not…read moretoo bad. It's a bit odd if you do a walk in they said they didn't have any openings for a couple of hours. (The place was empty) so maybe they don't actually run the VR every half hour, I don't know. Game was fun and it's a unique experience!

NextGen is amazing! Words cannot describe how awesome and entertaining it truly is! My platoon had…read morean awesome time with team building exercises and leadership training here and we had a phenomenal and Fun time here! It truly is an awesome experience! We will definitely be coming again! My platoon had executed and competed in Lasertag, Bubble soccer, dodgeball, combat archery, chilled out ate lunch (you are allowed to bring outside food except drinks. You buy drinks there which is pretty cool still). During break time my platoon occupied themselves in air hockey, basketball, and their gaming stations! It is a Fun, epic and amazing place! My platoon loved it so much and they would love to come back again. Thank you NextGen!!!! There were more pics but it won't let me load it.

From the owner: NextGen Family Fun Arenas in Killeen offers indoor sports and family fun for everyone. We have…read moremultiple combat zones including laser tag, combat archery, bubble soccer, nerf wars, dodgeball, virtual reality, go carts and bounce houses. Our facility offers all day passes for all ages so that the fun doesn't stop until you say it does!

We loved Cyberpunk Sports! They came out to our end of year Carnival and their augmented reality…read moredodge ball was a hit with our Middle Schoolers and Teachers! So fun having something so cutting edge at our event. They were very professional and helpful with the whole process! Highly recommend!

From the owner: Cyberpunk Sports rents advanced AR/MR/&VR systems for events…read more It is a unique event company that specializes in cutting edge Mixed, Augmented, and Virtual gaming systems that employ physical movement, live multiplayer games, and fun! Our featured system is currently the world's first Augmented Reality sport called HADO. It combines dodgeball & and the classic game Street Fighter into a shared live multiplayer experience unlike any other. It's all virtual so no one gets hurt, but it does involve a little physical movement, team work, and some creative strategy to win! The game can accommodate 1 - 6 human or computer players, and rounds last from 80 - 160 seconds. It's perfect for parties, team building events, or just for fun with family and friends. It is zero impact, safe, and suitable for kids 6+ to adults 99+! Cyberpunk sports allows you to experience the technology you once dreamed of from your childhood with your friends & family by your side. Game On!

The Metaverse Team is outstanding! What we liked the most was they do everything. They arrived on…read moretime to set up, we discussed the preferred location and viola! Truck was in position. Metaverse sets up taking the sun shine direction into consideration too. They have the chairs. They have great awnings. The gaming screens on the truck have shadow boxes. They have a huge fan too for a breeze! Inside the truck is the VR stations and a new super cool driving VR option. Ok - so they take care of everything to get set up. Then - they take care of the kiddos (and novice adults too) ensuring that everyone picks games the like, and have instructions on how to play (if needed). Stacey watched the outside gamers, Travis stayed inside with the VR players. The biggest and the toughest critics were the kiddos- and they all had a great time playing with the Metaverse games. Our crew was primarily 7 - 9 year olds. But even the old folk parents enjoyed everything. In summary - we are so glad we used Metaverse at our kiddo's party. They were a huge part of everyone having a great time. You should try them too!

The owners were Quick and responsive and very helpful with the kids once they arrived. All the…read morechildren had a great time from start to finish. Will definitely recommend.

We had the entire place to ourselves on a Friday night. We did the axe throwing for 1 hour. Super…read morefun family activity! Will definitely be back. Most of the place is for VR. They have about 6-8 axe throwing areas. The place is clean, even the bathrooms!

We booked a reservation for our large party before a birthday dinner reservation. When we arrived,…read morethey had squeezed in a social media influencer, making us miss our reservation time. We told the employees our issue with timing, and after some hesitation, they stopped the influencer's game early. The employees strapped our group in, told us how to play, and go us going. We played the pirate game. It took a bit to get used to, but then once adapted to the graphics and hand controls, wasn't too bad. We were nearing the end of the game, and about to beat the "big boss" at the end, when the game reset. The employee came over and basically said "Whoops, I was trying to watch your game from my screen and hit the EXIT button instead. But here's a business card so you can leave us a review." Very disappointing. Docked one star. It was a cool experience, but not sure we'll return. It's a lot to pay, especially for a big group, to not be able to play for your fully booked time, at your booked time, and to have your game cut short. Buyer beware.