Before Netflix drops season five, you can escape the Rainbow Room with Sandbox VR’s new game, ‘Stranger Things: Catalyst.’
If you ever wondered what it would be like to have Eleven’s powers, Sandbox VR now offers that chance. The nationwide chain of immersive VR experiences just added its latest Netflix collaboration, Stranger Things: Catalyst, inspired by the Duffer brothers’ hit retro ’80s series. Its entertainment partnership with the streamer also includes playable stories within the Squid Game and Rebel Moon franchises.
Just in time for Halloween and the release of Stranger Things season five, io9 was invited (media tickets were provided) to experience the new horror-tinged offering at a local Sandbox VR location. Having enjoyed the Squid Game VR, I was keen to try this one out, as it seemed like it would really bring you into the world of the Upside Down and have you face the scarier elements of the series. The Squid Game activation was just entering the dystopian tournament with mostly just games like “Red Light, Green Light,” rather than, say, a concrete narrative.
In Stranger Things: Catalyst, players become Dr. Brenner’s test subjects and experience a different perspective of a Rainbow Room type of break-in. You and your group start by practicing your powers through a wand to channel telekinetic abilities—think Nintendo’s Wii and Switch controllers, held in the hand to supplement the powers and seen through the headset VR setup. During the in-world power honing at Hawkins Lab, which is just practice, the training gets interrupted by an attack on Hawkins Lab, and you’re thrust into the fight against the forces of the Upside Down.
