obliViaR, a new VR experience, has opened its doors in the former Frankie and Benny’s building in Clifton Moor, next to the Vue cinema.
The arcade offers four VR pods – for one to four people – and three large ‘free roam’ arenas, allowing groups of different sizes to experience a range of VR games together.
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Owner Bernadette opened the VR experience after a health issue prompted her to leave her previous job. She said: “I come from a bit of a corporate background – I used to work in financial services – and I tried the experience, then thought it was just wonderful.
“After I left my job, I just went for it. I’m a Yorkshire lass and thought I should bring this to us in York – I know there’s nothing like this nearby.”
obliViAR offers a range of games, escape rooms, and experiences aimed at people of all ages – hosting children’s birthday parties, corporate events, and anything in between.
Two of the three free roam areas (Image: Provided) Some of the games include jail break escape rooms, zombie arcade shooters, competitive cooking games, and children’s playground simulations with all options giving gamers the chance to play together in the same physical environment as well as virtual reality.
At obliViaR, there are 26 Ultra Enterprise headsets and eight high end gaming PCs, with an operations desk and viewing screen for those who choose not to take part.
The experience is also designed to be inclusive, with all four pods being wheelchair accessible.
All four pods are wheelchair accessible and can have up to 4 people playing (Image: Provided) Bernadette added: “Accessibility is something really close to my heart – my dad was an amputee and he loved to travel, but it wasn’t something that he could physically do. On our machines, we’re able to offer things like Google Maps as well as the games, so people can explore the streets using VR and have that experience.
“Our location was also chosen for its accessibility and that was something that we kept in mind when we were designing the layout of the building.”
obliViaR is open at Sterling Road, Clifton Moor, from 12pm to 10pm from Wednesday to Monday.