After the success of Space Marine 2, Space Marine VR: Defenders of Avarax could be the perfect night out for Warhammer-brained groups of friends (if you can swallow the price)

Have you seen those VR experiences pop up all over the place? I have. Until recently, I never stepped into one. Like escape rooms, it seemed to me like a pricey night out – an event that seemed a bit redundant due to the existence of the number of personal VR headsets in the market. But after playing Space Marine VR: Defenders of Avarax, the latest game from VR experience company Zero Latency, I get it. I finally understand the appeal of such a venture (even if I still have my reservations from a price and replayability standpoint).

But first, what is Space Marine VR? Well, it’s an officially licensed Warhammer VR game that has been made in collaboration with Focus Entertainment and Saber Interactive – the developer and publisher of Space Marine 2. It’s release now is no mistake, with the game very much riding on that newfound Space Marine 2 hype exploding all around us. This game is no Space Marine 2, but it is way more fun than laser tag, or grasping through the dark looking for a key in some town-centre escape room above your local Wetherspoons.

The game lasts around 30-40 minutes per session, and you (alongside up to seven others) strap on a VR headset and grab a big bulky plastic gun and step into a vast, empty room. After a brief period of calibration, bam! You’re in the shoes of an Ultramarine tasked with securing a relic and taking it off world in a tense clash against Tyranid forces.

The experience is, in essence, a series of stages in which you must survive waves of Tyranids alongside your gang. Grunts, Warriors, Gargoyles, and even a big final boss fight stand between you and sweet, sweet victory. Your gun, by default, is a bolter. You get a grenade launcher attachment which you can fire off through a dedicated button, and access to various special weapons scattered around the game. These weapons, as you’ve likely already figured out, follow the path of the real gun in your real hands, so the game is essentially a 30-minute session of shooting, running, shooting, and running. Gears of War, eat your heart out.

It’s pretty damn fun, actually! I was grouped up with a gaggle of other writers, social media influencers, and tech-heads in town for a trade show. As the only dedicated games journalist there, I strove to get the high score (indicated by a nice little iron halo above your avatar) and I’m proud to announce that I did, indeed, manage it. Rushing around, hearing an Instagram influencer scream as she’s swarmed by bugs, and watching as three people all get charged and murdered at once by the final battle, was undoubtedly a laugh.

Now, I’m still impressed by VR at a foundational level. Most of the models are solid: dead solid (though I did have a chuckle at the unmoving guardsmen in the game’s opening section). While the Tyranids are pretty good at navigating the environment and slapping you around, they sometimes get stuck on iron bars and walls and such. Not enough to rip you out of the game, but more of a funny little aside for those keeping an eye out.

I’ll also say that the game does make use of the large size of the room you’re playing in. Survival sections take place in these wide open defendable spots, so you and your peers can spread out and cover different angles. At one point, our team was even split into two, with one of us turning on a generator while the other group had to push ahead, only to regroup later. This travel time gave me plenty of opportunities to actually look at the environment outside of the fights, and I’ve gotta say, walking around a pretty faithfully created 40K forge world is pretty rad.

Space Marine VR has a decent amount of little treats, too, including a hardcore mode that makes everything harder and disables automatic reloads, and a slow-motion period in tense fights when you’ve got to wipe out a bunch of Tyranids in a limited time. It just feels rad, and by the time I pulled off my headset, I was properly sweating. Now, I’m a big lad, yes, but it’s a real heartracer. You drop off the headset and gun, and head straight to the bar.

Speaking of that, let’s talk about the aspects of Space Marine VR outside of the game itself. Zero Latency has just over 100 locations around the world, and in a conversation with a member of staff at the preview, I was told they’re aiming to reach around 150. So while the VR business might be going good for Zero Latency, you might need to check to see if one is actually near you.

So what about price? Sessions with Zero Latency games can range between $30 – $70 per person, depending on how much you want to play. You can also reserve the space for a while as part of work events, birthdays, etc. Now, that’s a lot of money. Especially now, with everyone pinching pennies a little bit. Am I in a space personally to be able to afford such a venture, outside of a work preview setting? Only on special occasions! For me Space Marine VR sits in the same space in my head as a trip to the movies. This is totally fine, just keep that in mind when you go there, you play the game once or twice, try to get a highscore, grab a beer or five from the bar, and stumble home with your friends. Your mileage may very when it comes to value.

Should you play Space Marine VR? Yeah sure, absolutely if you’ve got some friends who’re keen on Warhammer and are eager for a night out. It’s a bash. I’m not saying I’m about to drop several hundred dollars on a VR headset, but I will start bringing up VR experiences like Space Marine VR to my friends, because of Space Marine VR.

In my mind that’s a glowing compliment. Space Marine VR sold me on the whole package – so give it a go if you’ve got the cash.

This article was written during a Zero Latency press event, with travel and accommodation provided by the company.