Countdown on to opening of Leeds virtual reality attraction

Tick Tock Unlock, based in Trinity Leeds, will transport customers to a different world thanks to its brand new virtual reality-powered game experience launching next month.

The ‘Hyper Reality Experience’ has been developed by company director Ali Khan and merges virtual reality technology with physical sets and multisensory effects to create a unique, fully immersive, multi-player entertainment attraction. The first will be in Leeds but there will eventually be six sites in four different cities.

“The centres will allow players to experience a free-roaming, live action challenge which has to be physically completed but which takes place in the playground of a virtual world,” said Mr Khan.

“This will be the first real taste of virtual reality for the British public in a gaming and live action environment and I am confident that Hyper Reality Experience will prove to be a leader and pioneer in virtual reality entertainment.

“Participants have to interact with objects which, in the real world are dummy props, but when viewing through VR headsets become, say, an elevator door, a laser gun or a fuel cell. Players might feel the heat from a virtual fire or the draft from a mineshaft so that it will be difficult to distinguish reality from virtual reality.”

The Trinity Leeds centre will open on April 22 and sessions start at £15 per person. Eight players can participate at any one time, and they have 15 minutes to complete their mission.

The launch coincides with the first day of the Leeds International Festival.

Leeds BID chief executive Andrew Cooper said: “We are delighted that Tick Tock Unlock’s new Hyper Reality Experience centre is launching on the first day of the Leeds International Festival, showcasing the city’s strength in leading the way in tech development.

“As a first for the UK, this will be an exciting and innovative attraction which LeedsBID is supporting by helping promote to local and national audiences as part of the city centre’s diverse entertainment offer.”

Tick Tock Unlock provides real life, interactive escape games and immersive entertainment designed for groups of up to six people. Established in Leeds in 2014, it was the first such adventure game company in the north of England.