Hungry for VR? Aficionados of unusual experiences in virtual reality are invited to the banquet. With “Hotel Dracula”, which has just set its scene in Paris, the bloodthirsty count imagined by Bram Stoker in 1897 offers visitors a journey that is, to say the least, eventful and rich in emotions, as 20 minutes was able to see it.
It’s not Halloween, but it almost feels like it. A few steps from the Montparnasse Tower, it is in the basement of a former department store, now disused*, that a 600 m2 space has been set up for Dracula’s banquet. On site, three large platforms can accommodate a total of up to 90 participants. Equipped with a VR Pico 4 headset, they can come to the table at any time and begin their journey.
A technically very realistic experience
Freestanding, with speakers placed just above each ear, the Pico 4 can be worn with glasses. Offering 4K+ vision (2,160 x 2,160 pixels in front of each eye), with a field of vision of 105°, it allows for an extremely realistic experience. Already immersed, as we arrive at Dracula’s castle, we hear the cries of the visitors who precede us. In what sauce are we going to be devoured?
You have to walk, a little, a lot, on this journey at the end of the night. The plateau that we walk around (we sometimes have the impression of physically going in circles) is protected by virtual walls that are perfectly visible thanks to the headset. In the event of a problem, a coacha very real person, is always nearby to guide us.
Different scenes follow one another, ten… fifteen, we don’t really know anymore at the end of the experience (around thirty minutes in total) which is very similar to that of a revisited ghost train. We go up, we go down, we slide (impressive dive into a world of glaciers which can almost be inconvenient!); we avoid virtual obstacles, we are careful not to fall into the void several times; doors open, others slam; we move from room to room… until the final banquet.
If experience is recommended from the age of 10, this last picture in which the hemoglobin flows freely can, if not be scary, downright disgusting. Enjoy your meal all the same!
Virtual reality puts on a show
Certainly, the experience can seem a little disjointed (isn’t the scenario of this banquet a little shaky?). What connection is there between this old engine room as an escape from the bunker secret of the series Lost, and Count Dracula’s Transylvanian castle? The fact remains that the VR demo really does its job show. The creators of this experience (Univrse; Blanco y Negro; Pico) were able to capitalize on the 360° spectacle made possible by virtual reality, which never leaves the visitor the slightest respite, their gaze being constantly solicited from all sides.
We regret, however, that this route (for a budget greater than that of a classic cinema ticket, all the same) lacks a little interactivity. It is only rarely that we are called upon to act on one or more objects. On this subject, the most interesting moment here is to be able (on the occasion of a painting even closer to 20,000 leagues under the sea that of Dracula !), push books by hand that float, as if in suspension, with a hyper-realistic effect…
Not even afraid ?
And the fear in all this? As impressive as the wandering offered by “Hotel Dracula” is, with its often dizzying sensations which are worth the detour, the fear has never really stuck with us. It’s a real eye-catcher, that’s for sure, but it’s missing some little surprise effects that are perhaps more real than virtual. Like when you once took a seat on the ghost train at a fairground, and a few cleverly hidden human hands came to grab the bottom of your pants or tickle your hair.
*Galeries Montparnasse, 22 rue du Départ, Paris 15th. Full price: €19 on weekdays, €21 on weekends · Reduced price: €16 on weekdays, €18 on weekends Group rate + 4: €17 on weekdays, €19 on weekends.
