Nayu's Gaming Time #28 Hyper Reality Gaming Bar (alcohol free) in London

Downstairs area in Hyper Reality

I am super excited to write this post because it's about gaming!  Due to Covid19 and also London being far away and difficult for me to visit outside of hospital appointments, I have not been able to visit Hyper Reality in person, but the team have answered all my questions. This isn't a sponsored post, just me promoting a company I want to share with all of you.

When the word bar is used it is predominantly referring to alcoholic drinks. Not so in this case! Here is what the team say about Hyper Reality. 

Hyper Reality is a bar that combines state-of-the-art virtual reality with nostalgic video games, allowing people to escape the stresses of the world and immerse themselves in a host of interactive experiences. It has three distinct gaming zones – The Arena, The Place with No Name and Rollercoasters – as well as a Lounge and a private Karaoke and Gaming Room.

There is also the stylish Hyper Dry Bar, serving quality non-alcoholic drinks, including beers from Hop and Hemp, adult mocktails from Three Spirit and a selection of gourmet coffees, teas and milkshakes.

Inside Hyper Reality

The concept of Hyper Reality intrigued me because it combines gaming, both traditional board games, video games, and virtual reality games, and there isn't a single drop of alcohol sold! This is a huge plus point for Muslims and any other other religion that prohibits alcohol use, making it a safe environment to visit. It means all the drinks are safe to try, aside from various types of coffee there are several mocktails which include Pentire Gin: again, it is non-alcoholic. Never heard of it, probably because I've never had an interest in gin, but I am intrigued by it for sure. Snacks are on offer too. 

Mocktail drink Happy Ending at Hyper Reality

 

The prices are extremely reasonable: the mocktails average around £5.50. Here are some of the prices if you turn up on the day without booking taken from the website:

• The “Place with No Name” Experiences- £12 and up
• The Arena Experiences- £8 and up
• Rollercoaster Experiences- £3 and up
• VR Go-Kart Experience – £6.5 per person per race
• Ask at The Bar for more information on what worlds can be delved into.
• Place with no name and Arena experiences are for players 7 years old and older
• Experiences typically last for £1 a minute, though if your hidden profession is a super hero or a ninja, then experiences can last up to 15 mins in The Arena on one credit
• £1.50 discount on each experience for students (please present student ID)

 

Hyper Reality bar and rollercoaster area

So what type of games does Hyper Reality have? In addition to a lounge area with board games and video games, a karaoke area, there are three areas for VR experiences. There is one which is a rollercoaster VR ride. Obviously it's not an actual rollercoaster, but there are several themes that can be visited. I like the look of the children friendly ones, the Dinosaur Land which looks to include a T-Rex!

Picture from Hyper Reality website for Dinosaur Land!

 and Goblin Town which looks so cute. The others really do emphasize heights and exhileration for those with braver stomachs than mine. I prefer my feet safely on the ground.

Picture from Hyper Reality website for Goblin Land

 

The other two VR areas include The Arena which offers boxing, zombie shoot games, etc. The third area, Place With No Name allows you to walk around a world in various RPG settings - haunted house, wizard quests, etc. There is plenty to check out and good incentives to return in future visits. The team very kindly answered some questions I had about the company.

Are there any specific challenges for running a gaming bar?

There are a ton.  As we are dealing with many of the latest technology from software and hardware, we need to constantly update and train ourselves to the latest processes.  Sometimes stations can shut down simply from a faulty update.  It is surprising how the internet is also essential in running our business so sometimes when there are network issues, it also influences the operation of the shop.  We are also constantly updating our Food and Beverages offering so it requires additional training to the staff members regarding our new dry-bar cocktail recipes and new drink flavours.  

What was the reasoning behind being alcohol free? As someone who avoids alcohol for religious reasons it is extremely welcome to have somewhere free from it. Would you ever consider alcohol in the future?

VR and alcohol simply doesn't go well together.  As many of our experiences on offer are quite intense, we've found with experience that intoxicated customers usually have a poorer experience than sober customers.  We are also finding a great refreshing niche market in the dry-bar market and we thought we'd give it a go mixing our Cyberpunk DNA into our drink offerings.  So far it's been going well for us with our dry bar recipes like Space-Sip and Pathetic Fallacy, as well as our offerings of CBD Beers and Drinks.  Never say never regarding offering alcohol in the future, but that is to be explored at a later stage.  

How often do you add new games to your collection? Do you run themed events in the year?

Hyper Reality was founded during the Halloween season of 2018 so we will also be running Halloween specials for the foreseeable future.  We also often run special themed events during Valentines as we have become quite the popular date spot for couples.  New games are added every quarter to every two quarters depending on the freshness of the content offered and market response.

Do you have an estimate on what percentage of your customers return regularly?

We'd say right now we are seeing roughly 30% of our customers returning often bringing friends and family along.  

Are you able to share any future plans you have for the bar? Would you look to expand in different locations?

We are already in the process of building out our own IP which should have a completion date by Q2 2021 and we are excited to share that with the public.  We are looking to expand our CBD Dry-Bar range to make that an additional niche angle for our consumers.  Finally, we are certainly looking for additional locations for expansions but given the current state of COVID, we are taking a more cautious approach and focusing on improving all of our existing offerings before venturing out to build our second shop.  We've already been approached by a few Mall developers and potential franchisees, but we will review this as we have more clarity on the COVID situation.

Again thank you to Hyper Reality for answering my questions. There are explanations of Covid-19 rules on their website here. Be sure to get in touch using their contact form to check out opening times during these strange times and to make a booking! Let me know if you visit it too.