Gravity Wandsworth is such a huge sensory experience – there is an abundance of fun activities and things to try in a very sci-fi feeling space.
The unmissable building is located on Wandsworth High Street, marked with its huge neon sign with the giant V.
My colleague Poppy and I got a taste of what the entertainment complex has to offer as well as trying the new pizzeria, 800° Pizza, that had become available at site.
First up was AR darts, which is quite a weird concept to explain.
A digital display overlayed on a dart board guides you through all kinds of interesting and competitive games that even the worst of darts players can enjoy.
We had a selection of pizza to nibble on as we played and I must say that the cheesy garlic bread stole the show – it was moist without being soggy and had a real kick of garlic that does not disappoint.
Visitors to Gravity are able to order customizable meals via a QR code and can choose from a range of popular outlets in the Reef food hall.
The restaurant is open from 8.30am every day, closing at 11pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday, and 12.30am on Friday and Saturday.
Founded by award-winning chef and restaurateur Anthony Carron, the “Pizza, Wings and More” restaurant, currently has 35 locations worldwide including the US, Japan, and Singapore.
The Gravity Wandsworth launch will be followed by expansion plans that will see two further UK sites open in the next three months.
There are also several bars, including the over 18s Newtons Bar that can add a touch of class to your evening if you would like to get away from all the hustle and bustle.
One thing I would highlight is that it can get quite noisy in the building due to all the activities going on around you so it is quite nice to be able to get out of the way.
Me and my colleague Poppy were thrilled to try out the VR gaming arena, which came with vibrating chest pieces that gave you a stern buzz when you messed up in the game.
The headsets themselves were HTC Vives, a great choice for anyone who has never tried VR as they are really easy to get the hang of.
We each picked a game each – Poppy’s choice being a rhythm based music game that she absolutely smashed me at and my choice being a robot zombie survival game with a big ugly spider creature that still haunts my nightmares to this day.
I’ve never done VR with the vibrating chest plates before - the feeling really does give you a sense of urgency while playing the game.
Last, but definitely not least was the Immersive Gamebox.
An Immersive Gamebox consists of a square room where you wear funny little coloured visors with “antennas” on them that tracked your movements within that space.
You also could touch the panels on the wall to play the game.
There was a nice little cup holder for your drinks so that no tipsy accidents happened within the box.
I always considered Gamebox’s to be a bit of a waste of time as I thought that surely it would just be more fun to do VR or something different, but this completely changed my opinion on the concept.
We took on the Netflix’s Squid Game inspired challenge and had so much fun that we were losing at the games because we couldn’t hold in our fits of laughter.
It is perfect for team-building exercises or a date night doing something a little bit different.
At the end of the Gamebox experience, it let us take a celebratory video that got sent to our email addresses.
It’s a good job they only let you retake the video once, because we definitely would have been there all day doing stupid dances to the camera.
There are also a number of activities that we did not try during our evening, such as the favourite activity at the venue, the E-kart racing track – which looked like a really thrilling experience.
There is also bowling, street golf, an Esports gaming zone, a floor dedicated to arcade games and shuffleboard.
I’d recommend Gravity to people of all ages – whether you are taking the kids out for a special day out, on a exciting first date with some added drinks, or maybe your nan is brave enough to face off the zombies on the VR.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here