York's first virtual reality arcade has opened: so what's it like?

MY stomach flips as the rollercoaster dives off the edge of the mountain and careers towards a rocky outcrop. But I'm not out of danger... seconds later a giant dinosaur thunders towards me, its rhino horn aimed straight at my head.

At the last moment, we avoid a collision because my carriage swerves out of the way – but there's no let up in the adrenaline surge as I hurtle towards the biggest loop-the-loop I've ever seen.

I close my eyes and remind myself: this isn't real; that I am actually sitting on a fold-away chair in a games arcade in Acomb, in the middle of a virtual reality experience.

"Immersive" is the word Kate Nolton uses to describe virtual reality gaming. She has set up York's first virtual reality arcade in a former furniture shop in York Road, Acomb. Play It VR opened ten days ago, and the city has seen nothing like it.

"There aren't many arcades like this in the UK or the North of England," says Kate, 37, who gave up a career in finance to set up the business with her partner Mike Creedon, 41, who works in IT.

Inside the arcade are six "booths" where hi-tech headsets called "rigs" hang from the ceiling and are connected to a sensor in the corner. There is a large TV monitor in each booth too, so anyone watching can follow what the player can see through the headset.

This makes the experience more sociable, says Kate – and a step away from people playing on their Xboxes by themselves at home.

"People can hire a booth for half an hour or an hour and take it in turns. It is different from playing on your Xbox or Playstation; there is a social aspect about being in here. The screen shows what the person is seeing through their headset, and you can hear the sound too. You can experience it with them, which is great." No doubt the arcade will appeal to gamers, but Kate insists it is for everyone, from all ages (the rig manufacturers recommend it for ages seven and above, but Kate says they will let anyone play "as long as they can fit the headset").

Even her 72-year-old mum Val has given it the thumbs-up. Kate invited her mum to play the Beat Saber game where you have to "slash" at boxes coming towards you and says she enjoyed it.

Location Based Virtual Reality (LBVR) – like what they have at Play It VR – is a relatively new industry, explains Kate, and is more established in the US, Canada and the Far East. It has only been going for about three years, she says, and much of the software – the games and experiences which people play – has been created by independents, with the big names yet to jump onboard.

There are only around 230 software games and experiences to enjoy, says Kate, and Play It VR has more than 50 of them.

Not all are of the stereotypical "single player shooter" games, she adds. There are animated short films, where you feel like a giant walking among the cast; sports experiences allowing you to play darts or snooker; nature trails, taking you to treks in far-off lands. One popular film allows children to inhabit a future world run by robots and find out what it's like to have a "real job" such as a secretary, a car mechanic or a chef.

Kate says: "Kids can cook some food, set it on fire and it doesn't matter – you couldn't do that at home!"

She added: "One little girl wanted to swim in the sea and she was swimming underwater and looking at a big whale. You can create your own environment, putting rocks or seaweed into it too."

There are puzzle games and even one experience where you can milk a cow. One package puts you inside the human body to see how blood carries oxygen and how viruses attack cells.

For my rollercoaster ride, I had a choice of eight versions. Kate warned me away from the scary one, and the Jurassic option caught my eye. It's not everyday you can be chased by dinosaurs in Acomb high street!

Kate fitted the rig snugly on to my head, adjusting it to fit. It can accommodate your glasses too, but Kate says if your spectacles are very wide, they may not fit.

Suitably masked, a new 3D landscape appeared before me with a virtual computer screen and keypad. Using hand-held probes which appeared to have a laser beam coming from them, I selected my game by using the lasers to "type" into the keyboard.

After picking my dino ride, a new setting appeared: a Jurassic landscape, full of rocks, shrubs and a giant beast with a fierce horn and sharp plates on its leathery hide. My "virtual" carriage appeared before my eyes too: immediately I felt like I was in a real rollercoaster seat. As we set off, heading towards the precipice of the first dip, my tummy did a flip – just as it would in real life.

The five-minute ride was thrilling – and I was surprised how close it was to the experience of a genuine rollercoaster. I gripped the side of my chair for dear life throughout, and confess to uttering a few OMGs as I narrowly missed entering the gaping mouth of a towering T-Rex.

Find out more at playitvr.co.uk

Prices start at £14 for a half-hour session.