Review: Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire virtual reality experience

Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire virtual reality at The Void was a fully immersive experience full of surprises and delight. It was worth it.

Set in the time of the Rebellion, your mission that you chose to accept, is to infiltrate an Imperial Base disguised as a Stormtrooper. Cassian Andor and K2SO make appearances and guide you along your mission in the virtual reality experience Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire at The Void.

You start out by signing on an iPad a few times through an ungodly amount of legalese. If you thought a CVS receipt was long wait until you are scrolling through this beast. After your finger gets tired, they take you to a small room where you receive a mission briefing.

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Cassian Andor appears onscreen and tells you about a shipment that you and your group will need to steal for the Republic disguised as Stormtroopers. It’s a well-done video, though at times I noticed Diego Luna reading the cue card. Still, great to see Cassian especially now that the prequel show is in the works. Check out this article for more on that.

After the briefing, they get you suited up. The staff member helping us was incredibly friendly and great to work with. A large back pack and VR helmet go on and they walk you to the “Alice in Wonderland” door. Once you put the mask down you are instantly aboard a ship with K2SO piloting, taking you into Imperial territory.

The planet you arrive on is made up of lava and you can feel the heat as you walk outside the base. You arrive without a weapon, which is a bit unnerving since at any time you could be found out. Thankfully you find some E-11s in room shortly upon arrival and battles ensue. Make sure you go over weapon safety with your team, because someone pulled the trigger on their blaster as I handed it to them. They shall remain nameless but she knows who she is…

As soon as the weapon fired alarms started blaring and we were fully engaged in a fire fight for our lives and the Rebellion!

I am going to spoil the story here so you have been warned. Don’t read ahead if you don’t want to now more.

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During the briefing you find out the base is on Mustafar, and fight three to four battles during the mission. The battles are mostly against Stormtroopers, but one was a large lava creature that wasn’t a fan of the Empire of the Rebellion, as it took out Stormtroopers while trying to get to you.

While engaged in these fire fights, you realize why Stormtroopers are such bad shots. The E-11 is not a very accurate blaster. My shots were going every which way but eventually succeeded. Or The Void took pity on us and killed them so we wouldn’t die. After you fight your way through the base, you find the crate you are looking for with an ancient light saber inside.

As you stand there admiring the weapon, it suddenly flies away from you into darkness. Right then, you hear the crack of a light saber and see a very distinct red glow. Reminiscent of Rogue One, Vader appears.

Photo Credit: [Rogue One : A Star Wars Story]LucasfilmSeeing him got my Fan Boy going. I stood there for a good minute or two just watching him before I snapped out of it and started pointlessly firing. Each shot was blocked with skill and precision until he Force-jammed my weapon. That’s when he starts coming at you. Your weapon won’t fire and you’re trapped in a room with The Dark Lord of the Sith is bearing down.

I stood in awe as he walked toward me getting ready to vow my allegiance to him or hoping for a quick death.

I won’t tell you what happens next. You need to book a trip and experience this for yourself. Aside from a few minor glitches such as buttons you need to press weren’t exactly as they appeared in VR, this was a well-produced and maintained attraction. I highly recommend it.

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Have you been to the Star Wars attraction at The Void? What did you think?

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