I’m wandering through a dark and misty world, past giant towers that are tearing through clouds, where an evil overlord is sending fire-spitting dragons and creepy skeletons that are three times my size. They’re all there to destroy me.
When a green, Shrek-looking monster aggressively charges at me, I can’t help but feel actual fear.
I look down at my avatar’s hands and legs. One of my hands has powers to shoot out iced blades and the other is holding a sharp weapon. I have a dark blue, full-body hero’s suit made out of steel. A monster comes vaulting towards me. I can feel the buzzing as its weapon smashes against my armour.
I felt a wide spectrum of emotions — mostly rage — as I slashed the the green monsters.
I’d almost forgotten I was wearing a sensory vest. I’m at Sandbox VR, a new immersive virtual reality experience in the the ByWard Market, where groups of two to six players enter virtual worlds from physical rooms.
Sandbox VR has over 40 locations worldwide, and just opened their first location in Ottawa in December 2025. I’ve never tried virtual reality before, and I’m not even a gamer, so when I walked through the doors on Rideau St., I felt a bit nervous.
But I wanted to see if VR is a gimmick, or something that is worth your time and money.
The staff members at Ottawa’s Sandbox Virtual Reality (VR) branch don’t describe the virtual reality adventures as games. They call them experiences. And an experience it was.
Players are given black and red chunky headsets and haptic vests that help make the experience all the more realistic by translating perceived physical sensations like vibrations and impacts. Players are also equipped with ankle and wrist motion-capture sensors that help enhance — to the millisecond — the accuracy of the virtual reality behind the players’ VR headsets.
Ottawa Citizen reporter Abyssinia Abebe took part in a full-body virtual reality gaming experience at Sandbox VR in Ottawa’s ByWard Market.
I braved the fantasy world of my choice — Seekers of the Shard: Dragonfire — in a public session, where I joined a lovely family of five, who chose Sandbox VR to celebrate one of their son’s birthdays. Players can embark in a new world for their journeys or be part of TV-based universes like Squid Game and Stranger Things, which were created in partnership with Netflix.
Players have the option to embark on their hero’s journeys solo, too, but staff recommend you try them in groups first.
“It’s much more fun that way,” Sandbox VR Ottawa staff Maryline Talla told us. She has helped hundreds before me gear up for Sandbox VR’s experiences over the last eight months.
The five siblings I played with were among some of the sweetest children I’ve ever met. I bonded with the youngest daughter almost instantly. Despite not knowing any of them beforehand, partaking in a hyper-realistic fantasy where we collectively combat common enemies made it feel like I had known them for much longer.
Ottawa Citizen reporter Abyssinia Abebe took part in a full-body virtual reality gaming experience at Sandbox VR in Ottawa’s ByWard Market.
Within the VR headset, the experience was so much more realistic than I had expected. Each hero had their own weapons, sense of style and powers that would help them battle the enemy.
I was shocked by how palpable the world I was in felt.
Ottawa Citizen reporter Abyssinia Abebe took part in a full-body virtual reality gaming experience at Sandbox VR in Ottawa’s ByWard Market.
My favourite were the giant hairy spiders that ran at full speed towards us. Before I got the chance to process the tarantulas that were vaulting towards us, one was already glued on me.
I looked down, panic setting in and then screamed at the top of my lungs. I felt slightly embarrassed afterwards, after hearing the concern in the parents’ voices.
As a (self-diagnosed) arachnophobe, I was a bit shaken. But a little exposure therapy never hurt anyone.
Ottawa Citizen reporter Abyssinia Abebe took part in a full-body virtual reality gaming experience at Sandbox VR in Ottawa’s ByWard Market.
The rest of the experience felt exactly how I’d imagined the fantasy worlds I read about when I was younger would look like.
What made the experience feel so realistic, though, were the vests we wore before going into the experience. The tighter you attach them to your body, the more intensely you feel the sensations in your body, Tally told us beforehand.
We went to about four or five worlds during the experience, which lasted about half-an-hour total.
The VR headsets
One aspect that staff warned us about beforehand, which I appreciated, was the feel of the headset.
Because we have them on for a highly stimulating half hour, they can get heavier on the forehead and create tension.
Ottawa Citizen reporter Abyssinia Abebe took part in a full-body virtual reality gaming experience at Sandbox VR in Ottawa’s ByWard Market.
“For people who’ve never been here, I have to give them more instructions, like how the headset feels and explain that sometimes it gets heavier at the end,” Tally said.
It was true to my experience. I hadn’t anticipated the weight of the headset on my forehead. Three-quarters into the experience, Tally checked in on me and the other players, and adjusted the headsets to make them a little bit looser if needed.
She says she always advises players to ask for help if anything feels off at any point in the experience.
After the experience was over, we watched a video recap of how the experience went. The video was emailed to our inbox free of charge afterwards.
A busy few months for Sandbox VR
Sandbox VR in Ottawa has had a busy start.
Ottawa’s Sandbox VR location lucked out when it comes to visibility. Part of Sandbox’s early success can be attributed to the marketing team and the wide open windows.
Ottawa Citizen reporter Abyssinia Abebe took part in a full-body virtual reality gaming experience at Sandbox VR in Ottawa’s ByWard Market.
Tally says the high windows help curious outsiders look into the mirrors as they walk towards the Rideau Centre from Parliament. Those who follow their curiosity go in for a walk-in experience.
Tally says clientele includes families coming to Sandbox VR to celebrate birthdays and corporate leaders bringing their employees for team-bonding events, as well as those attending bachelorette parties or on date nights.
The entertainment shop is open on Fridays and Saturdays as late as 1 a.m., another employee, Antoine Leblanc, told the Ottawa Citizen.
“Sometimes you get like 10-people walk-ins at midnight and it’s a lot of fun,” Leblanc said.
He says that about half of the bookings at Sandbox VR are walk-ins.
While parents mostly come in with their kids, Sandbox VR also caters to adults who can enjoy the mini bar, which has drinks based on games.
Netflix TV-series inspired experiences like Squid Game have drinks tailored to them, which Tally says people enjoy.
How old does your kid have to be to experience Sandbox VR?
There’s no real minimum age for the experience. Kids as young as five years old have taken part.
“It’s mostly about how the kids will take it,” Tally says. “Because we have five-year-old kids who can do it.”
Ottawa Citizen reporter Abyssinia Abebe took part in a full-body virtual reality gaming experience at Sandbox VR in Ottawa’s ByWard Market.
Leblanc says it depends on the head-to-body ratio of the child. Because the headset is quite heavy, kids with smaller heads may not necessarily enjoy the experience.
Sandbox VR in Ottawa is located at 45 Rideau St. #200 in the ByWard Market area, right above the CIBC.
Prices drop slightly during weekdays. Players can pay up to $55.99 per person between Monday and Thursday, and $64.99 for experiences between Friday and Sunday.
Ottawa Citizen reporter Abyssinia Abebe took part in a full-body virtual reality gaming experience at Sandbox VR in Ottawa’s ByWard Market.
Ottawa Citizen reporter Abyssinia Abebe took part in a full-body virtual reality gaming experience at Sandbox VR in Ottawa’s ByWard Market.
Ottawa Citizen reporter Abyssinia Abebe took part in a full-body virtual reality gaming experience at Sandbox VR in Ottawa’s ByWard Market.
Ottawa Citizen reporter Abyssinia Abebe took part in a full-body virtual reality gaming experience at Sandbox VR in Ottawa’s ByWard Market.
Ottawa Citizen reporter Abyssinia Abebe took part in a full-body virtual reality gaming experience at Sandbox VR in Ottawa’s ByWard Market.
Ottawa Citizen reporter Abyssinia Abebe took part in a full-body virtual reality gaming experience at Sandbox VR in Ottawa’s ByWard Market.
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