Chaos Karts kindly invited us to come down to Manchester to check out their Augmented Reality go-karting experience which lets visitors jump into the shoes of an avatar and race around video game-inspired racetracks.
The second you walk into Chaos Karts the mood is set as this retro reception is packed full of retro goodies including a free arcade to enjoy before and after your race experience.
A podium sits just next to the reception for the winners and losers of the races along with a 360-camera stage for some cheesy slow-mo social media videos.
We arrived after Chaos Karts had closed and we cannot thank the staff enough for staying behind after hours to look after us, it meant the absolute world to us and with their only being 3 of us (Chaos Karts recommends a minimum of 5 racers on track) 2 staff members hopped on with us and kicked our asses through every single race, bar one (I came second!).
You go through your briefing which involves learning about the augmented reality track where you can pick-up gems and powerups that you can fire at other drivers just like in Mario Kart, you can fire projectiles forwards and backwards and there are things such as ‘speed boost’ which catapult your kart forward and shield where you’re protected from projectiles.
My personal favourite was the equivalent of Mario’s lightning pick-up in the games where all karts on the track are struck with lightning (like an EMP) and you’re free to carry on driving around overtaking them.
Chaos Karts isn’t structured like your stereotypical race it’s all about amassing points through how many times you can shoot other karts, collect gems and rack up your score via that method as opposed to just racing around looking to beat the opposition.
Driving into a pitch-black arena before it lights up before your very eyes is magical, like it’s something you will never get bored of no matter how many times it happens as the whole arena is lit up before your very eyes and you’re catapulted into some sci-fi movie Ready Player One meets Mario cross-over. It’s genuinely incredible.
Projection mapping and screens combine beautifully and the karts are stunning and ever so easy to handle.
From mountains and water to galaxies in space, you can race around the track to very addictive soundtracks that instantly make you feel happy and the technology behind the karts is incredible.
When you’re shot your kart slows down, when you fire your points total on-screen increase if you hit your target, there’s a pit lane to drive in should you want a randomised pick-up. It’s so much fun!
What I will say is that the UK’s live-action AR karting experience is a little on the short side, we were in the arena for 20-minutes (the standard package had we paid for it) and I did feel as though this wasn’t enough time to really get stuck in. As soon as I got the hang of things the experience was over but I was eager to come back so I guess that’s where they hook you in, you sample the experience and instantly you’re ready for more!
This is racing on another level and if this is what things are like now I can only imagine just how immersive and incredible something like this would be ten years from now as technology evolves.
Chaos Karts is very special indeed as you get to indulge in living the dream of stepping inside a video game and whisking yourselves away in the ultimate escapism drive.
Dressed from head to toe in Mario gear I loved every second of it and with only one collision that whipped me back in my seat a bit (testing out the collision reduction technology) I’d say it’s a safe experience all-round for all the family
Drivers have to be a minimum age of 11 and be at least 5ft (1.5m) to take part in Chaos Karts.
I want to express a huge thank you to Chaos Karts for the invite and we’d love to come back in the future to test out any new additions. The joy of everything being digital is that new tracks can be made and the experience can be customised regularly.
That’s a reason to come back in itself over and over again!
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