Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire

Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire is a VR experience created by The Void for Anaheim, California and Orlando, Florida. It opened on December 16, 2017 in Orlando and January 5, 2018 in Anaheim. It was also given a limited 12-week release in London on the same day as its Orlando release.

The VR experience places you in the boots of Rebels on a mission with K-2SO disguised as Stormtroopers.

Story
The storyline of the VR experience follows four rebels disguised as Stormtroopers. Upon an urgent message from Captain Cassian Andor stating you need to take his place on a mission to Mustafar to steal a powerful weapon of the empire.

The experience lasts over the duration of the mission on the ground and in a spaceship.

Plot
When the players first enter the briefing room, the players met Captain Cassian Andor. He briefed the players that he had gained an Imperial transport, and that there was a weapon of great power held by the Empire on a base on Mustafar. He can not join the players for this mission because his position was compromised.

From there the players entered an Imperial transport, joined by a pilot and K-2SO. The team proceeded to Mustafar through hyperspace. Upon arriving, the Imperial base was not happy to hear of the ship's arrival. They demanded the ship land immediately and be ready for inspection.

A hover platform docked with the ship and took the players across to the main base. They entered a lift down into the base, entering a corridor which led to a rack of blasters. The alarms started going off and K-2SO instructed the players to pick up the blasters and informed the players they had been discovered. The players were then instructed to go back down the corridor and exit through a side door.

The players were then trapped outside the main base. Stormtroopers then filed out onto walkways to try and shoot the players. The players defeated the Stormtroopers and insectoids rose from the lava and spat fire at the players. A giant insectoid appears and the players shot it until it died. K-2SO unlocked the door for the players.

The players moved back into a corridor and K-2SO presented them with a memory puzzle whilst Stormtroopers were shooting the players from behind. The players then ran down a corridor leading to a room with the weapons crate the players were dispatched to get. The pilot opened the crate and found a lightsaber with a fixed center.

The players then heard heavy breathing and a lightsaber flew across the room, stabbing the pilot in the chest. The lightsaber was pulled back across the room with the Force and landed in the hands of Darth Vader. Stormtroopers also moved into the room. After the players fired at Vader and the Stormtroopers, Vader force crushed the weapons of the rebels. Vader starts walking towards the party.

K-2SO rammed the Imperial transport into the side of the building, scooping up the players and the crate. After leaving atmosphere, they jumped to hyperspace.

Gameplay
The players are first met in a small room which holds a screen and provides the mission briefing. Then are directed through to a bay where they get given and mounted with the VR headset and backpack.

In the VR experience the game tracks the players hands without the need for controllers. The players all appear as Stormtroopers with Pauldrons on. Each player has an individual colored Pauldron and hand armor.

The guns the player interact with have a two triggers, a main trigger and a smaller secondary trigger. The guns also have a thumb wheel and pump-action reload on the barrel. The gun also has sights which seem to be accurate enough to be of use in the game. The only mechanic that seems to do anything is the main trigger. The gun has haptic feedback in the form of some sort of clicking and also gives feedback when crushed by Vader as some sort of vibration. The gun is only single fire.

The game also uses heaters to simulate lava, fans to simulate airflow, transducers for floor vibrations and rumbling, smells, button-panels for override code puzzels, and an emergency override lever.