Pac-Man, kart racing and alien battles are coming to London’s Southbank
Tickets are already on sale ahead of the September launch
Arcade Arena, a brand-new gaming attraction opening on the Southbank, London, this September, is promising real-world versions of iconic video game experiences complete with live-action gameplay, interactive environments and enough flashing lights to make you feel like you’ve accidentally wandered into the future.
Created by the team behind The Crystal Maze Experience, the new venue will combine multiple large-scale gaming experiences under one roof, with visitors able to bounce between life-sized Pac-Man, chaotic kart racing, and alien invasion battles.
The headline attraction is probably PAC-MAN LIVE, which turns the iconic arcade game into a fully immersive physical challenge. Players wear high-tech “PAC-Vests” before running through a full-scale interactive maze collecting pellets, dodging ghosts and trying not to embarrass themselves in front of their pals immediately. It’s the childhood fantasy of climbing inside an arcade machine finally becoming reality.
Alongside that will be Chaos Karts, a karting experience and Alien Invasion, a sci-fi combat experience involving themed missions and live-action gameplay.
The wider idea behind Arcade Arena seems to be turning gaming into a full social night out rather than something people do silently on Discord while eating crisps in the dark. There’ll be food, drinks and multi-game packages available, with tickets starting from £30 for a single experience and rising to £50 for access to all three.
While London is hardly short on immersive experiences these days, this one does feel slightly different. Most attractions still stop short of making you physically become the player character. Arcade Arena seems fully committed to the bit. This isn’t watching actors pretend you’re in a video game. This is you getting sweaty inside one.
It also makes complete sense that this is coming from Little Lion Entertainment, the people behind The Crystal Maze Experience, which has somehow spent the last decade convincing Londoners to willingly crawl through inflatable tunnels and scream at each other over oversized puzzle cubes.
Most importantly, though, it sounds fun. Not “networking event fun” or “team-building fun”. Genuine fun. The sort where your competitive instincts immediately take over and friendships are burdened with fragility.
Arcade Arena opens on London’s Southbank this September, with tickets on sale now.
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