My lifelong quest to find ultimate video game immersion began in 1995 on the day that I plugged a joystick into my dad’s DOS computer to play Star Wars: Rebel Assault 2. Since then, I’ve endeavoured to find every device, peripheral, or piece of hardware that can help me achieve my Ready Player One dream. Modern virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Quest 2 have closed the gap significantly, but of course, VR headsets are still quite limited in the experiences they can offer. Merely peering through the looking glass is insufficient; my quest for true immersion demands a full physical transportation into the virtual world. Last month, I was able to make a huge step forward — perhaps as monumental as the Quest 2 itself — thanks to Roto VR: the world’s first interactive VR chair. The Roto VR chair is the most complex and sophisticated motion device you can get outside of a location-based VR experience like Hologate. In fact, the wide compatibility of Roto VR actually makes it a better system for immersion-seekers when compared to Hologate and other VR arcade systems, which can only offer a small handful of games and experiences. While Roto VR certainly isn’t Ready Player One brought to life, I believe it’s the closest we’ve ever been — particularly for a home setting.

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In short, Roto VR is a gaming chair designed for use with a VR headset. It provides full-body haptic feedback, controlled rotation, ergonomic controller mounting with modular attachments, and a built-in slip ring system for free spinning and cable management. Additionally, the chair comes equipped with two pedals used to simulate running in game, though I was not able to test this with the Quest 2. Depending on the headset you use and the games you play, the Roto VR can become your driving rig, your cockpit for flight sims, or simply the most engaging and comfortable way to experience any VR game.

Before I get into my experience with using the Roto VR, I want to talk about setting up the chair itself. This is a major piece of equipment that’s going to take up quite a bit of space in your home. The chair comes in two or three boxes, depending on attachments, and is assembled in a fairly similar fashion to any other gaming chair. If you’ve put together a Secret Labs chair, you shouldn’t have too much trouble with the Roto VR. The big difference is simply the size and the weight of it. All of the electronics and hardware are in the base of the chair, which weighs about 60 lbs on its own. Once fully assembled, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to move the chair more than a foot or so by yourself. You’ll be spinning 360 degrees in the Roto VR, so you have to make sure you have clearance all around you to do that. When sitting straight up, you won’t need much more space than any other office chair, but once you add on the extended footrest for pedals, you’ll likely need a good three or four feet clear in every direction. This is the kind of toy that you should really have a dedicated VR room for. If you don’t have that kind of space, hopefully you have a very understanding partner that doesn’t mind it being set-up semi-permanently in the middle of the living room.

Once the chair is assembled, you’ll need to plug in a handful of cables to various places on the base and underneath the chair. All of the cables are USB, and the instructions are pretty clear about where they go. I didn’t have any problem wiring it up at all, but the setup will vary somewhat depending on the headset you’re using. There’s also a power cable with a massive power supply in the middle of it. The chair needs to be plugged in at all times for any of its functions to work.

What the chair can do depends on what VR headset you’re using. The Roto VR was designed to interface with the original HTC Vive and Oculus CV1. If you have those older headsets, you’ll get the full functionality out of the Roto VR. The chair does not have display port support, so if you’re using the Vive Pro, Oculus Rift S, or Steam Index, the company recommends that you use a battery-powered laptop positioned on the chair itself rather than a separate desktop PC. Considering the performance of most VR-ready laptops while unplugged, this is hardly a suitable option. Roto is working on a new cable magazine that will include display port support, but until then, PC VR is limited to older headsets.

Then there’s non-PC VR like the Quest 2, which is what I tested the Roto VR with exclusively. The benefit of using the Quest 2 is that it’s already wireless, so there aren’t any compatibility or wiring issues to worry about. That does lead to some limitations of features, but luckily, there are already some usable workarounds, but I’ll circle back to that later.

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When you sit down on the Roto VR with your Quest 2, there are two simple things you need to set up. From the bottom of the chair is an audio cable connected to a splitter. You need to plug the end of it into the headphone port on your headset and plug your headphones into the open side of the splitter. Then, grab the small Bluetooth device that comes with the chair, attach it to your headset, and press the power button. When you start your game, you just need to hit one button on the side of the Bluetooth adapter and the chair will engage. Now, whichever direction you look will automatically turn the chair to face that direction. If you turn your head and keep it turned, the chair will infinitely spin in the direction you’re looking. Additionally, the subwoofers on the bottom and back of the chair will translate bass into powerful vibrations, giving you intense, full body haptic feedback while you play.

Look-controlled turning was hard for me to get used to at first. After all, you don’t necessarily turn your body whatever direction you look toward in real-life, but in the Roto VR, you do. I found that this style of rotation wasn’t necessarily a good fit for every type of game. Puzzle games like The Room VR or Tetris Effect made the rotation feel really unnecessary and distracting. It also doesn’t work great for games where it doesn’t make sense to turn where you’re looking, like The Climb 2 or Star Wars Pinball. Furthermore, the powerful motors that turn the chair start and stop incredibly fast, which causes some pretty significant jerkiness to the motion. There’s a bit of play, or dead space, that allows the chair to turn freely a few inches in either direction, so every time you stop moving the chair bounces back slightly in the other direction. It’s more noticeable during slow turns, so slower-paced games can make this feel worse. Roto confirmed through video that my chair is working as intended, though it does spin faster than the average chair they manufacture. At 24RPM, I’m told I may have the fastest Roto VR on the planet (average is 22.5RPM).

While “chill” games might not be the best fit for the Roto VR, it should come as no surprise that the chair takes high-energy experiences to unbelievable new heights. Arena shooters like Robo Recall, motion sims like Epic Roller Coaster, and even Beat Saber are just incredible with 360 motion and haptic feedback. The 360 tracks in Beat Saber could sell the Roto VR all on their own, but even playing the normal track with just a little bit of rocking back and forth as a move my head with the music was enough to elevate the experience immeasurably. The first couple times I played my favorite track in Beat Saber while riding the Roto VR nearly brought me to tears just because of how intense and engaging the experience was. The jerkiness of the motion is a perfect fit for Epic Roller Coaster, and added a ton to the chaos of Yupitergrad, Robo Recall, and Hyper Dash. I’m almost at a loss for words — something uncommon for me — while trying to describe just how intense playing these games on the Roto VR is. At times, It’s akin to a thrill ride experience at a theme park.

Even when I wasn’t using the rotation feature, the haptics were still doing a lot for me. Horror experiences like Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners and Jurassic World Aftermath benefit from the rumbling thrill every time Shit Goes Down (a technical term), and your seat goes wild to let you know you’re in danger. The rumble doesn’t necessarily always match the tone or feeling of what you’re playing since the chair is just using the bass instead of actual programming from the game, but it’s easy to tune it — even with the headset on — by turning the knob under the seat. Games with good sound design really come alive in the Roto VR though, and I found that I actually got more out of that feature than the rotation.

The Roto VR uses an inventive modular system to add trays, tables, and posts for all your attachment needs. I got to try out the side tables, which are great for storing your headset and controllers when you’re done playing, or mounting your flight sticks. I also tested the desktop table and racing rack, which are perfect for setting up a steering wheel and pedals, or in my case, just to make a comfortable foot rest and place to rest my laptop. Believe it or not, I’ve been using the Roto VR just to work off of when I’m not gaming. The side tables have plenty of room for a mouse and drink, and the table puts my laptop in the perfect position for working. I plugged the audio cable into my laptop to get some haptic feedback in my non-VR game, and it works just as well as the Buttkicker that I reviewed last year.

Ultimately I feel like turning the direction you look is pretty unnatural feeling, even though it's fun for certain games, but controlling your rotation with a steering wheel or flight stick is true, realistic immersion. PC VR players can set this up with Roto VR’s desktop software, but there’s a way to make it work with the Quest 2 as well. You’ll need to use the new Airlink feature to wirelessly connect your headset to your PC, then connect your flight sticks or steering wheel to the chair and the chair into your PC. Roto VR confirmed with me that this would work, though I was not able to test it because I built the chair downstairs and my router is upstairs, just out of range to get a strong enough wifi signal for airlink. I don’t have space for the chair upstairs, nor could I move it now even if I wanted to, so that’s something to consider. If you intend to race or fly with the Roto VR, which I believe is the best use for it, you’ll need the chair, your PC, and your router all in the same place.

There’s no way around it; the Roto VR is a gaming chair for hardcore VR enthusiasts. The price tag is going to warn off anyone but the most dedicated, and the space requirements are yet another limiting factor. I’ve tried plenty of cutting-edge VR devices that promise true immersion but deliver something that feels underwhelming, but the Roto VR is not that. This chair offers the kind of experience you can only get at a VR arcade, and you’re not going to find anything else quite like it. The jerkiness of the turning really limits the number of games I enjoyed playing in the Roto, and I think that a smoother turn and stopping action would drastically improve the experience. That said, I’ve had an unbelievable time rock and rolling in the Roto VR and I have every intention of using it weekly, if not daily, as VR continues to grow and mature. I hope that Vive Pro and Valve Index support comes soon and that Roto continues to support the chair as new VR hardware comes out. The buy-in is significant, but unlike a VR headset, I don’t expect to have to replace the Roto VR in a couple of years. If you want to get the most out of VR today and in the future, this is absolutely the best way to do it.

A Roto VR chair was provided to TheGamer for this review. Learn more about the Roto VR on the company’s official website.