Hey everyone, Blake here with an exciting new review from my recent family outing at the Axeclusive Axe Throwing & VR Lounge located in Schiller Park, a northwest suburb of Chicago. As an avid tech and virtual reality enthusiast, I had been eager to check this place out for a while.
After perusing Axeclusive’s website and reading some promising Yelp reviews, I rounded up Patty and booked us a VR room for an hour, followed by an hour of axe-throwing lessons. I figured this would give us a nice taste of everything Axeclusive had to offer. As we pulled into the huge parking lot, I was surprised to see the massive warehouse-style building housing Axeclusive right next to a busy street lined with big box stores and chain restaurants. Hardly the woodsy axe-throwing lodge I had envisioned!
Inside, however, I was pleasantly surprised by the sleek, modern interior with neon lighting that gave off a trendy, upscale vibe. After checking in at the front desk, we were escorted to our private VR room by an enthusiastic staff member named Mike. I rubbed my hands together eagerly, ready to be transported into virtual worlds beyond my wildest dreams! But did Axeclusive’s high-tech VR system live up to the hype? Read on to hear all about my family’s evening of virtual thrills and literal axe-slinging adventure!
Axeclusive VR Experience
I’ll start by recounting our time in Axeclusive’s VR lounge since this was what initially drew me to check the place out. Our room was outfitted with a powerful gaming PC and the latest Oculus Quest headset, controllers, and headphones. After helping us get geared up, Mike gave us a rundown of the various gaming options and left us to plunge into virtual worlds on our own.
We started with a popular archery game that transformed our bland room into a lush forest landscape where animated animal targets popped up from behind trees and ruins. Though nothing cutting edge graphically, it was an accessible way to ease into VR for my wife, who struggles occasionally with motion sickness in virtual environments. After adjusting the headset to optimize her view, she was nocking arrows like a pro within minutes!
“These graphics are so real looking!” Patty exclaimed as a flock of birds scattered beautifully across the virtual sky in response to her shooting. She ended up handily beating my score thanks to beginner’s luck. Or at least that’s my excuse.
For my next pick, I chose a thrilling alien shooter that transported us onto a hostile extraterrestrial planet. The realism was cranked up several notches for this one, with advanced physics allowing me to freely manipulate weapons with my hands and joined by extremely immersive spatialized audio effects. I had an absolute blast blasting away at waves of attacking aliens with a variety of high-tech guns and explosives. The gameplay was smooth and intuitive too thanks to Axeclusive’s powerful gaming rig and quality Oculus controllers.
After saving Patty’s character a few times from alien ambushes (she accused me of not adequately showing her the controls), I passed the headset to our 11-year-old daughter Jenette for her first-ever VR experience. Still pumped up on adrenaline from my alien shooter, I chose a more family-friendly game for her – a colorful underwater adventure complete with swimming sea creatures and sunken treasures to discover.
“It’s like I’m really walking along the ocean floor!” Jenette exclaimed in childlike wonder. Her reactions were truly priceless, especially when a giant blue whale swam by unexpectedly, eliciting gleeful squeals. It warmed my heart to see her experiencing the magic of immersive VR worlds for the first time. I knew then that Axeclusive had delivered on its promise to take customers on unforgettable virtual adventures.
The hour seemed to fly by and sadly I had to exit the ocean paradise game just as Jenette was befriending a baby dolphin. Overall Axeclusive receives top marks from me for their well-curated selection of VR titles catering to all ages and genres. I also appreciated the knowledgeable recommendations and technical support from Mike when needed. The only negatives were relatively minor – occasionally glitchy hand controller tracking and a somewhat dated gaming PC by 2023 standards. But still perfectly enjoyable for casual gamers looking to sample quality VR on a budget.
Axe Throwing Experience
After bidding the amazing underwater worlds farewell, we exited the VR room ready to try our hand at axe throwing – a fun lumberjack sport that has become all the rage. Having never chucked axes at targets myself, I was equal parts excited and terrified!
We were introduced to our “Axepert” coach, Ryan, who first gave us an overview of axe throwing basics and safety. I appreciated that Axeclusive takes this sport seriously by ensuring first-timers like us learn proper throwing techniques before letting us fling sharp objects willy-nilly. Ryan demonstrated the ideal throwing stance – legs shoulder width apart, non-throwing hand placed on your hip, and a smooth overhead “punch” with your dominant arm releasing the axe as you step forward.
After the demo, Ryan let my eager son John step up first to try his hand at a practice throw. John’s very athletic and I could tell he was itching to show off his natural skills. But his first throw revealed axe throwing ain’t as easy as the lumberjacks make it look! The axe wobbled clumsily mid-air before bouncing handle-first off the wooden target with a dull thunk.
“It’s heavier than I thought,” he remarked with a surprised laugh.
With some pointers from Ryan on adjusting his release, John’s accuracy improved bit by bit with each throw until he finally landed a satisfying thwack dead center on the bullseye! We all cheered loudly while John gloated, clearly relieved not to be shown up by his old man – at least not yet!
Next up was Patty, who started out extremely tentative and even a bit fearful of the sharp blade hurtling back at the throwers. But thanks to Ryan’s calm guidance and assurances that errant axes are stopped by protective fencing, her confidence grew enormously in just 10 short minutes. Soon she was nailing awesome combo throws alongside John, even besting a few of his attempts!
Finally, it was my turn to test my lumberjack skills after all the trash-talking I did on the sidelines. But karma came back to bite me quickly, as my first few awkward attempts went badly off course, once even bouncing backward right at my feet! Ryan helped adjust my stance and release point, and eventually, muscle memory kicked in allowing me to stick a few respectable throws near the center rings at least. Jenette of course captured my embarrassing failures on video to memorialize my brief stint as a bumbling axe thrower.
The hour of throwing sped by as we continued competing in tricks shot challenges devised by Ryan, like behind-the-back throws and catching axes mid-flight (maybe don’t try that last one at home). John emerged victorious, but Patty and I vowed to return for a rematch now that we were official axe-throwing converts!
Conclusion
As we departed Axeclusive after two hours of adrenaline-pumping virtual and literal adventures, I felt the evening was an unqualified success and terrific value for the money. At just $30 per person, per hour of axe throwing plus $55 per VR room, this was very comparable and in many cases cheaper than alternatives like movie theaters, bowling alleys, mini golf, arcade bars, escape rooms, and more.
And in my opinion, the experiences here were vastly more exciting, memorable, and Instagrammable! I mean where else can you visit tropical oceans, battle hordes of menacing aliens, AND release your inner Paul Bunyan by embedding steel blades into wooden targets? Nowhere I know of!
Despite my minor quibbles with the VR tech and laughable ineptitude at axe throwing, I give Axeclusive Chicago 5 out of 5 stars for delivering exactly what was promised – thrilling virtual adventures coupled with skilled coaching guiding us axe-throwing newbies. The expert staff struck the right balance of helpfulness and hand-holding without ever dampening the fun DIY spirit of exploration and friendly competition.
By the time we emerged back into the strip mall parking lot, faces flushed from exertion and grinning wildly recounting our silly blunders and triumphant bullet-time Moments, it was hard to believe only two hours had passed. We left feeling strangely bonded from surviving fiery alien battles and narrowly avoiding decapitation-by-axe together as a family!
I also appreciated how accessible and accommodating Axeclusive was for all ages and skill levels. From user-friendly family VR games perfect for newbies like Jenette to the challenge of mastering “Axepert”-level trick shots for athletic kids like John, to the simple joy Patty and I shared virtually swimming alongside majestic marine creatures. Truly an unforgettable evening bursting with laughs, screams, adrenaline, and more immersive fantasy wish fulfillment than I could have imagined.
So if you live in the Chicagoland area and are looking for a uniquely thrilling night out with friends, family, coworkers, or even a date, I wholeheartedly recommend Axeclusive Chicago. This imaginative and welcoming entertainment venue deserves massive kudos for daring to combine cutting-edge VR technology with an iconic rugged lumberjack sport. They’ve created something for everyone whether your interests lie in video games, sports, adventure, or just whiling away an evening escaping reality with loved ones.
So bring an appetite for adventure, ready to awaken long-dormant lumberjack alter egos and leap head-first into virtual worlds far more captivating than any IMAX theater. I’m already planning a celebratory return visit once I convince Patty we require urgent axe-throwing revenge and demand a rematch! Maybe I’ll challenge Mike the VR guru to a virtual duel next time too now that I know the ropes. Thanks, Axeclusive for igniting my family’s competitive fire and transporting us galaxies beyond the mundane. Here’s to many more epic adventures to come!