Unique immersive experience located in the heart of Canterbury
Virtual & Retro started in August 2021, by five locals wanting to create a unique entertainment experience in Ashburton. They started by building custom PCs with high-performance graphics cards, and HTC Vive Pro and HTC Vive Pro 2 Headsets and gathered an extensive library of content from multiple providers, be it escape rooms, horror games, simulations, and games for children to showcase the performance of the headsets and PC’s.
In February 2025 Virtual & Retro went under new ownership, with Adi, current owner and an Ashburton resident for the past decade, aiming to make it the Ashburton hub for everything geek-related, from top-tier immersive experience, through Magic the Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons to board games, and in June 2025 we moved to our current location providing a more spacious and modern location at the centre of town, across the street from the public library. just off State Highway 1.
Our goal is to make sure you are in full control – all of the content is able to be easily selected by our customers from our VR menu system (giving you control of what you want to play, and for how long) or for the escape rooms pre-selected on-site. We also welcome spectators, with comfortable seating, and plenty of screens so even if you don’t want to try VR, you can see what’s happening and encourage your friends and family in VR.
With a rich tapestry of leisure pursuits in Canterbury, we’re proud to introduce a modern twist to entertainment in the region.
Our Offerings
At Virtual & Retro, we bring to you a plethora of entertainment options in 160 square meters venue, whether its over 30 different VR Escape Rooms tailored to delight gamers across all age groups, wide range of VR experiences, boasting over 50 games, the Retro gaming consoles or dedicated Esports PCs with 32” screens high-performance keyboards and mice.
And it’s beyond just entertainment – our VR experiences provide an immersive educational experience, from Google Earth, through space exploration to climbing Mt Everest. Our VR escape rooms are a unique team-building experience, with members of the team working together to solve puzzles.
Whether you’re a solo adventurer or part of a group seeking a thrilling challenge or looking to organise a work function for your employees/teammates, our venue promises an experience like no other.
Comprehensive Packages
Beside the entertainment, you can arrange to use our large meeting room (we can provide a TV, projector and even a computer), and we are happy to arrange catering from various partner businesses in Ashburton. Just get in touch!
