Activate Metrocentre Review

AD - We were invited along to a press opening when this venue launched in 2025. This post is based on that visit.

Last year we were invited along to Activate in the MetroCentre & went along with our teens.

Activate is a brand new active gaming facility suitable for groups of 2-5 people (larger groups can spilt up into smaller teams). You can book ahead online or walk in subject to space.

Inside MetroCentre, Lower Yellow Mall opposite clip n climb.

I will say, it is mega expensive, our 1 hour session was £131.25 for 5 players in the school hols. I have to be honest & say I personally would not pay this for just a random family day out in the holidays lasting for just 1 hour. It's cheaper for us to have a full day out at a zoo.

It was fun though & I would book again for a teen birthday treat - off peak is a little cheaper & for three teens after school in term time, it's £59.85 which feels much more reasonable, esp for a birthday treat for their age group.

Our opinion:

Myself & Steve would not book for ourselves again as it was too sweaty and we like a more chilled date night - I prefer a gaming bar where you can mix gaming with drinks and chat (somewhere like ML7, NQ64 or Four Quarters)

Dee (16) loved it and would book again with her friends

Dorian (16) enjoyed it but prefers traditional laser tag

Jack (14) loved it and was a natural - he picked the games up really quickly and would book again with his friends

I'm sure there will probably be some deals and offers in the pipeline once the initial excitement dies down too.

Minimum age is 6 years and players aged 6-13 years need to be accompanied by an adult. Ages 14+ can play unaccompanied.

Gift cards are available so if your kids are into this kind of thing, a voucher is a gift idea which I'm sure will be well received.

Need to know - for most games you need to be able to differentiate between colours. Expect flashing lights, lasers and loud music, wear comfy clothing and flat closed toe shoes (trainers are ideal). Sometimes 5 people are running around in a room so be mindful of bashing into each other.

You can't take drinks inside but lockers are available and you can keep drinks in there/access at any time. It's not suitable for solo players. There are toilets and a water fountain within the game area. It's all self explanatory but there are staff around to help if needed.

It gets HOT. Wear lightweight breathable clothing, tie your hair up and make use of the free water fountain between games..

So what can you expect?

On arrival, everyone is provided with a digital wristband which keeps track of your score (with a chance to win prizes). You register your wristband and attend a quick briefing. Then you're good to go. Scan your wristband in the game rooms to start play.

You have 1 hour to explore and play in 11 interactive gaming rooms. You can choose which games to play and each game lasts 1-3 minutes so it's pretty fast paced.

If nobody is waiting outside for your game when your game is over, you're given the choice to hit a button & play again or leave the room and try something else. If somebody is waiting outside to play, then your game ends and the room tells you to leave.

There's one entry and one exit door so change overs are super efficient and quick. This system works really well as you're either straight into a game or only have a wait of a minute or so.

Every room has multiple games to play - some collaborative and some competivite. Click the screens outside for instructions.

I was terrible at the laser game where you had to avoid the laser

, we loved the basket ball games, esp Simon Says where you had to remember the pattern, there is one game which is a quiz and you have to run along the floor to your numerical answer which was fun, in other games you had to run around hitting your colour tiles or jumping on them.

We played a game of giant snake, asteroids and there was one that was like Just Dance. There are games where you have to try and get the other players out and games where together you try and get the most points.

We loved the games where you had to run around the floor or walls to find your colour first.

There must be over 100 combinations of games and you definitely won't get bored. In our hour we played in all of the rooms multiple times.

When you scan your wristband it lets you know how long you have left.

There are points where you can check your score and also a photo booth which is 1free to use - scan your wristband and they email your photos instantly which is pretty cool.

Activate feels really impressive and unique, it's also a fun way to get active with the family and perfect for a birthday treat. I just wish it wasn't so pricey.