Full immersion. That’s the thing we all crave as VR enthusiasts. But to feel totally
immersed, we need the ability to move in the virtual world freely. For that, you need a
lot of space, which not a lot of us have. Me neither; my play area is about two by two
meters. Not exactly the dream space for VR.
In comes the KAT WALK C. The world’s first consumer VR treadmill. What it does? Allow
you to actually walk, crouch, jump and even run in VR! Yep, it’s like one of these things
from Ready Player One.
So you may have seen other treadmills before, but most of those were very expensive and
made for arcades or businesses. The Kat Walk C is the first one made with consumers in
mind and small enough to put in a small apartment like ours. A big thanks to Kat VR for sending
it over.
So does the Kat Walk C actually give us that total immersion? And is it worth the 1400
US dollars? We’ll talk about this today; I’ll show you how it works with gameplay,
I’ll talk about what it feels like, the good and the bad. So… let’s go beyond
reality.
So, here is the KAT Walk C. This is an omni-directional treadmill meaning it allows for 360 degrees
of motion. It includes these dedicated shoes that will enable you to slide on the platform.
The two wireless feet trackers mounted on the shoes can track what you’re doing and
sends that to the game.
It didn’t come like this, though; the bottom part comes separately from the top part, so
you gotta assemble that first. But there were straightforward instructions, so it took me
about 2 hours total to get it up and running, which isn’t a lot. I think the most challenging
part was getting the box of 94 kilos in our apartment and then in our studio :’)
But right off the bat, the next thing surprised me a lot.
The software setup is like a breath of fresh air. I mean, I’ve had to set up many different
VR devices over the years. And if you’ve been in PC VR for a while, you’ll know this
too. If you plug in something new, you almost always end up with software bugs and putting
way too much time trying to make it work.
But with the KAT Walk C, the software setup was surprisingly seamless. All I needed to
do was install one app, the KAT Gateway, pair the Kat Walk C and the two-foot controllers
with a USB cable, and I was ready to go.
Then you just put on your shoes (anti-slip band over the slippery part to be safe).
Then slide in the feet trackers if you haven’t already.
Strap yourself into the Kat VR. Put on your headset (that you can conveniently
hang on the hooks at the back). Start a VR game like normal.
Pull back the anti-slip band on your shoes so you can slide comfortably.
Then you can use the Kat VR app in the SteamVR menu to calibrate or set settings, which isn’t
always needed. That’s it. It’s effortless and fast.
So I’ve been playing around with the Kat Walk C for the last week, mainly using my
Oculus Quest 2 wirelessly with Virtual Desktop. It works with all SteamVR games that have
smooth locomotion, which is excellent.
So I went to try out VRChat, No Man’s Sky, Half-Life Alyx, Skyrim, and Population: One.
Because I wanted to get a feel of different genres in single-player and multiplayer.
I took my first steps in the most chill game on the list: VRChat. These first steps felt
a bit weird, having to slide instead of regular walking. And I took in mind the warning by
the developer and other people that a VR treadmill usually comes with a learning curve. They
said I needed to spend quality time with it before it became more natural. So I was a
bit surprised that I could get used to it fast. After like 30 minutes, I noticed I could
just lean in a bit so the straps could hold me, and then I had the freedom to walk as
naturally as possible. It may not look so, but it felt pretty good.
Since I felt like I had gotten the hang of it already, I wanted a big world and eventually
found a soccer game. So, of course, I went to one side of the soccer field. Then I started
to…. RUN hard. That’s where it first hit me. THIS IS SO FREAKIN’ COOL. It tired me
out instantly, but my gosh, that was fun.
After that, I ran, and I ran, many times in different games. In No Man’s Sky, I did
a whole mission with Chary by walking and running myself… My gosh that galaxy is huge.
In Skyrim, I bumped into giants that were way too strong for my level 2 character, so
I had to run again for my life. But then resting up in Whiterun and walking around the town
felt amazing.
In Half-Life Alyx. I didn’t have to run a lot, but the slower pace and the many things
to explore made walking around like a dream come true. Am I actually living in a game
now? It’s been a while that I’ve felt that wow factor in VR. It kind of felt like
the first time you entered VR, a feeling I haven’t had for a while.
However, I noticed a couple of things. First, it makes SO MUCH noise. That Chary was like,
Are you in WAR or something? This may not be a big problem if you can isolate your walls,
but it is something to consider. Plus, people may hear you if you’re in a multiplayer
game.
And in competitive games like Population: One. You feel a bit restricted because you
have to actually walk, so you tire your body out faster. In less competitive multiplayer
games like No Man’s Sky, this is not as bad, but if you’re doing a mission together,
people may have to wait until you’re finally at that ancient module that you were supposed
to dig up to finish the quest, which can be awkward or maybe funny.
Plus, I like to turn my real body for immersion instead of using artificial turning like snap
turning. With the Kat Walk C, I need more time to turn around than without.
This isn’t terrible because you can still use your stick to move around. So if you feel
tired, you can just use your controllers as usual. Plus, you can change settings that
make it less tiring, like setting the sensitivity, so you move faster per step.
When you’re done, though, it also feels strange walking normally again. Not too bad
since it’s just like when you’ve been skating or snowboarding… It just feels a
bit weird when you’re out of your boots, but it doesn’t take long for our bodies
to acclimatize again.
I think the Kat Walk C is like learning how to bike, skate, or even snowboard; once you
know how, it becomes natural, and you gain an extra method of transporting yourself,
it’s like gaining a new skill but you need to overcome the hurdle first, and then it
is pretty incredible. But taking all this into account, the Kat
Walk C may not be as suitable for everyone. Like those who _only_ play competitive multiplayer
games. However, if you _also_ play single-player games and you like exploring them, then it’s
a yes from me. And a great additional effect? It’s also great for those who want to stay
fit as you workout without even realizing it
But yeah, so far, I’m enjoying it. But do I think this device gives us complete immersion?
Well, not yet as it still has some restrictions, but it’s definitely getting us there. Still,
for Ready Player One to happen, we also need other devices to become more high fidelity
like our headsets and maybe some brain-computer interfaces. However, we are getting closer
and faster than I ever imagined. I mean, consumer VR only exists for four years, so what else
will come in the next four years? I’m excited. If you want to know more about the Kat Walk
C, you can check out the link below. It works with all major VR headsets. And there are
two versions, a Large & a Standard, for different player heights, but it is the same price.
Of course, with my height, I got the standard version.
So I hope you enjoyed my first impressions of the Kat Walk C. There are some things I
want to spend more time on, like the comfort, and build quality. So there’s a full review
coming later where I dive deeper into what I’ve spoken about today, and more. If you
have questions about it, let me know in the comments below, and I’ll take it into account
for this review. Let me know your thoughts about it, too, and I’ll giveaway a SteamVR
game key to one lucky winner in 3 days. Please leave me a like to support us, subscribe for
more, and a special thanks go to all our Champions, especially these Patrons down below. As always,
VR on!