A calm Larian Studios Baldur's Gate 3 display features fans quietly playing a Divinity: Original Sin board game, creating contrast on the busy show floor. The Borderlands 4 Ripper Rage Room stages a loud, interactive experience where fans clad in Psycho masks and supplied jumpsuits smash aluminum cans, glass bottles, and Dollar Store ceramics inside an encased chamber. Staff outfit participants with riot helmets and plastic visors and allow one person at a time to vent with a baseball bat. The sudden crashes provoke gasps and adrenaline responses among attendees. The attraction debuted at the Warped Tour in Los Angeles and returned at PAX West, drawing crowds and complaints from nearby exhibitors.
Stroll by Larian Studios' Baldur's Gate 3 display at PAX West and you'll see fans quietly playing the Divinity: Original Sin board game. Linger a little too long though, and you'll hear what sounds like a car crashing through a McDonald's drive-thru in the far corner of the show floor. And then another, and another. Follow the piercing sounds for long enough and you'll arrive at the Borderlands 4 Ripper Rage Room, by far the most ridiculous marketing stunt at this year's expo.
Fans of Gearbox Entertainment's anarchic loot shooter, some adorned with its enemies' iconic Psycho masks, are wrapped around a small, encased exhibit waiting for their chance to smash aluminum trash cans, glass bottles, and Dollar Store ceramics. Staff dress them in jumpsuits and riot helmets with plastic visors. Then, one at a time, they make their way into a plexiglass-ensconced chamber where they emotionally unburden themselves with a post-apocalyptic baseball bat.
Then, one at a time, they make their way into a plexiglass-ensconced chamber where they emotionally unburden themselves with a post-apocalyptic baseball bat. It's surprisingly loud and jarring, even when you know it's coming. Imagine the heart-stopping moment in the restaurant when a waiter accidentally drops a giant tray of dishes. The immediate gasps as everyone experiences a simultaneous shot of fight-or-flight adrenaline followed by the hushed murmurings of people gawking at reality's brief departure from the mundane.
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