Walkabout Mini Golf’s Crystal Lair Is Infused With An Evil Energy

Something feels a little off at the mountainside Crystal Lair of mysterious villain “Cristobal” in Walkabout Mini Golf’s latest course.

Located across a Venezuelan cliff, “we never really go too explicitly into exactly what is happening by design, we really like to let people form some of their own opinions on exactly what is happening,” creator Lucas Martell explains during UploadVR’s latest design tour. “Combining the crystals with the villain’s lair opened up a lot of possibilities for storytelling. Taking this very new age, very sort of peaceful thing and finding a way to just tip it a little bit to the dark side was a good time.”

Embedded below is full behind-the-scenes tour from hole 1 to 18 walking the “walkabout path” on YouTube. I’ve opted not to include the course music in case you want to keep the commentary playing in the background while out visiting the lair yourself and layering in the local vibe.

Here’s the official description of the new paid DLC course as provided by development studio Mighty Coconut:

What’s more rejuvenating than a luxury wellness retreat at a spectacular resort embedded in the cliff face of a Venezuelan tepui? Mini golfing through it of course! The motivational luminary ‘Cristobal’ invites you to achieve enlightenment at his Crystal Lair, where a mystical energy charms and delights even the most harmonious golfers. So roll up your yoga mat, unblock your chakras, get ready for a selfie, and pay no attention to the evil rumors. There is nothing going on here but gorgeous views, challenging putts, and a completely benevolent enterprise. Trust us!”

The course is the 34th in Walkabout and debuts alongside the intuitive and fully featured CocoVision camera we covered earlier this week. Wristwatch navigation and the camera might be a little hard to figure out at first, just like accessing Walkabout’s hidden grip-to-puppet feature, but once you play with it a bit you realize just how much creative space these developers have paved for their players to explore in virtual reality.

You can learn more about Walkabout Mini Golf’s design philosophy reading Don Carson’s recent breakdown, which outlines how the studio’s environmental design routinely surprises its players with delight.

Crystal Lair is available to buy everywhere Walkabout Mini Golf can be played, or explore via a guest pass shared by a friend in a private room.