AV Avenger

You should think twice before accepting an invitation to play Resident Evil 4 with spatial audio in a haunted prison, warns Steve May

- Steve May

I'M HOLDING A joypad, in a dark, dank cellar. The moans of the undead surround me. The lines between virtual and reality are becoming increasingly blurred and my skin is crawling. Then one of the undead offers me a beer. 'We've got pizza too,' he says cheerfully.

Your AV Avenger is in The House of Detention, an infamous 18th century prison, in Clerkenwell, London. I've committed no crime. Rather, I've been brought to this godforsaken place to experience Resident Evil 4: The Remake, on Sony's new Inzone H9 gaming headphones, in 360 spatial audio.

Once featured on Living TV's Most Haunted, the venue is cold, dark and creepy. A headless corpse grasps one of the cell doors, as if trying to look out (not easy when you're missing your noggin'). A mazelike passageway, lit with blood-red lights, leads to a dungeon deep inside. Torch light guides me to a solitary table, where Sony's Inzone M9 gaming monitor and PlayStation 5 await. Ten minutes into the game, I'm starting to freak out.