Nemesis Sub Terra or Nemesis Sub TERRIBLE?
Nemesis Sub Terra – Alton Towers‘ Nemesis themed dark ride has finally reopened to the public last month.
The immersive dark ride, located at the top of Forbidden Valley has remained SBNO ever since 2015, however the attraction has finally returned for the 2023 season.
The newly reopened Nemesis Sub Terra follows an almost identical experience formula to it’s prior iteration, but with a few updated changes.
Firstly, and probably most notably, Nemesis Sub Terra’s logo has been updated to fall in line with Nemesis’ upcoming new colour scheme in 2024.
Secondly, the pre-show has been drastically shorted and updated to feature recent footage of The Phalanx carrying out their ‘investigation’ on Nemesis’ closing night last season.
Finally, the finale of the experience has been dramatically toned down from what it once was. The ‘scaremaze finale’ now features very little actors, a ‘decontamination’ corridor and a very little in the way of effects.
Other than that however, the rest of Nemesis Sub Terra has reportedly remained identical to the original version of the ride.
What Can You Expect?
Although we never got to experience OG Nemesis Sub Terra, it’s fair to say the whole experience sounds very diluted from what it once was.
Actors are now less ‘in your face’ and are much more ‘family friendly’ instead. They no longer get in your face or shout at you.
The pre-show only lasts around 1 to 1 and a half minutes as opposed to 4 or 5 and gives a much more concise of why you are there.
This we imagine has been modified to improve throughput, however regardless you’ll still find yourself waiting extended lengths of time to get on the ride.
The drop towers now featured much tighter and far more restrictive lap bars. This we assume has been changed to fall in line with today’s health and safety regs, but it does mean those of a larger built will either struggle to get on the ride or lose out on the experience completely.
There’s no denying they definitely felt uncomfortable, although the ride experience itself by far makes up for this.
The main show scene itself remains identical with the egg ‘hatching’ the creature itself running amok and terrorising you as you sit powerless to escape confined to seat.
The ‘nest’ scene is very impressive though and features heavy attention to detail, some great use of special effects and the leg ticklers definitely add an extra depth to the whole experience (although if you’re wearing shorts they will whip your legs).
Finally both lift sequences remain the same two with the second being much more intense and full on (bumping, shaking etc).
Overall, the whole experience lasts around 15 minutes and features some fantastic effects, but more actors are definitely needed.
Is Nemesis Sub Terra Worth Experiencing?
Whilst still sporting a lot of room for improvement, Nemesis Sub Terra is by far one of the most immersive experiences on park at present.
The special effects mixed with the set pieces, lighting and overall atmosphere make Nemesis Sub Terra a strong contender for being one of this year’s funnest new rides.
We do however feel that once you’ve experienced it, you’ve experienced it.
In order to improve the re-ridability of Nemesis Sub Terra, Alton Towers need to improve on both the actors within and the attractions finale.
A greater sense of panic and chaos needs to be evident in the exit corridor – the addition of smoke, flashing lights and a minimum of 3 actors would most definitely help achieve this.
The addition of actors dressed as Scientists within the core would also add to the drama and with the right direction could really add further terror to the whole experience.
Other than that though Nemesis Sub Terra is a fantastic addition to a very quiet Forbidden Valley and as we move closer into 2024 and the reopening of Nemesis we would hope that Alton Towers would choose to keep the attraction open post Nemesis reopening.
Finally, we were very impressed by the attention to detail within the ride and the consistency of the theming quality.
The use of real rock in the corridor prior to entering the core was a really nice touch & really made it feel like you were underground.
Also, the use of water spray to simulate the egg (and eggs) hatching was fantastic and very ‘in your face’ (literally).
Overall, Nemesis Sub Terra is a really strong addition to Alton Towers and remains a must for all who visit.
Check out our first reaction vlog below…….