Illumination’s VillainCon at Universal Orlando: The Ultimate Game Guide

By: Christina Szewczuk
May 30, 2024

Last summer, Illumination’s Minion Land opened and with it debuted a new attraction called Villain-Con: Minion Blast. Villain-Con is one of the most unique things to come out of Universal in a while. It’s definitely one of the most underrated attractions. However, I suspect that is because people don’t know what they’re walking into. It is important to go into it knowing what to expect. This is not a traditional sit-down ride, it’s an “interactive attraction”. It’s a game that you play as you ride through standing on a conveyer belt. Being an omni-mover type “ride”, it can handle many players at once making the line move fairly quickly. This new immersive game/ride concept is completely different than any other attraction currently offered at Universal. It is very well thought out, offering more than initially meets the eye and a great opportunity for families to either work together or get competitive!

Let's break it down to ensure that you maximize your experience when you play in the parks.

First, let’s discuss the concept. The idea is that you’re a villain attending the biggest villain convention in the world. The queue is set up to look like any other “Con”/convention you’ve attended with vendor booths, an itinerary of “speakers”, etc. Take note of them, they’re pretty funny and if you’re a Despicable Me fan, you will really appreciate the detail that went into designing these “booths”. As you walk through the queue, the supervillains can’t help but attack, so you must grab your blaster and defend yourself. This is where the game part comes in. As you continue through the queue, you’ll arrive at the blaster station where a Team Member will assign you a blaster. You sync the blaster to your account, so you’ll accrue points. (We will come back to this step!) Once you do, you’ll get onto the conveyer belt and start blasting! You’ll be transported through a tunnel which is essentially a gigantic video game, an immersive area with screens on both sides. Aim at anything and everything! Blast open boxes, furniture, sunken ships, picture frames, buildings, and more. You’ll not only accrue points to level up but you’ll collect “loot” and earn trophies. In collecting the loot and points, other features within the game will unlock making them available for use next time you play. You’ll step off the conveyer belt, return your blaster and it will let you off into the gift shop. Then you can make a left out of the gift shop and rejoin the queue. Well, you don’t have to rejoin but I like to play a few times in a row if the line is short.

Above, I had mentioned linking the blaster to your account. If you have not already done so, you will need to download the Universal Orlando app. This app is handy to have for many reasons, but for the purpose of Villain-Con, it is essential. Once you open the app and sign in, you will see on the home screen a section called “Illumination’s Minion Land” and within that section you will see a Villain-Con graphic with a button displaying “Play Now”. Tap the Play Now button. Once loaded, you will be able to create an account, give yourself a username and customize your minion avatar. You can add multiple accounts under your one sign in by clicking “add player”. I recommend doing this set up step before you hit the parks so you can sync your blaster and go on to play the game without fumbling around in the app.

In this same screen, you’ll see a square with a button that says “sync blaster”. Simply tap the phone to the blaster like in the graphic and it will beep, displaying the words “sync successful”. When you enter the next room, it will connect displaying your username and assign you a target icon. There is a circle on the gun with your name on it and a small icon. This is what your target or bullseye looks like. Since there are many people playing at one time, they will assign you a custom one so when you’re looking at the screen, you know which one is yours. (This is a handy bit of information I didn’t have the first time through the line so I had a rough time figuring out where my blaster was shooting.) You will advance into the game and begin blasting away!

There is more gameplay available on this app too! Under “Sync Blaster”, you’ll see three other sections. Below is a description of what you can find within these sections.

THE LAB

You can customize your blaster under the section called “The Lab”. You can choose the type of blast-ray that will hit your targets, assign the launcher button a function, and choose what your “special” blast does. You can also assign your gun “perks”. These are special functions like speed blasts, supercharges, increased ammo, multi-bursts and more. At first, only a few options will be available to you, so you won’t be able to customize too much. However, as you level up and gain points, your status will increase unlocking these and allowing you access to more features.

MISSIONS

Side missions are a feature of this game too! You can choose a side mission to complete while playing the game and this will earn you points as well. For example, one of the missions is to collect 12 of the special V6 medallions which will appear in the game while you’re playing. Blast 12 of these medallions to complete the mission. Once completed, you’ll unlock a special blaster option to customize your blaster ray. You can replay missions or choose new ones. Again, more missions will become available as you progress in the game.

COLLECTIBLES

Collectibles are the “loot” that was mentioned earlier. Two kinds of “Loot” are available for collection. One is “in-game loot” which will earn you points once collected. As you go through the game and blast open boxes and crates and everything else, items will pop out which can be collected by aiming at them and blasting. The other type of loot is called “land loot”, which is collected outside the game and also earns you points.

Universal has added an additional layer to the Villain-Con game by including a scavenger hunt through Minion Land! There are 10 touchpoints located throughout Minion Land with the Vicious6’s “V6” logo branded on them. Keep a lookout for these touchpoints and you can collect the land loot while you’re walking around the Minion Land area. If you click on each piece of loot in the app, you’ll see a hint on where you can find it. Once you find it, go into the collectibles section, click “Collect Loot with Phone” and tap on the logo.

Note: I am not going to lie, it’s not perfect. Sometimes it doesn’t want to cooperate, and you will have to mess around with it to get it to work. Sometimes the Team Members can help you get it to work. I have been successful at collecting all 10 so I know they do all work!

There you have it, the Ultimate Game Guide! Hopefully you’ve gained a deeper understanding of what Villain-Con is and how to play. This fantastic game provides loads of enjoyment with its scavenger hunt, customizable features, and immersive gameplay. It's suitable for ages 5 and up, making it ideal for families! I highly recommend it! What do you think of this new concept? Will you be playing this game next time you’re at Universal Studios Florida?

**I was at Universal on discounted tickets and room. This in no way influenced the views expressed in this blog. I will always give you an honest review of my experiences!**