To step foot in a laser tag arena is to enter a realm distinctly reminiscent of the neon-fetishizing, darkly futuristic world of 1980s Hollywood. Mirrors, fog machines, day-glo paint splatters and bountiful blacklights represent the aesthetic offspring of “Tron” and “Blade Runner,” eternalized through laser tag arenas across America.

These facilities carry poignant nostalgia, triggering grade-school-birthday-party memories of wiping ice cream cake off one’s face and eagerly arming oneself with a clunky black plastic blaster, ready to enter the futuristic war zone.

A yearning to relive these childhood thrills drove me to iCombat Madison, hoping that the neon-imbued laser tag recipe of my childhood had withstood the test of time. What I found countered my expectations in the best way.

iCombat bills itself as “tactical” laser tag, which means the game strays from the “Tron” aesthetic in favor of an experience better aligned with “The Hurt Locker.” Clunky, cumbersome sensor suits and the sci-fi blasters of yesteryear are nowhere to be found at iCombat. Aspiring laser mercenaries enjoy high-tech, precision laser blasters machined out of M4 combat rifles, complete with laser sights and CO2-powered recoil with every squeeze of the trigger.

Donning a sensor-studded camouflage ballistic vest and stepping into the iCombat battlefield marked the start of one of the most thrilling, immersive and exhausting experiences in recent memory. The arena employs authentic props and thunderous combat zone audio piped through 22 ceiling-mounted speakers to establish a completely immersive combat environment. This ambiance made a tangible and enveloping sense of intensity, a Hollywood-like action sequence that I couldn’t help but get sucked into.

As I would guess is the case with most college students, I hadn’t played laser tag prior to this experience since I was 12-years-old. iCombat made me feel like laser tag grew up with me. The satisfying heft and recoil of the guns as well as the arena’s impressive atmospheric intensity create a more mature offshoot of the classic arcade laser tag. Entering this dramatic, intense environment triggered a competitive survivalist response for me, excitedly bolting from cover to cover and scanning vacant windows through my laser sight with the intensity of a combat epic protagonist.

The session’s end found me breathless, soaked in sweat and thoroughly thrilled. I exited the battleground a weary but contented laser veteran, both drained and immensely satisfied with my iCombat experience. While the facilities are hard to get to from campus without a car, I feel like the experience is well worth the price and transit. Perfectly thrilling and a pleasantly surprising bout of physical exertion, it represents wonderful evolution of a childhood classic, and a stellar group outing opportunity for the recreational abundance of syllabus week.