TL;DR
Walkabout Mini Golf’s new course, Gloop Lair, is a nostalgic tribute to the 1990s, created by a team with personal ties to the era. The course features pop culture references and complex design elements. Its development highlights the game’s ongoing expansion and creative direction.
Walkabout Mini Golf has launched Gloop Lair, its forty-first course, inspired by 1990s pop culture and part of the Evil Lairs series, with detailed insights from the developers about its creation process.
The course was designed by a team with personal nostalgia for the 90s, led by level designer Laura Krauss, who conceptualized the theme and references. Shane Rhodes from Mighty Coconut explained that the course features numerous pop culture nods, including references to bands, toys like Kerbo, and iconic imagery like Nickelodeon slime.
Development involved balancing detailed indoor environments with performance constraints, often requiring post-mortem adjustments to optimize density and props. The team aims to introduce more complex courses over time, balancing visual richness with technical limits. While there is no confirmed plan for additional Evil Lairs beyond the current series, developers remain open to future ideas.
Behind the scenes · Walkabout Mini Golf
Gloop Lair Is a Love Letter to the ’90s
A villainous hideout packed with band nods, toy-inspired props and gloriously gooey nostalgia—built by a team whose own memories shaped every corner of Walkabout Mini Golf’s forty-first course.
Course number
41st in the expanding Walkabout libraryEvil Lair
05 the fifth villain-hideout installmentCore era
1990s music, toys, imagery and attitudeAvailability
Now across major supported VR platforms01 · Creative DNA
What makes the lair feel unmistakably ’90s?
Level designer Laura Krauss led the concept, drawing from the team’s personal attachment to the decade. The result is less a museum of references and more a playful remix of the era’s cultural texture.
Sound & scene
Band Culture
Music references and visual nods evoke the bands, scenes and rebellious energy that defined the decade for the development team.
Toy box
Kerbo & Collectibles
Toy-inspired objects give the environment a tactile, bedroom-floor quality while rewarding players who stop to inspect the props.
Visual language
Slime-Time Spectacle
Bright, gooey imagery recalls the decade’s slime-soaked television aesthetic without turning the course into a literal replica.
02 · Development pipeline
From memory to playable mini golf
Every ambitious interior has to pass through the same production tension: preserve the joke, the atmosphere and the visual density while keeping the VR experience comfortable and responsive.
Personal Nostalgia
The team begins with shared memories, favorite cultural touchstones and the mood of the era.
World Building
References become rooms, props, hazards, sightlines and environmental jokes.
Performance Pass
Indoor density is tested, adjusted and optimized to meet technical limits.
Next-Course Gains
Post-mortem lessons inform richer and more complex environments over time.
The balancing act
Richness vs. runtime
Illustrative design emphasis based on the developers’ account: creative ambition stays high, while prop density receives the strongest optimization pressure.
03 · At-a-glance report
What is known—and what remains open
Gloop Lair is available now, but the broader future of the Evil Lairs line remains deliberately flexible. The developers have interest, not a confirmed roadmap.
| Topic | Current status | What it means | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gloop Lair release | ✓ Available now | Players can enter the new ’90s-inspired course today. | ✓ Confirmed |
| Pop-culture Easter eggs | ✓ Throughout | Bands, toys and slime-era imagery reward close exploration. | ✓ Confirmed |
| Increasing course complexity | ~ Evolving | Future designs may grow richer as optimization methods improve. | ~ Directional |
| More Evil Lairs | ✗ No firm plan | The door is open, but no course or timeline has been announced. | ~ Unconfirmed |
04 · Traceability
How nostalgia becomes innovation
The significance extends beyond a single course: lived cultural memory becomes a design input, technical limits sharpen execution, and each release expands what future VR environments can attempt.
Key question
Will more Evil Lairs follow?
Possibly—but not officially. Mighty Coconut remains open to future ideas without committing to another installment.
Key question
Why are interiors challenging?
Dense rooms concentrate geometry, props and visual detail, making iterative performance tuning especially important.
Key question
Where should players look?
Everywhere. Band nods, Kerbo-inspired toys and slime-era references are embedded as discoverable environmental details.
Key question
What comes next?
Continued course refinement, performance optimization and exploration of themes that can support more complex worlds.
05 · Outlook
A course built from affection—and iteration
Gloop Lair shows how a focused cultural theme can enrich social VR without overpowering the game beneath it. Its deeper legacy may be the production knowledge carried into course forty-two and beyond.
Confirmed takeaway
Nostalgia is the creative engine
The strongest ideas came from the creators’ own relationship with the decade, giving the references warmth, specificity and playful intent.
Future signal
Complexity will keep climbing
The team is learning how to fit denser, more ambitious spaces inside VR’s technical envelope—one post-mortem at a time.
Updated July 2026 · Travel & leisure guides
Build a better VR setup
Cultural Nostalgia Drives Creative Development in VR
This release underscores how personal nostalgia influences game design, enriching virtual experiences with cultural references that resonate with players. It also highlights ongoing innovation in VR course creation, balancing complexity and performance, which impacts the future of immersive mini-golf experiences and VR content development.
HTC Vive Focus Vision Wired Bundle — XR Headset with DisplayPort PC VR Streaming Kit
- All-In-One VR Solution: Standalone and PC VR capabilities
- High-Resolution Displays: Immersive visual experience
- Versatile Tracking Features: Enhanced movement and interaction
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Evolution of Walkabout Mini Golf’s Themed Courses
Walkabout Mini Golf has steadily expanded its course library, with the Evil Lairs series serving as a thematic collection of villain hideouts. Gloop Lair, as the fifth installment, continues this trend by drawing heavily on 90s themes, reflecting the developers’ personal interests and the broader trend of nostalgia-driven content in gaming. The series has historically balanced creative ambition with technical constraints, leading to iterative improvements in course complexity and detail.
“The team’s personal love for the 90s really shaped Gloop Lair, making it a nostalgic yet fun experience.”
— Shane Rhodes
![Walkabout Mini Golf Standard - Meta [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41mOvMJVQiL._SL500_.jpg)
Walkabout Mini Golf Standard – Meta [Digital Code]
- Number of Courses: 14 unique 18-hole courses
- In-Game Activities: Scavenger hunts and mode challenges
- Custom Ball Collection: Over 250 hidden custom balls
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Unconfirmed Future Plans for Evil Lairs Series
There is no official confirmation of additional Evil Lairs beyond Gloop Lair. Developers have expressed openness to future courses, but no concrete plans or timelines have been announced.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Next Steps for Walkabout Mini Golf Content Expansion
The team will continue refining existing courses, optimizing performance, and exploring new themes. Future courses may incorporate more complex designs, with potential announcements on additional Evil Lairs or themed content as development progresses.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Key Questions
Will there be more Evil Lairs courses after Gloop Lair?
It is not yet confirmed. Developers have indicated they are open to more, but no official plans have been announced.
What are some notable references in Gloop Lair?
The course features references to 90s bands, toys like Kerbo, and pop culture icons such as Nickelodeon slime. Players are encouraged to explore for Easter eggs.
How did the team incorporate 90s nostalgia into the course?
By including props, references, and design elements inspired by the 1990s, driven by team members’ personal experiences and interests from that era.
What technical challenges did the developers face?
Balancing detailed environments with performance constraints, especially in indoor sections, required iterative adjustments and optimization efforts.
When was Gloop Lair released?
The course is available now across Meta Quest, Steam, PlayStation VR2, and Pico platforms.
Source: UploadVR
