Where to Go and What to Play This Weekend: A Korean-Style Gaming Cafe Pops Up in Hanoi
This early July, Hanoi’s gaming community, especially those who love hunting for new internet cafes, got excited about a brand-new spot rumored to be part of a Korean cyber game chain.
Located on Vu Thanh Street in Dong Da district, Hanoi, Levelup Gaming Center impresses right from the start with its prime central location. Heading up to the 4th floor of a building, we were blown away by the bright, open space and sleek Korean-inspired design. This spot is the result of over a month of collaboration between Korean designers and a local Vietnamese construction team.
Although the total area is smaller than the original plans, the owner has carefully arranged 121 gaming stations across five zones: FPS, Pro, VIP, Queen Zone, and Competition. Nguyen Van Chuyen, the owner, passionately shared the highlights of the venue.
Where to Go and What to Play This Weekend: New Cafe, New Experience!
As mentioned, all five zones at Levelup Gaming Center invite gamers to try them out. Let’s dive into the specs of the PCs here:
The standout is the FPS Zone, one of three popular areas alongside Pro and VIP Zones. It’s arguably the most valuable spot at Levelup. Despite reasonable prices, the machines here boast top-tier specs.
Each PC in the FPS Zone comes with a gaming mouse, mechanical keyboard, and headset. Hardware includes an i5 12400F CPU, 32GB RAM, RTX 4060 GPU, and ASUS XG259QN 25-inch 380Hz monitors. These are some of the latest and greatest gear available, ensuring smooth, immersive gameplay. Along with the VIP Zone, these two are the most popular and highly rated areas.
For a step up, Levelup offers Queen Zone and Competition Zone. True to its name, Competition Zone is decked out with dream gear like the i7 13700F CPU, ZOWIE BENQ EC2-G mouse, Logitech G512 mechanical keyboard, HyperX Cloud 2 headset, and AOC AM400B monitor arms for perfect viewing angles.
Meanwhile, Queen Zone features slightly lighter specs but stands out with its all-pink setup. This quickly became a favorite hangout for female gamers and a cozy, private spot for couples.
Despite the premium gear, prices in Competition and Queen Zones start at just 17,000 to 18,000 VND per hour, which is very affordable compared to competitors. The top rate is 18,000 VND per hour, not including combo deals and special promotions throughout the year.
For detailed specs, gamers can check the table below:
In the past, gamers were all too familiar with torn chairs, shiny worn-out keyboards, sticky controllers, and smelly mousepads. Levelup guarantees none of that here. After each use, staff immediately clean and reset stations to keep everything fresh for the next player.
Levelup also offers professional security with 23 cameras running 24/7 to ensure a safe, friendly gaming environment.
Customer service is impressive too, with at least three staff members always on hand to assist gamers. Staff wear uniforms and name tags, showing a professional attitude.
Instead of a traditional smoking zone, Levelup created a separate Smoking Arena to keep the main area smoke-free. Owner Nguyen Van Chuyen explained this helps maintain a safe, healthy environment. Around the venue, eight air conditioners run full blast, dozens of air purifiers operate 24/7, and bright lighting protects gamers’ eyesight.
Sharing her experience, 18-year-old gamer Cao Ngoc An said she visits often, mainly playing in the VIP Zone. With high-end specs, games like VALORANT and CS:GO run smoothly. The machines rarely have issues, and the combo deals are budget-friendly for students.
Another cool feature is the diverse food and drink menu, just like Korean cyber cafes. Levelup offers over 30 rice dishes, more than 10 noodle options, and a rotating selection of popular Korean snacks like fries, hotdogs, fried meat, and spicy sauce dishes. Orders are served quickly, avoiding long waits common at other cafes.
Some Limitations
Despite being clean and stylish, Levelup’s space is relatively small with only 121 machines. Because of this, it lacks some familiar zones like Couple Zone, Stream Zone, and Training Zone.
Aiming to Grow the Brand
After a month of operation, peak hours see 80-100 visitors. Drawing on six years of experience, Nguyen Van Chuyen is confident and ambitious:
“I plan to open five stores in Hanoi, then expand to Ho Chi Minh City. I know it’s a tough goal, but setting big targets motivates us to grow,” he said.
