Most transmedia narratives engage vision and hearing but few engage all five senses because of the current technological limitations. As noted in the discussion of location-dependent narratives, all of the senses can be engaged by putting the user into a physical location. Other techniques have been used (e.g. sending out scent vials that are to be smelled at the appropriate time, making special foods available to participants at events, or sending out artifacts relevant to the narrative) but these have a relatively limited reach, are costly, and tend to be time- or location-dependent.

In spite of these constraints, transmedia narrative designers should attempt to include as many of the senses as practically possible in order to foster user engagement.