[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★☆☆](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 3-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ PCVR](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ pcvr)  [ Link](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ link)  [ Education](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ education)  [ Free](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ free)  [ History](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ history)  [ Travel](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ travel)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Roomscale](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ roomscale)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) Favorite wife of Pharaoh Ramesses II (1303-1213 BCE), Nefertari's life was celebrated with a spectacularly decorated and appointed burial chamber in Egypt's Valley of the Queens. When rediscovered in 1904 it was found to have been looted in ancient times, though the tomb itself and its splendid wall paintings remain. Modern visitors to Nefertari's tomb are restricted to avoid damage, but thankfully with this virtual reality experience you can visit it as many times as you like. Nefertari: Journey to Eternity offers exploration of this multi-level tomb, complete with detailed photographic representations of every intricately decorated wall, column and ceiling. Some rooms are lit by virtual oil-lamps which also provide an reverent ambience, but you can cast further light over the artistry with flashlights that can be activated on your controllers. The program will highlight several of the more notable paintings and provide an audio narration upon request, describing and interpreting the reasoning for their inclusion within the tomb decorations. Don't forget to take a glimpse upward also, to appreciate the ceiling of the tomb which is adorned with hundreds of sparkling stars. So far as we can determine, this experience is a faithful reproduction of this Egyptian Queen's final resting place. It features high resolution imagery and offers an uninterrupted opportunity to enjoy this ancient marvel at your own pace If we were to suggest areas where the experience could have been improved, we would have added an introduction and extended the tour to include the entrance stairs and an external view of the Valley of the Queens where this tomb is situated. This would provide location context and a sense of discovery upon entry. As it is, we recommend an introduction to this topic through Wikipedia articles before embarking on the VR tour. The tour can be experienced either as a seated or roomscale experience. Teleportation is the main way to navigate the chambers, but walking up and inspecting the walls does add to a sense of presence. Entering the two low-ceilinged annex rooms at either side of the main treasure room reveal a bug in the program, as if you're standing when you teleport into them you'll lose all vision since your head will be above the room's ceiling. This initially confused us until we bent down. Also there is no controller-based turning option, so if you're seated it's advisable to do so in a swivel chair. Note that the Viveport version of Nefertari: Journey to Eternity should be avoided as it is an older iteration that contains several bugs and graphical problems. Summary: ⬤ Well-modeled spaces with lots of graphical detail ⬤ Good (but limited) audio narration ⬤ Lacking an introduction and location context ⬤ Viveport version is to be avoided Supported Languages: English External Links: Wikipedia:Tomb of Nefertari Product Links: [ **Free at Meta PCVR Store** Requires a PC. View in Oculus Rift or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/pcvr/1491802884282318/) [ **Free at Steam** Requires a PC. View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://store.steampowered.com/app/861400) [ **Free at Viveport** This version is not recommended - see review comments.](https://www.viveport.com/apps/717f1792-3dcd-4ccc-bc19-f4531e7f109c)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★☆☆](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 3-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ Quest](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ quest)  [ Casual Gaming](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ casualgaming)  [ Education](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ education)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Roomscale](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ roomscale)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) Kurzgesagt is a hugely popular YouTube channel known for its educational animated content concerning science, technology and global issues. With a unique visual style, their videos make complex topics easily understandable and engaging for a broad audience, but particularly older children and adults. If you're unfamiliar then we highly recommend checking out the Kurzgesagt YouTube Channel. When we heard about a Kurzgesagt educational game being developed by Schell Games (I Expect You To Die) we got quite excited. Unfortunately the final product didn't live up to our expectations and isn't something we would recommend. Inspired by casual games like the Job Simulator VR series, _Out of Scale: A Kurzgesagt Adventure_ places you in a device that can transport you between environments of five different states of scale, from microbes to mountains. An accident with your shrinking equipment creates a mess and it is your job to return objects and creatures back to their normal size and location, while picking up some educational nuggets along the way. _A giant rubber duck on a giant landscape._ The first suggestion that things were less than perfect was in the first few minutes, when a missing multitool meant we had to restart the experience and replay the whole introduction. Then, though we consider ourselves to be experienced virtual reality gamers, we got stuck on the very first significant task. The first task required scanning objects scattered around a cityscape and collecting certain out-of-place objects with the multitool. Yet only after scanning them first with the same multitool, but in a different configuration. We got stuck when we appeared to have run out of objects to collect. The only hint offered by the game was a repeating narrative clip telling us to re-read the instructional transcript on our in-game pad, which didn't enlighten us. We manouvered through several different scale levels - each separated by an unnecessarily long interstitial animation - to find out what we were meant to do next, but we were only able to progress further after reading a walkthrough of the game posted on the internet. We later learned that there is enough of a problem with the game that the developers published an official walkthrough. Continuing further, we found objects that unintentionally spawned behind scenery, and even an audio hint that told us "we need to make this one smaller" when we actually had to make it bigger. _Giant ants have taken over the city._ Learning is introduced during the object collection levels, as to complete each goal and advance it is necessary to select many of the objects and creatures that inhabit each landscape. Narration imparts light educational information about parts of the natural world at all levels of scale, some of which is also useful to complete a specific game task. Both the level of educational content and the type of activities presented in this app appear most suited to pre-teen children, which is a suprise considering the content of the YouTube channel decidedly aims for an older age group. Because this game is entirely linear, it's necessary to complete every activity in turn. This can certainly be frustrating, but the real dealbreaker for us is that the linear gameplay turns the experience into a chore - making us work to find what we have to do next, rather than allowing us to experiencing the joy of exploring these dioramas of different scales with a degree of freedom, and feeling the rewards of discovery. If you want to play a game like this but with much more inventive fun, check out the Job Simulator series. If you want fun and funny educational content then watch the Kurzgesagt YouTube channel. Unfortunately this experience attempts to do both while achieving neither to a satisfying degree. _From mountains to molecules._ Summary: ⬤ Kurzgesagt's high-quality art and production values ⬤ Contains light educational content for pre-teens ⬤ Frustrating puzzles, often unintuitive solutions ⬤ Linear gameplay means little exploration, engagement ⬤ 60-90 minutes of content with little replayable value Supported Languages: English Product Links: [ **$14.99 at Meta Quest Store** Get the app here and it will appear on your Quest headset.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/7270665009617359/)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★★☆](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 4-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ Apple](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ apple)  [ PCVR](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ pcvr)  [ Quest](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ quest)  [ Link](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ link)  [ Education](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ education)  [ Travel](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ travel)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Roomscale](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ roomscale) _Blueplanet VR Explore_ invites you to marvel at natural and cultural landmarks from around the world in three dimensions of virtual reality. Setting itself apart from similar products, Blueplanet's base content includes a massive fifty different sites over 40 locations, and offers four packs of 'add on' content which contain a further 40 more sites in total. Sites range from ocean overlooks to caves, canyons and lava tubes; from ancient temples to an old western ghost town. All of these you can visit in solitude at your own pace, without the bustle of tour groups and sightseers. Updated with an improved user interface in early 2024, _Blueplanet_ greets newcomers with a massive wall of spheres representing all the sites you can visit. There's also an option of a short introductory video that we found to be very helpful. Touching a sphere with your controller will transport you directly to the location of your choice. As your selected landscape is revealed, a panel appears allowing you to orientate yourself with a world map, a model of the site and a short description about the location. _Navajo Nation Cliff Dwelling._ _Blueplanet version 2_ introduces a novel twist interface that is a simple and effective way to access controls. Rotate your controllers outward and you're presented with short menus. Use the opposite hand to select an option. Using the twist interface you can now skip between locations without going back to the main menu, and because all content is pre-loaded it only takes a couple of seconds before you materialize somewhere new. Locations are realized using photogrammetry methods – a three-dimensional technique that stitches together real site photography taken from multiple angles, then places it over shaped models. Using teleport locomotion and snap-turning you can move around the rendered landscape to appreciate many different angles, enter a cave or step to the edge of a ledge and appreciate distant views. _Virtually hang-gliding over Yellowstone's Grand Prismatic Spring._ Some locations feature additional layers interpretive content, or lead you to neighboring locations. Occasionally a location will be enhanced with computer generated shafts of light, or an animated waterfall. The quality of the 3D imagery at some sites took our breath away. However, at other locations a lack of definition and roughly modeled shapes left us disappointed. This is particularly obvious when the background image has a higher resolution than the fuzzy foreground, and even more so when the background is a repetition of the modelled foreground image (example). _The Grand Canyon with added geological context._ It's also a problem at locations where intricate rockwork is the main attraction – like Blueplanet's rendering of Fantasy Canyon in Utah, that turns the massively tangled natural rock formations into a confusing mess of jagged and oversimplified polygons. We're not convinced that any current technology could truly capture and reproduce the detail of Fantasy Canyon in VR at this time and suggest that Blueplanet's ambitions for specific locations sometimes overreach. We've explored all the locations that Blueplanet has to offer, including base content and the four packs of additional locations that are available for purchase. Some locations include large landscapes to explore – much larger than competing travel VR products. However around a half of the locations that are available are much smaller in size and have limited scope for movement and explorations. We also noticed that Blueplanet didn't always capture a location's best features – for example, compare Blueplanet's Vasquez Rocks imagery (top) with photography from our sister website Trailspotting. Blueplanet does give you the freedom to climb up this one spire, but it also undersells the dramatic topography of the site. _Vasquez Rocks: Blueplanet vsTrailspotting_ Striking a balance between image resolution, size of area captured, number of locations available and size of download is still an exercise in compromise with current technology. Blueplanet's base content of fifty locations is only possible because of a massive 20GB download, and further improving the fidelity of the visuals would likely increase this size dramatically. We do prefer this 'big download' approach over individual location downloads though – in Brink Traveler we found ourselves waiting up to 5 minutes for a new location to be downloaded. Blueplanet VR Explore offers more locations to investigate than any other VR photogrammetry travel product available. With this quantity comes a mixed bag of quality - some immersive locations took our breath away, while the visual fidelity of others left us underwhelmed. _Blueplanet VR's photogrammetry can produce great results._ _Information panel brings up a model, a location, or descriptive context._ A version of Blueplanet VR Explore is also available for Apple Vision Pro, although we have not had the opportunity to review the product on this headset. There are nine separate experiences available, grouped by subject or location. There's a link to all of these in the Product Links section below. Summary: ⬤ Many immersive 3D environments to explore ⬤ Large range of content and detail ⬤ Lack of global variety of locations ⬤ Visual quality of locations is a mixed bag Supported Languages: English  French  German  Italian  Japanese  Korean  Spanish Product Links: [ **$5.99 per experience at Apple App Store** Requires Apple Vision Pro. We are yet to review this version of the experience.](https://apps.apple.com/us/vision/search?term=blueplanet) [ **$24.99 at Meta Quest Store** For Meta Quest. Depreciated Oculus Rift version also included.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/3422717251188752/) [ **$24.99 at Steam** Requires a PC. View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1264180/Blueplanet_VR/)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★★★](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 5-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ Quest](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ quest)  [ Education](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ education)  [ Natural History](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ naturalhistory)  [ Travel](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ travel)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Roomscale](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ roomscale) National Geographic Explore VR combines several effective virtual reality techniques to provide an immersive travel experience that both educates and exhilarates in equal measures. Transporting you to the Southern Hemisphere, this Meta Quest app includes a photographic tour of Machu Picchu and an expedition to experience natural wonders in the Antarctic. Beginning at a base location, you'll be briefly tutored in the ways of the simple user interface and the basics of movement in VR before launching your first expedition. Initially visualized on a globe, your planned destination is also framed in front of you by the iconic yellow rectangle that both brands National Geographic and frames its celebrated magazine. It's used here to ingenious effect as a portal - select your destination and you are projected into frame and beyond. The Machu Picchu experience comprises three locations rendered with photogrammetry - actual images from the site wrapped around carefully crafted 3D models. The effect is not only immersive but also remarkably accurate, to the extent that each stone from this six-hundred-year citadel appears to be faithful to the real location down to its unique grain and weathered surface. The landscape is augmented by other items that are computer generated but do manage to add to the sense of presence when combined with pleasant ambient sounds. Graphics are realistic enough and drawn so well that it's disappointing to reach the limits of an explorable area when what's beyond looks so good. _Exploration through photo assignments and graphical recreation._ Your first impressions of Machu Picchu will be from the top of the hill overlooking the site where you are provided with an introduction on how to use the in-game camera, and some historical context about the location's discovery. From this overview position you can also see the other two selected locations that you can visit. We love the way the photography tasks are used to structure site exploration and keep the audience engaged with fun challenges, all while being informed by an audio narrative that develops as an interplay between the voices of two different guides. Included in the photography tasks are occasions where you need to engage with graphical reconstructions of what an individual building may have looked like, or what it may have contained. Some of the narration did feel a little patronizing however, and the content of the guides' revelations can be somewhat limited at times. _Photogrammetry used to great effect for Machu Picchu._ It was clear that the Antarctic experience would be very different from Machu Picchu as soon as we climbed into the kayak. Gone is the photogrammetry of ancient ruins, and instead you're invited to paddle into an icy wilderness populated by penguins and other creatures yet to be discovered. Though you can paddle and steer as much as you like, there's no need to work up a sweat as the current guides you in the right direction. The photography tasks are still present here, and capturing images of local wildlife will also trigger snippets of an audio narration. Once moored up on an ice shelf, you'll next need to tackle an ice wall with a pair of axes. For the more adventurous, there's a challenging circuitous route, but even the simplest route straight up might trigger a sense of vertigo in some people. Simulated wind whips around you and chunks of ice fall off into the water below, providing a sense of peril. Thankfully it is impossible to fall from a ledge or mis-step with the ice axes, but if this segment is too much for you, you can return to the main menu and skip to the next scene. We do recommend working your way through the complete Antarctic experience though, as we were amused and delighted with some of the surprises and the orchestrated spectacular reveals. National Geographic Explore VR impresses because it combines great variety with an impressive professional polish as it both teaches and entertains. Of course we would have liked to have a third global location or more, but for the price this experience is well worth checking out. _Antarctica by kayak and spectacular ice climbing views._ _Choose your destination and frame your travel photography._ Summary: ⬤ Variety of experiences and challenges ⬤ Excellent presentation and structured content ⬤ Would benefit from more global locations Supported Languages: English  French  German  Japanese  Korean  Spanish External Links: YouTube:Trailer (spoilers) Product Links: [ **$9.99 at Meta Quest Store** Get the app here and it will appear on your Quest headset.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/2046607608728563/)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★★☆](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 4-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ PCVR](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ pcvr)  [ Link](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ link)  [ Free](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ free)  [ Travel](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ travel)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) _A wide, slow flowing creek in verdant New Hampshire Waterville Valley._ _Get Lost In Nature with Luke_ is an immersive PCVR travel experience that exhibits secluded forests, rocky ocean coves and celebrated waterfall, all located in the north-eastern United States. It's excellent use of photogrammetary - high quality images wrapped around 3D models - provides an awesome sense of realism that is further enhanced with effective use of animated video imagery. Realistic streams flow, waterfalls cascade and the ocean laps against the rocks; complete with accompanying background sounds captured at source. The program uses a simple menu system of markers to help visitors steer through the locations. The introductory page and the navigation menu are placed within two further impressive but unnamed 3D modelled locations - a floodlit cave and a moss-covered woodland spot. Each location also features an animated video version of the experiences' creator, Luke, who upon summoning will materialize upon the landscape and provide some color about the place you are experiencing. _An animated Luke pops up in each location to treat you to a narrative._ While some travel experiences focus on famous locations, you're not likely to recognize many of these places - except maybe for Rainbow Falls. Here's a list of the locations available to experience with this app. Note that the addition of more locations is teased in the program, but it looks like further content is unlikely to materialize as the developer is now working on publishing new VR travel apps. • Forest creek in Waterville Valley, NH • Rafe Chasm at Gloucester, MA • Sea inlet at Fort Wetherill State Park, Jamestown RI • Rainbow Falls at Watkins Glen, NY (2 locations) _The four locations on a map._ Controls and movements are easy to use, and the 3D effect of the modelled photogrammetry is best appreciated as a mostly stationary experience with either rotation in place or snap-turning. Loud background music selected for each location can overwhelm at times, and though there's a menu icon to turn off the music it returns every time we change locations. Utilizing realistic video imagery to animate each scene works extremely well, and we prefer it to some of the artificial effects and superimposed objects that other travel apps employ, like those of Brink Traveler. This feature is not without its drawbacks however, as the animated video loops can be quite short in length. The Waterville Valley forest creek location was particularly distracting since both the sound and video would loop every 2.5 seconds with a noticeable black flicker that would make it difficult to enjoy the scene. Other scenes had longer loops - up to 9 seconds - which were less noticeable. Perhaps if not possible to create long loops, it might be possible to employ some tricks make the issue less noticeable - like running the video at a slower framerate and having longer audio clips that play over several repeats of the video clip. Some other issues stood out to us too that could have been easily avoided. Though we were pleased to see that the 360 degree experience does a great job of hiding the camera and tripod used to capture the scene, the creators didn't go to the trouble of hiding their own backpacks and other equipment that can still be found in frame. The animation of the ocean lapping up against the rocks of Rafe's Chasm looks great, but there is an unmoving seagull in flight featured prominently in the foreground that completely breaks any sensation of immersion. Finally, the short audio loop in one of the Watkins Glen locations includes a moment of someone in the background briefly shouting, so this is repeated non-stop every few seconds. _Screenshot from Rainbow Falls at Watkins Glen State Park, NY._ _Realism is shattered a stationary floating seagull._ _Get Lost In Nature With Luke_ is a marvellous experience featuring some lesser known locations that virtual travelers will enjoy immensely, particularly since this program is free. Lost Eagle also has several other PCVR travel experiences including the free Flume Gorge In Winter (review incoming). They have been hard at work developing a new travel app called Orbis VR which we assume will be a spiritual successor to this app and featuring even more wide ranging content and visual effects. We hope to be able to bring you a review Orbis VR when it releases. Summary: ⬤ Most realistic virtual travel app we've seen ⬤ Excellent animated photogrammetry with no CGI elements ⬤ Free ⬤ Only features four locations ⬤ Looping video and audio transitions impairs enjoyment Supported Languages: English Product Links: [ **Free at Meta PCVR Store** Requires a PC. View in Oculus Rift or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/pcvr/3507999942601704/) [ **Free at Steam** Requires a PC. View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1601810/)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★★☆](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 4-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ Quest](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ quest)  [ Creativity](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ creativity)  [ Travel](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ travel)  [ Utilities](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ utilities)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) Please note that ImmerGallery has added functionality since this 2023 review. We hope to revisit soon. ImmerGallery enables the viewing of 3D stereoscopic images and 360-degree photography in virtual reality to a high degree of fidelity. This includes images from a multitude of devices including 360° action cameras, drone photography, and dual front-facing lenses like the expensive Canon Dual Fisheye. Remarkably, the software can even process stereograms from the 19th century. ImmerGallery does not, however, support playback of any form of video. The image viewer boasts the ability to automatically detect the format of any type of image file that you throw at it. Albums provide gallery thumbnails that are annotated to differentiate between 2D from 3D photographs, as well as square, 180-degree and 360-degree frames. We tried a number of different file formats on ImmerGallery including old digital cameras, recent drone shots and manually created side-by-side images and the software handled everything with ease. _Cropped view of a sample image, showing controller tips._ Files can be transferred by USB cable link to the headset, using online storage solutions like Pastebin, or directly from your computer folders with a local network link. ImmerGallery also includes sample images, additional downloadable content and even paid downloadable travel guide galleries. Beyond merely viewing just the images and complete albums, ImmerGallery offers additional functionality. This includes zoomable maps for geotagged photography, options to add voiceovers and other background audio, and superimposed graphical effects that include rain, snow, butterflies, and even hot air balloons. We found the rain and snow effects to be a nice novelty, though the simplistic cartoon graphics that the hot air balloon layer adds to drone videos were an unnecessary distraction to us. _Menu system. Thumbnails clearly identify image types._ The menu system is mostly clean and easy to understand, though some of the design and UI choices could be further refined to reduce clutter and improve navigation. We're also pleased that the developer shows continued enthusiasm towards improving the product further, while providing excellent product detail on their website and YouTube channel. If you're interested in checking out ImmerGallery but are uncertain about the price, they offer a demonstration version that includes sample images and allows you to view up to ten of your own images. Also, if you want to learn more about stereo photography, the ImmerGallery has a large list of cameras on its website. However, many older cameras on that list provide poor quality images and modern cameras and lenses are rather pricey. Alternatively you can make your own side-by-side stereo images with a smartphone by taking two images a couple of inches apart. We made one ourselves using the $3.99 iOS app Camera 3D Pro. _Great for 360° drone photography, but maybe without the hot air balloon graphics._ Summary: ⬤ High fidelity viewer that handles every format we could find ⬤ Lots of sample images and a demo version available ⬤ Strong developer support ⬤ Cleaner, less cluttered UI would improve ease of use Supported Languages: English Product Links: [ **$29.99 at Meta Quest Store** Get the app here and it will appear on your Quest headset.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/4677037565709635/)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★☆☆](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 3-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ PCVR](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ pcvr)  [ Quest](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ quest)  [ Documentary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ documentary)  [ History](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ history)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) Popular podcaster Dan Carlin is best known for his dramatic retelling of historical world events through detailed long-form audio commentaries. In _'War Remains: Dan Carlin Presents an Immersive Memory'_ his narrative vividly portrays European trench warfare during the First World War, delving into its profound impact on those unfortunate enough to experience the brutality of the battlefields. Despite Carlin's non-academic background in history, his prior involvement in television news reporting and radio talk shows helps him deliver engaging historical insights. It's his voice that leads this experience, with strong support from immersive audio designed by Skywalker Sound that plays over five animated visual sequences. _'War Remains'_ addresses the suffering unflinchingly with strong content and doesn't let up throughout its thirteen minute runtime. Scenes depicted include trench warfare and a point of view of what it may have been like to shelter in place during heavy bombardment. The hardships and horrors of war are further driven home by the hard-hitting narration. _European air assault; WWI transformed warfare._ The primary goal of _'War Remains'_ is to offer viewers a firsthand understanding of the horrors and psychological strains of a post-industrial age war. The program's shorter duration might come as a relief, especially considering its likely audience of museum visitors. However, for those viewing at home, a longer piece with more historical context would have been preferable for us, especially after paying to download this app. There's also some uncertainty about the effectiveness of utilizing virtual reality to enhance this experience. While the Audio presentation of _'War Remains'_ achieves an exceptional level of quality, both in the narrative and the accompanying immersive sound design, the visual component falls short. Except for a brief scene portraying shelter during a bombing raid, the animated images lack a sense of immersion and often actually distract from the narrative. Additionally, despite being a story centered on human suffering the visuals barely depict human figures at all. We suspect we'd have a more impactful experience just listening to the audio while viewing actual photography from the period. Dan Carlin is the host of Hardcore Histories and other podcasts, available through the usual podcast apps and also at Dan Carlin.com. _Trench warfare in World War I._ _The aftermath of a battle._ Summary: ⬤ Excellent audio narration and effects ⬤ Compelling retelling of historical events ⬤ Visuals struggle to provide immersion Supported Languages: English Product Links: [ **$4.99 at Meta Quest Store** Get the app here and it will appear on your Quest headset.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/pcvr/2732271300127748/) [ **$4.99 at Steam** Requires a PC. View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1198050) [ **$4.99 at Viveport*** View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://www.viveport.com/apps/188af189-6d67-4704-ad43-1d23fc88ce97) *Included in Viveport Infinity subscription.

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★★☆](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 4-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ PCVR](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ pcvr)  [ Art](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ art)  [ Music](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ music)  [ Uncommon](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ uncommon)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) Colorfiction's 0°N 0°W, also known as Zero North Zero West, is an abstract experience that combines multicolored dynamic visuals with an atmospheric original electronic score. Participants are granted freedom to traverse each each environment, scaling objects to appreciate panoramic views from various angles and elevations. Exploration unfolds into diverse environments, either through aimless wandering or discovering nondescript doors leading elsewhere. At times hidden worlds within worlds emerge, revealing themselves gradually over time and by chance. A menu system also exists for those who want a more methodological approach to exploration, but be aware that some off-menu locations remain. 0°N 0°W is a modestly priced flat-screen experience for Windows PCs that offers a free update for viewing in virtual reality. Although the developer describes the VR add-on as under development, it appears they've since moved on to other projects, signalling no further updates. _Portals to other worlds?_ The VR adaptation discards introductions and menus, instead placing participants inside a cube adorned with doors that lead to other environments. Though there were too many doors for us to quickly count, we found that there are fewer environments to explore than there are doors in the cube. There are a maximum of 15 environments to be exact, compared with the 211 levels of the flat-screen PC version. Despite this limitation, exploring these worlds from all angles within virtual reality was much more immersive and spectacular than viewing on a monitor. Controls are rudimentary. It's possible to use VR controllers for movement, running and jumping. However, staying close to a keyboard is important if you'd like to change environments without having to find portals between worlds. While number keys 1 through 6 facilitate transport between certain locations, others remain reachable only through exploration. Notably, a smooth turning option is absent across control methods, though snap-turning works fine when needed. _Overview of a dynamic neon city._ The developer states that the VR version of 0°N 0°W was tailored for Oculus headsets. We have reports that it works with other PCVR systems too, though Index controllers may not be supported and a keyboard or Xbox controller will be needed as an alternative means of movement. Those who find 0°N 0°W appealing should might also find interest in a similar experience produced by the band Radiohead. Their free Kid A Mnesia exhibition is similar in some ways and works on PC, Mac and Playstation 5. Though thoroughly satisfying as a flat-screen production we were also able to view it as a VR experience using UEVR and VorpX software. _Colorful digital grids of blocks cycle before your eyes._ _One of several striking monochrome environments._ Summary: ⬤ Spectacular VR environments that need exploration ⬤ Inventive original soundtrack ⬤ Includes flat-screen version with more content & polish ⬤ Limited environments available in VR Supported Languages: English External Links: YouTube:Trailer Product Links: [ **$4.99 at Steam** Requires a PC. View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://store.steampowered.com/app/670750/0N_0W/) [ **$5.00 or more at Itch.io** Includes a Steam key. Requires a PC. View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://colorfiction.itch.io/0n0w)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★★★](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 5-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ Apple](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ apple)  [ PCVR](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ pcvr)  [ Quest](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ quest)  [ Link](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ link)  [ Travel](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ travel)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Roomscale](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ roomscale)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) Brink Traveler immerses you in virtual picture postcards of natural wonders that you've always wanted to visit and helps relive memories of places past. All in solitude. Without the crowds that you'll usually find at these popular locations. Not content to simply place you within expertly captured photogrammetry and 3D modeling, Brink Traveler also adds animation to waterfalls, birds in the sky and other surprises while surrounding you with a realistic audio experience. The app features many diverse locations around the world, but the quantity varies depending on which platform you use. Both the PCVR and Meta Quest version include 48 environments and the legacy Meta Link version for PC offers 40 locations. Though the Apple Vision Pro version has only 18 locations, it is available at a cheaper price. _Brink Traveler screenshot of Iceland's Haifoss._ Around half of the destinations featured on Brink Traveler are within the United States, but the others are spread out around the globe. US destinations include Antelope Canyon, Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon, Crystal Crag, Death Valley, Glen Canyon, Goblin Valley, Horseshoe Bend, Lone Pine Peak, Mt Morrison, Mt Whitney, The Wave and White Pocket. Other destinations are located in Spain, France, Iceland, Norway, South Korea and New Zealand. Walking around each location is possible either by pressing on the joystick or by walking around in your actual room. Though confined to a small viewing area, it's fun to maneuver around the available space to appreciate the landscape in three full dimensions and to peer over ledges into chasms below. Presentation is also very good. The elegant menus are easy to operate and additional functions are available by pressing on a watch on your off-hand. A compass in your dominant hand helps you explore several points of interest hidden in the landscape, offering a little more interpretation of the scene around you. There's also an option to frame your fingers in a rectangle to take a photo – this takes a little getting used to, but then quickly becomes second nature. We also appreciate the simpler touches, such as describing the time of year, temperature and wind speed at each location. _Elegant menus. This notebook lists the POIs you've found._ Brink Traveler also offers a social feature. Share each location with invited guests using a room code, or mingle with random strangers on the internet. Each user must own a copy of the app. When we tried connecting with strangers, unlike the Wander app we rarely found anybody available. Audio narration is presented in English and includes immersive effects, such as an echo when you're standing deep in a slot canyon. Unfortunately the interpretive descriptions of each location are rather light on content, and if you've already read the description on the loading page while downloading a new location, then the audio narration is just a frustrating repetition. We found some the over saturated colors to be unnatural and occasionally an animated model added to the scenery – such as a cruise ship passing through a Norwegian fjord – was distracting to the point of breaking immersion. It would be great if these could be turned off. Also, though it's good to see the support of multiple languages (listed below), and as far as we could tell this support doesn't extend to audio narration. When using the app in a language other than English, the narration was absent and the additional content for the POI feature wouldn't even show up as text. _Exploring Greece's Navagio Beach._ Our original review expressed disappointment with the limited availability of interpretative content, but this has been partly addressed with with the addition of an AI assistant. Access the assistant via a walkie-talkie in your hand and it will respond audibly to your spoken questions about the destination in which you're currently location. Brink Traveler is an excellent way to experience a good selection natural world landmarks if you can't travel there yourself. Having spent time exploring the world of Google Street View from inside the Wander app we do find the limited area of each Brink location to be confining, but Brink Traveler is unsurpassed in graphical detail and immersion. Another option is Blueplanet VR Explore which features good photogrammetry and contextual information over a greater number of locations but feels less polished. Summary: ⬤ Excellent immersive experience ⬤ 18 (Apple), 20 (PCVR), 27 (Quest) diverse world locations ⬤ Elegant user interface is easy to use ⬤ Limited opportunities for exploration ⬤ Interpretative content could be better defined Supported Languages: English  French  German  Japanese  Korean Product Links: [ **$4.99 at Apple App Store** Requires Apple Vision Pro. We are yet to review this version of the experience.](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/brink-traveler/id1543405165) [ **$14.99 at Meta Quest Store** Get the app here and it will appear on your Quest headset.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/quest/3635172946605196/) [ **$14.99 at Meta PCVR Store** Requires a PC. View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/pcvr/1723287424432047) [ **$14.99 at Steam** Requires a PC. View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1462520)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★☆☆](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 4-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ Quest](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ quest)  [ Travel](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ travel)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) Five years after it was published on the PC platform, Google Earth VR still sets the bar for mapping and world exploration in Virtual Reality. Several attempts at creating similar products for the less powerful Meta Quest platform have found some success, but only by limiting the scale of the map views and adding other functionality like Google Street View or social features. See our reviews of Wander and Wooorld for examples. To date, the ambitious developers at AnyWR have come the closest to providing the Google Earth VR experience on Quest. Users can pick from a menu of famous cities and locations or search for a place of their choosing. AnyWR places you in a landscape surrounded by Google Earth images and three-dimensional models where available. You can use the controllers to fly above the buildings and trees, and move around at street level to explore the locations at your leisure. What AnyWR has achieved is impressive for sure, but because of the limitations of the mobile Meta Quest processor, we don't find the experience to be good enough to recommend when compared to Google Earth on a flat-screen computer monitor, and definitely nowhere near as good as Google Earth VR. _Taipei cityscape screenshot_ Constraints on graphical detail might allow for smoother movement and rotation, but that comes at the cost of visual fidelity. Building textures, natural landscapes and three dimensional models don't resolve to a reasonable level of detail until you're near to them. For example - when we looked for Los Angeles' Hollywood sign it was indistinguishable from the mountain until we got within a couple of miles, and it was still unreadable until we got close up. Another necessary limitation is the extent of graphical coverage. Raise your your viewing position high enough above the ground and terrain will no longer draw as far as the horizon. This restricting effect is off-putting and also makes it harder to experience a sense of place and immersion. A compounding factor lies in difficulties with landscape navigation. Movement about the scenery can be both too fast at close quarters and far too slow when trying to cover more than a couple of miles of terrain. A dynamic speed option is available in the menu but we had limited success with it - sometimes even close to ground level, movement will suddenly self-adjust to a crawl. Also, pushing forward on the joystick does not move you in the direction you're looking, but instead the direction of your initial position in the app _(See developer's update below)_. On a positive note we enjoyed how the movement buttons are mapped out on the controllers. _Horseshoe Bend screenshot_ Finding locations to explore are achieved in two ways - either through a menu system or through keyword search. The tiered menu systems drills down from continent to a selection of countries, then lists up to five cities per country to explore this way. For example, in the US you can choose between Las Vegas, New York, Miami, Boston and San Francisco only, skipping many important cities including the nation's capital. At each listed city a further menu offers a variety of locations which relocate you on the map. If you want to explore other locations you will need to use the search function, accessible through a keyboard that takes some patience to operate. Searching for cities and famous locations can be easy to find, though other places are sometimes more difficult to reach since the search function will only take you to its first choice. Traveling to Horseshoe Bend for example, first took us to a nondescript suburban location that we couldn't determine - since AnyWR provides no global overview or text interpretation of where you are. Thankfully we knew that the famed Horseshoe Bend is very close to the Arizona city of Page, so we were able to locate it through a city keyword search. Scrolling around the landscape or zooming in and out of a globe isn't an option with AnyWR. Quest owners eager for world exploration in virtual reality can surely find value in AnyWR - particularly at its current low price. Also, perhaps with further development that includes an improved user interface and better graphics that utilize the increased capabilities of the Meta Quest 3, AnyWR could one day become a leading alternative to Google Earth VR on the Quest platform. _Developer Update: "We just uploaded version 4.9 which fixes the issue with moving by head direction and we are working to solve even more problems in the future."_ _Trafalgar Square and menu of recommended locations._ _Some surprising places lack detail_ Summary: ⬤ Closest Quest equivalent of Google Earth VR so far ⬤ Modest price tag ⬤ Graphics not as good as flatscreen Google Earth ⬤ Poor navigation & UI restrict exploration Supported Languages: English Product Links: [ **$4.99 at Meta Quest Store** Get the app here and it will appear on your Quest headset.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/6202071979891965/)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★★★](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 5-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ Quest](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ quest)  [ Education](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ education)  [ Natural History](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ naturalhistory)  [ Travel](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ travel)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Roomscale](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ roomscale) National Geographic Explore VR combines several effective virtual reality techniques to provide an immersive travel experience that both educates and exhilarates in equal measures. Transporting you to the Southern Hemisphere, this Meta Quest app includes a photographic tour of Machu Picchu and an expedition to experience natural wonders in the Antarctic. Beginning at a base location, you'll be briefly tutored in the ways of the simple user interface and the basics of movement in VR before launching your first expedition. Initially visualized on a globe, your planned destination is also framed in front of you by the iconic yellow rectangle that both brands National Geographic and frames its celebrated magazine. It's used here to ingenious effect as a portal - select your destination and you are projected into frame and beyond. The Machu Picchu experience comprises three locations rendered with photogrammetry - actual images from the site wrapped around carefully crafted 3D models. The effect is not only immersive but also remarkably accurate, to the extent that each stone from this six-hundred-year citadel appears to be faithful to the real location down to its unique grain and weathered surface. The landscape is augmented by other items that are computer generated but do manage to add to the sense of presence when combined with pleasant ambient sounds. Graphics are realistic enough and drawn so well that it's disappointing to reach the limits of an explorable area when what's beyond looks so good. _Exploration through photo assignments and graphical recreation._ Your first impressions of Machu Picchu will be from the top of the hill overlooking the site where you are provided with an introduction on how to use the in-game camera, and some historical context about the location's discovery. From this overview position you can also see the other two selected locations that you can visit. We love the way the photography tasks are used to structure site exploration and keep the audience engaged with fun challenges, all while being informed by an audio narrative that develops as an interplay between the voices of two different guides. Included in the photography tasks are occasions where you need to engage with graphical reconstructions of what an individual building may have looked like, or what it may have contained. Some of the narration did feel a little patronizing however, and the content of the guides' revelations can be somewhat limited at times. _Photogrammetry used to great effect for Machu Picchu._ It was clear that the Antarctic experience would be very different from Machu Picchu as soon as we climbed into the kayak. Gone is the photogrammetry of ancient ruins, and instead you're invited to paddle into an icy wilderness populated by penguins and other creatures yet to be discovered. Though you can paddle and steer as much as you like, there's no need to work up a sweat as the current guides you in the right direction. The photography tasks are still present here, and capturing images of local wildlife will also trigger snippets of an audio narration. Once moored up on an ice shelf, you'll next need to tackle an ice wall with a pair of axes. For the more adventurous, there's a challenging circuitous route, but even the simplest route straight up might trigger a sense of vertigo in some people. Simulated wind whips around you and chunks of ice fall off into the water below, providing a sense of peril. Thankfully it is impossible to fall from a ledge or mis-step with the ice axes, but if this segment is too much for you, you can return to the main menu and skip to the next scene. We do recommend working your way through the complete Antarctic experience though, as we were amused and delighted with some of the surprises and the orchestrated spectacular reveals. National Geographic Explore VR impresses because it combines great variety with an impressive professional polish as it both teaches and entertains. Of course we would have liked to have a third global location or more, but for the price this experience is well worth checking out. _Antarctica by kayak and spectacular ice climbing views._ _Choose your destination and frame your travel photography._ Summary: ⬤ Variety of experiences and challenges ⬤ Excellent presentation and structured content ⬤ Would benefit from more global locations Supported Languages: English  French  German  Japanese  Korean  Spanish External Links: YouTube:Trailer (spoilers) Product Links: [ **$9.99 at Meta Quest Store** Get the app here and it will appear on your Quest headset.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/2046607608728563/)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★☆☆](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 3-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ PCVR](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ pcvr)  [ Link](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ link)  [ Education](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ education)  [ Free](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ free)  [ History](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ history)  [ Travel](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ travel)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Roomscale](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ roomscale)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) Favorite wife of Pharaoh Ramesses II (1303-1213 BCE), Nefertari's life was celebrated with a spectacularly decorated and appointed burial chamber in Egypt's Valley of the Queens. When rediscovered in 1904 it was found to have been looted in ancient times, though the tomb itself and its splendid wall paintings remain. Modern visitors to Nefertari's tomb are restricted to avoid damage, but thankfully with this virtual reality experience you can visit it as many times as you like. Nefertari: Journey to Eternity offers exploration of this multi-level tomb, complete with detailed photographic representations of every intricately decorated wall, column and ceiling. Some rooms are lit by virtual oil-lamps which also provide an reverent ambience, but you can cast further light over the artistry with flashlights that can be activated on your controllers. The program will highlight several of the more notable paintings and provide an audio narration upon request, describing and interpreting the reasoning for their inclusion within the tomb decorations. Don't forget to take a glimpse upward also, to appreciate the ceiling of the tomb which is adorned with hundreds of sparkling stars. So far as we can determine, this experience is a faithful reproduction of this Egyptian Queen's final resting place. It features high resolution imagery and offers an uninterrupted opportunity to enjoy this ancient marvel at your own pace If we were to suggest areas where the experience could have been improved, we would have added an introduction and extended the tour to include the entrance stairs and an external view of the Valley of the Queens where this tomb is situated. This would provide location context and a sense of discovery upon entry. As it is, we recommend an introduction to this topic through Wikipedia articles before embarking on the VR tour. The tour can be experienced either as a seated or roomscale experience. Teleportation is the main way to navigate the chambers, but walking up and inspecting the walls does add to a sense of presence. Entering the two low-ceilinged annex rooms at either side of the main treasure room reveal a bug in the program, as if you're standing when you teleport into them you'll lose all vision since your head will be above the room's ceiling. This initially confused us until we bent down. Also there is no controller-based turning option, so if you're seated it's advisable to do so in a swivel chair. Note that the Viveport version of Nefertari: Journey to Eternity should be avoided as it is an older iteration that contains several bugs and graphical problems. Summary: ⬤ Well-modeled spaces with lots of graphical detail ⬤ Good (but limited) audio narration ⬤ Lacking an introduction and location context ⬤ Viveport version is to be avoided Supported Languages: English External Links: Wikipedia:Tomb of Nefertari Product Links: [ **Free at Meta PCVR Store** Requires a PC. View in Oculus Rift or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/pcvr/1491802884282318/) [ **Free at Steam** Requires a PC. View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://store.steampowered.com/app/861400) [ **Free at Viveport** This version is not recommended - see review comments.](https://www.viveport.com/apps/717f1792-3dcd-4ccc-bc19-f4531e7f109c)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★☆☆](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 3-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ Quest](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ quest)  [ Casual Gaming](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ casualgaming)  [ Education](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ education)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Roomscale](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ roomscale)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) Kurzgesagt is a hugely popular YouTube channel known for its educational animated content concerning science, technology and global issues. With a unique visual style, their videos make complex topics easily understandable and engaging for a broad audience, but particularly older children and adults. If you're unfamiliar then we highly recommend checking out the Kurzgesagt YouTube Channel. When we heard about a Kurzgesagt educational game being developed by Schell Games (I Expect You To Die) we got quite excited. Unfortunately the final product didn't live up to our expectations and isn't something we would recommend. Inspired by casual games like the Job Simulator VR series, _Out of Scale: A Kurzgesagt Adventure_ places you in a device that can transport you between environments of five different states of scale, from microbes to mountains. An accident with your shrinking equipment creates a mess and it is your job to return objects and creatures back to their normal size and location, while picking up some educational nuggets along the way. _A giant rubber duck on a giant landscape._ The first suggestion that things were less than perfect was in the first few minutes, when a missing multitool meant we had to restart the experience and replay the whole introduction. Then, though we consider ourselves to be experienced virtual reality gamers, we got stuck on the very first significant task. The first task required scanning objects scattered around a cityscape and collecting certain out-of-place objects with the multitool. Yet only after scanning them first with the same multitool, but in a different configuration. We got stuck when we appeared to have run out of objects to collect. The only hint offered by the game was a repeating narrative clip telling us to re-read the instructional transcript on our in-game pad, which didn't enlighten us. We manouvered through several different scale levels - each separated by an unnecessarily long interstitial animation - to find out what we were meant to do next, but we were only able to progress further after reading a walkthrough of the game posted on the internet. We later learned that there is enough of a problem with the game that the developers published an official walkthrough. Continuing further, we found objects that unintentionally spawned behind scenery, and even an audio hint that told us "we need to make this one smaller" when we actually had to make it bigger. _Giant ants have taken over the city._ Learning is introduced during the object collection levels, as to complete each goal and advance it is necessary to select many of the objects and creatures that inhabit each landscape. Narration imparts light educational information about parts of the natural world at all levels of scale, some of which is also useful to complete a specific game task. Both the level of educational content and the type of activities presented in this app appear most suited to pre-teen children, which is a suprise considering the content of the YouTube channel decidedly aims for an older age group. Because this game is entirely linear, it's necessary to complete every activity in turn. This can certainly be frustrating, but the real dealbreaker for us is that the linear gameplay turns the experience into a chore - making us work to find what we have to do next, rather than allowing us to experiencing the joy of exploring these dioramas of different scales with a degree of freedom, and feeling the rewards of discovery. If you want to play a game like this but with much more inventive fun, check out the Job Simulator series. If you want fun and funny educational content then watch the Kurzgesagt YouTube channel. Unfortunately this experience attempts to do both while achieving neither to a satisfying degree. _From mountains to molecules._ Summary: ⬤ Kurzgesagt's high-quality art and production values ⬤ Contains light educational content for pre-teens ⬤ Frustrating puzzles, often unintuitive solutions ⬤ Linear gameplay means little exploration, engagement ⬤ 60-90 minutes of content with little replayable value Supported Languages: English Product Links: [ **$14.99 at Meta Quest Store** Get the app here and it will appear on your Quest headset.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/7270665009617359/)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★★☆](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 4-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ Apple](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ apple)  [ PCVR](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ pcvr)  [ Quest](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ quest)  [ Link](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ link)  [ Education](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ education)  [ Travel](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ travel)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Roomscale](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ roomscale) _Blueplanet VR Explore_ invites you to marvel at natural and cultural landmarks from around the world in three dimensions of virtual reality. Setting itself apart from similar products, Blueplanet's base content includes a massive fifty different sites over 40 locations, and offers four packs of 'add on' content which contain a further 40 more sites in total. Sites range from ocean overlooks to caves, canyons and lava tubes; from ancient temples to an old western ghost town. All of these you can visit in solitude at your own pace, without the bustle of tour groups and sightseers. Updated with an improved user interface in early 2024, _Blueplanet_ greets newcomers with a massive wall of spheres representing all the sites you can visit. There's also an option of a short introductory video that we found to be very helpful. Touching a sphere with your controller will transport you directly to the location of your choice. As your selected landscape is revealed, a panel appears allowing you to orientate yourself with a world map, a model of the site and a short description about the location. _Navajo Nation Cliff Dwelling._ _Blueplanet version 2_ introduces a novel twist interface that is a simple and effective way to access controls. Rotate your controllers outward and you're presented with short menus. Use the opposite hand to select an option. Using the twist interface you can now skip between locations without going back to the main menu, and because all content is pre-loaded it only takes a couple of seconds before you materialize somewhere new. Locations are realized using photogrammetry methods – a three-dimensional technique that stitches together real site photography taken from multiple angles, then places it over shaped models. Using teleport locomotion and snap-turning you can move around the rendered landscape to appreciate many different angles, enter a cave or step to the edge of a ledge and appreciate distant views. _Virtually hang-gliding over Yellowstone's Grand Prismatic Spring._ Some locations feature additional layers interpretive content, or lead you to neighboring locations. Occasionally a location will be enhanced with computer generated shafts of light, or an animated waterfall. The quality of the 3D imagery at some sites took our breath away. However, at other locations a lack of definition and roughly modeled shapes left us disappointed. This is particularly obvious when the background image has a higher resolution than the fuzzy foreground, and even more so when the background is a repetition of the modelled foreground image (example). _The Grand Canyon with added geological context._ It's also a problem at locations where intricate rockwork is the main attraction – like Blueplanet's rendering of Fantasy Canyon in Utah, that turns the massively tangled natural rock formations into a confusing mess of jagged and oversimplified polygons. We're not convinced that any current technology could truly capture and reproduce the detail of Fantasy Canyon in VR at this time and suggest that Blueplanet's ambitions for specific locations sometimes overreach. We've explored all the locations that Blueplanet has to offer, including base content and the four packs of additional locations that are available for purchase. Some locations include large landscapes to explore – much larger than competing travel VR products. However around a half of the locations that are available are much smaller in size and have limited scope for movement and explorations. We also noticed that Blueplanet didn't always capture a location's best features – for example, compare Blueplanet's Vasquez Rocks imagery (top) with photography from our sister website Trailspotting. Blueplanet does give you the freedom to climb up this one spire, but it also undersells the dramatic topography of the site. _Vasquez Rocks: Blueplanet vsTrailspotting_ Striking a balance between image resolution, size of area captured, number of locations available and size of download is still an exercise in compromise with current technology. Blueplanet's base content of fifty locations is only possible because of a massive 20GB download, and further improving the fidelity of the visuals would likely increase this size dramatically. We do prefer this 'big download' approach over individual location downloads though – in Brink Traveler we found ourselves waiting up to 5 minutes for a new location to be downloaded. Blueplanet VR Explore offers more locations to investigate than any other VR photogrammetry travel product available. With this quantity comes a mixed bag of quality - some immersive locations took our breath away, while the visual fidelity of others left us underwhelmed. _Blueplanet VR's photogrammetry can produce great results._ _Information panel brings up a model, a location, or descriptive context._ A version of Blueplanet VR Explore is also available for Apple Vision Pro, although we have not had the opportunity to review the product on this headset. There are nine separate experiences available, grouped by subject or location. There's a link to all of these in the Product Links section below. Summary: ⬤ Many immersive 3D environments to explore ⬤ Large range of content and detail ⬤ Lack of global variety of locations ⬤ Visual quality of locations is a mixed bag Supported Languages: English  French  German  Italian  Japanese  Korean  Spanish Product Links: [ **$5.99 per experience at Apple App Store** Requires Apple Vision Pro. We are yet to review this version of the experience.](https://apps.apple.com/us/vision/search?term=blueplanet) [ **$24.99 at Meta Quest Store** For Meta Quest. Depreciated Oculus Rift version also included.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/3422717251188752/) [ **$24.99 at Steam** Requires a PC. View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1264180/Blueplanet_VR/)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★★★](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 5-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ Apple](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ apple)  [ PCVR](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ pcvr)  [ Quest](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ quest)  [ Link](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ link)  [ Travel](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ travel)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Roomscale](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ roomscale)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) _Review updated December 2023 to include updated functionality and new locations._ Brink Traveler immerses you in virtual picture postcards of natural wonders that you've always wanted to visit and helps relive memories of places past. All in solitude. Without the crowds that you'll usually find at these popular locations. Not content to simply place you within expertly captured photogrammetry and 3D modeling, Brink Traveler also adds animation to waterfalls, birds in the sky and other surprises while surrounding you with a realistic audio experience. At the time of this updated review the app features 20 locations around the world and an additional 7 locations for the Quest version. Head to the bottom of this review to see a list and map of all the locations, most of which feature natural spectacles as their focus. We're told that the PCVR update will include the 7 additional locations and will be available in January 2024. Walking around each location is possible either by pressing on the joystick or by walking around in your actual room. Though confined to a small viewing area, it's fun to maneuver around the available space to appreciate the landscape in three full dimensions and to peer over ledges into chasms below. _Brink Traveler screenshot of Iceland's Haifoss._ Presentation is also very good. The elegant menus are easy to operate and additional functions are available by pressing on a watch on your off-hand. A compass in your dominant hand helps you explore several points of interest hidden in the landscape, offering a little more interpretation of the scene around you. There's also an option to frame your fingers in a rectangle to take a photo – this takes a little getting used to, but then quickly becomes second nature. We also appreciate the simpler touches, such as describing the time of year, temperature and wind speed at each location. Brink Traveler also offers a social feature. Share each location with invited guests using a room code, or mingle with random strangers on the internet. Each user must own a copy of the app. When we tried connecting with strangers, unlike the Wander app we rarely found anybody available. Audio narration is presented in English and includes immersive effects, such as an echo when you're standing deep in a slot canyon. Unfortunately the interpretive descriptions of each location are rather light on content, and if you've already read the description on the loading page while downloading a new location, then the audio narration is just a frustrating repetition. We found some the over saturated colors to be unnatural and occasionally an animated model added to the scenery – such as a cruise ship passing through a Norwegian fjord – was distracting to the point of breaking immersion. It would be great if these could be turned off. Also, though it's good to see the support of multiple languages (listed below), and as far as we could tell this support doesn't extend to audio narration. When using the app in a language other than English, the narration was absent and the additional content for the POI feature wouldn't even show up as text. Our original review expressed disappointment with the limited availability of interpretative content, but for Quest owners at least this has been addressed to a degree an the AI assistant. Access the assistant via a walkie-talkie in your hand and it will respond audibly to your spoken questions about the destination in which you're currently location. This feature isn't available in the PCVR version at the time we updated this review. _Elegant menus. This notebook lists the POIs you've found._ The graphics on the PCVR platform are better defined than on the Quest 2 version, though with the late 2023 update there are now improved graphical updates available for Quest 3 owners. Below we offer some actual screenshot comparisons. Brink Traveler is an excellent way to experience a good selection natural world landmarks if you can't travel there yourself. Having spent time exploring the world of Google Street View from inside the Wander app we do find the limited area of each Brink location to be confining, but Brink Traveler is unsurpassed in graphical detail and immersion. Another option is Blueplanet VR Explore which features good photogrammetry and contextual information over a greater number of locations but feels less polished. _Horseshoe Bend: Quest 2 vs PCVR comparison._ _Late 2023 update includes Greece's Navagio Beach._ We've plotted Brink's destinations on a map: USA Destinations: _Antelope Canyon · Arches National Park · Bryce Canyon · Crystal Crag · Death Valley · Glen Canyon · Goblin Valley · Horseshoe Bend · Lone Pine Peak · Mt Morrison · Mt Whitney · The Wave · White Pocket_ European Destinations: _Cirque de Gavarnie, Spain · Dune of Pilat, France · Haifoss, Iceland · Pulpit Rock, Norway_ Rest of the World: _Ulsanbawi, South Korea · Mt Sunday, New Zealand_ Quest only Destinations: _Aoraki & Mt Cook, New Zealand · Bardenas Reales, Spain · Landmannalaugar, Iceland · Marseille, France · Navagio Beach, Greece · Peña Ezcaurre, Spain · Red Rock Canyon, USA_ Summary: ⬤ Excellent immersive experience ⬤ 27 (Quest) or 20 (PCVR) diverse world locations ⬤ Elegant user interface is easy to use ⬤ Limited opportunities for exploration ⬤ Interpretative content could be better defined Supported Languages: English  French  German  Japanese  Korean External Links: YouTube:Trailer Product Links: [ **$4.99 at Apple App Store** Requires Apple Vision Pro. We are yet to review this version of the experience.](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/brink-traveler/id1543405165) [ **$14.99 at Meta Quest Store** Get the app here and it will appear on your Quest headset.](https://www.oculus.com/experiences/quest/3635172946605196/) [ **$14.99 at Meta PCVR Store** Requires a PC. View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1723287424432047) [ **$14.99 at Steam** Requires a PC. View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1462520)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★★☆](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 4-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ PCVR](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ pcvr)  [ Art](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ art)  [ Music](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ music)  [ Uncommon](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ uncommon)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) Colorfiction's 0°N 0°W, also known as Zero North Zero West, is an abstract experience that combines multicolored dynamic visuals with an atmospheric original electronic score. Participants are granted freedom to traverse each each environment, scaling objects to appreciate panoramic views from various angles and elevations. Exploration unfolds into diverse environments, either through aimless wandering or discovering nondescript doors leading elsewhere. At times hidden worlds within worlds emerge, revealing themselves gradually over time and by chance. A menu system also exists for those who want a more methodological approach to exploration, but be aware that some off-menu locations remain. 0°N 0°W is a modestly priced flat-screen experience for Windows PCs that offers a free update for viewing in virtual reality. Although the developer describes the VR add-on as under development, it appears they've since moved on to other projects, signalling no further updates. _Portals to other worlds?_ The VR adaptation discards introductions and menus, instead placing participants inside a cube adorned with doors that lead to other environments. Though there were too many doors for us to quickly count, we found that there are fewer environments to explore than there are doors in the cube. There are a maximum of 15 environments to be exact, compared with the 211 levels of the flat-screen PC version. Despite this limitation, exploring these worlds from all angles within virtual reality was much more immersive and spectacular than viewing on a monitor. Controls are rudimentary. It's possible to use Oculus controllers for movement, running and jumping. However, staying close to a keyboard is important if you'd like to change environments without having to find portals between worlds. While number keys 1 through 6 facilitate transport between certain locations, others remain reachable only through exploration. Notably, a smooth turning option is absent across control methods, though snap-turning works fine when needed. _Overview of a dynamic neon city._ The developer states that the VR version of 0°N 0°W was tailored for Oculus headsets. We have reports that it works with other PCVR systems too, though Index controllers may not be supported and a keyboard or Xbox controller will be needed as an alternative means of movement. Those who find 0°N 0°W appealing should might also find interest in a similar experience produced by the band Radiohead. Their free Kid A Mnesia exhibition is similar in some ways and works on PC, Mac and Playstation 5. Though thoroughly satisfying as a flat-screen production we were also able to view it as a VR experience using UEVR and VorpX software. _Colorful digital grids of blocks cycle before your eyes._ _One of several striking monochrome environments._ Summary: ⬤ Spectacular VR environments that need exploration ⬤ Inventive original soundtrack ⬤ Includes flat-screen version with more content & polish ⬤ Limited environments available in VR Supported Languages: English External Links: YouTube:Trailer Product Links: [ **$4.99 at Steam** Requires a PC. View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://store.steampowered.com/app/670750/0N_0W/) [ **$5.00 or more at Itch.io** Includes a Steam key. Requires a PC. View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://colorfiction.itch.io/0n0w)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★★☆](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 4-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ PCVR](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ pcvr)  [ Link](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ link)  [ Free](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ free)  [ Travel](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ travel)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) _A wide, slow flowing creek in verdant New Hampshire Waterville Valley._ _Get Lost In Nature with Luke_ is an immersive PCVR travel experience that exhibits secluded forests, rocky ocean coves and celebrated waterfall, all located in the north-eastern United States. It's excellent use of photogrammetary - high quality images wrapped around 3D models - provides an awesome sense of realism that is further enhanced with effective use of animated video imagery. Realistic streams flow, waterfalls cascade and the ocean laps against the rocks; complete with accompanying background sounds captured at source. The program uses a simple menu system of markers to help visitors steer through the locations. The introductory page and the navigation menu are placed within two further impressive but unnamed 3D modelled locations - a floodlit cave and a moss-covered woodland spot. Each location also features an animated video version of the experiences' creator, Luke, who upon summoning will materialize upon the landscape and provide some color about the place you are experiencing. _An animated Luke pops up in each location to treat you to a narrative._ While some travel experiences focus on famous locations, you're not likely to recognize many of these places - except maybe for Rainbow Falls. Here's a list of the locations available to experience with this app. Note that the addition of more locations is teased in the program, but it looks like further content is unlikely to materialize as the developer is now working on publishing new VR travel apps. • Forest creek in Waterville Valley, NH • Rafe Chasm at Gloucester, MA • Sea inlet at Fort Wetherill State Park, Jamestown RI • Rainbow Falls at Watkins Glen, NY (2 locations) _The four locations on a map._ Controls and movements are easy to use, and the 3D effect of the modelled photogrammetry is best appreciated as a mostly stationary experience with either rotation in place or snap-turning. Loud background music selected for each location can overwhelm at times, and though there's a menu icon to turn off the music it returns every time we change locations. Utilizing realistic video imagery to animate each scene works extremely well, and we prefer it to some of the artificial effects and superimposed objects that other travel apps employ, like those of Brink Traveler. This feature is not without its drawbacks however, as the animated video loops can be quite short in length. The Waterville Valley forest creek location was particularly distracting since both the sound and video would loop every 2.5 seconds with a noticeable black flicker that would make it difficult to enjoy the scene. Other scenes had longer loops - up to 9 seconds - which were less noticeable. Perhaps if not possible to create long loops, it might be possible to employ some tricks make the issue less noticeable - like running the video at a slower framerate and having longer audio clips that play over several repeats of the video clip. Some other issues stood out to us too that could have been easily avoided. Though we were pleased to see that the 360 degree experience does a great job of hiding the camera and tripod used to capture the scene, the creators didn't go to the trouble of hiding their own backpacks and other equipment that can still be found in frame. The animation of the ocean lapping up against the rocks of Rafe's Chasm looks great, but there is an unmoving seagull in flight featured prominently in the foreground that completely breaks any sensation of immersion. Finally, the short audio loop in one of the Watkins Glen locations includes a moment of someone in the background briefly shouting, so this is repeated non-stop every few seconds. _Screenshot from Rainbow Falls at Watkins Glen State Park, NY._ _Realism is shattered a stationary floating seagull._ _Get Lost In Nature With Luke_ is a marvellous experience featuring some lesser known locations that virtual travelers will enjoy immensely, particularly since this program is free. Lost Eagle also has several other PCVR travel experiences including the free Flume Gorge In Winter (review incoming). They have been hard at work developing a new travel app called Orbis VR which we assume will be a spiritual successor to this app and featuring even more wide ranging content and visual effects. We hope to be able to bring you a review Orbis VR when it releases. Summary: ⬤ Most realistic virtual travel app we've seen ⬤ Excellent animated photogrammetry with no CGI elements ⬤ Free ⬤ Only features four locations ⬤ Looping video and audio transitions impairs enjoyment Supported Languages: English Product Links: [ **Free at Meta PCVR Store** Requires a PC. View in Oculus Rift or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/pcvr/3507999942601704/) [ **Free at Steam** Requires a PC. View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1601810/)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★☆☆](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 4-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ Quest](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ quest)  [ Travel](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ travel)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) Five years after it was published on the PC platform, Google Earth VR still sets the bar for mapping and world exploration in Virtual Reality. Several attempts at creating similar products for the less powerful Meta Quest platform have found some success, but only by limiting the scale of the map views and adding other functionality like Google Street View or social features. See our reviews of Wander and Wooorld for examples. To date, the ambitious developers at AnyWR have come the closest to providing the Google Earth VR experience on Quest. Users can pick from a menu of famous cities and locations or search for a place of their choosing. AnyWR places you in a landscape surrounded by Google Earth images and three-dimensional models where available. You can use the controllers to fly above the buildings and trees, and move around at street level to explore the locations at your leisure. What AnyWR has achieved is impressive for sure, but because of the limitations of the mobile Meta Quest processor, we don't find the experience to be good enough to recommend when compared to Google Earth on a flat-screen computer monitor, and definitely nowhere near as good as Google Earth VR. _Taipei cityscape screenshot_ Constraints on graphical detail might allow for smoother movement and rotation, but that comes at the cost of visual fidelity. Building textures, natural landscapes and three dimensional models don't resolve to a reasonable level of detail until you're near to them. For example - when we looked for Los Angeles' Hollywood sign it was indistinguishable from the mountain until we got within a couple of miles, and it was still unreadable until we got close up. Another necessary limitation is the extent of graphical coverage. Raise your your viewing position high enough above the ground and terrain will no longer draw as far as the horizon. This restricting effect is off-putting and also makes it harder to experience a sense of place and immersion. A compounding factor lies in difficulties with landscape navigation. Movement about the scenery can be both too fast at close quarters and far too slow when trying to cover more than a couple of miles of terrain. A dynamic speed option is available in the menu but we had limited success with it - sometimes even close to ground level, movement will suddenly self-adjust to a crawl. Also, pushing forward on the joystick does not move you in the direction you're looking, but instead the direction of your initial position in the app _(See developer's update below)_. On a positive note we enjoyed how the movement buttons are mapped out on the controllers. _Horseshoe Bend screenshot_ Finding locations to explore are achieved in two ways - either through a menu system or through keyword search. The tiered menu systems drills down from continent to a selection of countries, then lists up to five cities per country to explore this way. For example, in the US you can choose between Las Vegas, New York, Miami, Boston and San Francisco only, skipping many important cities including the nation's capital. At each listed city a further menu offers a variety of locations which relocate you on the map. If you want to explore other locations you will need to use the search function, accessible through a keyboard that takes some patience to operate. Searching for cities and famous locations can be easy to find, though other places are sometimes more difficult to reach since the search function will only take you to its first choice. Traveling to Horseshoe Bend for example, first took us to a nondescript suburban location that we couldn't determine - since AnyWR provides no global overview or text interpretation of where you are. Thankfully we knew that the famed Horseshoe Bend is very close to the Arizona city of Page, so we were able to locate it through a city keyword search. Scrolling around the landscape or zooming in and out of a globe isn't an option with AnyWR. Quest owners eager for world exploration in virtual reality can surely find value in AnyWR - particularly at its current low price. Also, perhaps with further development that includes an improved user interface and better graphics that utilize the increased capabilities of the Meta Quest 3, AnyWR could one day become a leading alternative to Google Earth VR on the Quest platform. _Developer Update: "We just uploaded version 4.9 which fixes the issue with moving by head direction and we are working to solve even more problems in the future."_ _Trafalgar Square and menu of recommended locations._ _Some surprising places lack detail_ Summary: ⬤ Closest Quest equivalent of Google Earth VR so far ⬤ Modest price tag ⬤ Graphics not as good as flatscreen Google Earth ⬤ Poor navigation & UI restrict exploration Supported Languages: English Product Links: [ **$4.99 at Meta Quest Store** Get the app here and it will appear on your Quest headset.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/6202071979891965/)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★☆☆](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 3-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ PCVR](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ pcvr)  [ Quest](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ quest)  [ Documentary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ documentary)  [ History](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ history)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) Popular podcaster Dan Carlin is best known for his dramatic retelling of historical world events through detailed long-form audio commentaries. In _'War Remains: Dan Carlin Presents an Immersive Memory'_ his narrative vividly portrays European trench warfare during the First World War, delving into its profound impact on those unfortunate enough to experience the brutality of the battlefields. Despite Carlin's non-academic background in history, his prior involvement in television news reporting and radio talk shows helps him deliver engaging historical insights. It's his voice that leads this experience, with strong support from immersive audio designed by Skywalker Sound that plays over five animated visual sequences. _'War Remains'_ addresses the suffering unflinchingly with strong content and doesn't let up throughout its thirteen minute runtime. Scenes depicted include trench warfare and a point of view of what it may have been like to shelter in place during heavy bombardment. The hardships and horrors of war are further driven home by the hard-hitting narration. _European air assault; WWI transformed warfare._ The primary goal of _'War Remains'_ is to offer viewers a firsthand understanding of the horrors and psychological strains of a post-industrial age war. The program's shorter duration might come as a relief, especially considering its likely audience of museum visitors. However, for those viewing at home, a longer piece with more historical context would have been preferable for us, especially after paying to download this app. There's also some uncertainty about the effectiveness of utilizing virtual reality to enhance this experience. While the Audio presentation of _'War Remains'_ achieves an exceptional level of quality, both in the narrative and the accompanying immersive sound design, the visual component falls short. Except for a brief scene portraying shelter during a bombing raid, the animated images lack a sense of immersion and often actually distract from the narrative. Additionally, despite being a story centered on human suffering the visuals barely depict human figures at all. We suspect we'd have a more impactful experience just listening to the audio while viewing actual photography from the period. Dan Carlin is the host of Hardcore Histories and other podcasts, available through the usual podcast apps and also at Dan Carlin.com. _Trench warfare in World War I._ _The aftermath of a battle._ Summary: ⬤ Excellent audio narration and effects ⬤ Compelling retelling of historical events ⬤ Visuals struggle to provide immersion Supported Languages: English Product Links: [ **$4.99 at Meta Quest Store** Get the app here and it will appear on your Quest headset.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/pcvr/2732271300127748/) [ **$4.99 at Steam** Requires a PC. View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1198050) [ **$4.99 at Viveport*** View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://www.viveport.com/apps/188af189-6d67-4704-ad43-1d23fc88ce97) *Included in Viveport Infinity subscription.

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★★☆](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 4-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ PCVR](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ pcvr)  [ Quest](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ quest)  [ Documentary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ documentary)  [ Free](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ free)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) Project Snowflake turns the clock back to 1967 for a virtual ride of the now defunct Disneyland ride _Adventures Thru Inner Space_. Climb aboard an Atommobile and head into the darkness where the Mighty Microscope shrinks you down to the size of a molecule and flings you into a snowflake where you can marvel at visual spectacles on a subatomic scale. Accompanied by the narration and soundtrack from the original ride, Project Snowflake recreates every scene from the ride; jogging the memories of former riders and teaching others about this landmark theme park ride. Though the experience lacks polish - there is no menu system for example, as the app jumps straight into the ride - we're very grateful for its existence and hope experiences like these can illustrate the importance of preserving the memory of old rides and theme parks. It appears that some scenes are recreated more faithfully than others, and particularly on Quest the experience appears to be lacking in color when compared to video captures of the real thing. However, we're no experts and are happy to enjoy this five minute ride for what it is. This labor of love was developed by Disney fans Jeremy Marx and Kurt Pfeifer and is available through the Disney History Institute website as a PC download or as a free Meta Quest app. The experience on the two platforms is largely the same, though there are some improved lighting effects on the PC version. _Crystalline snowflake structures as we shrink further._ For folks interested in learning more about this ride, there's video from the original ride, a great alternate flatscreen recreation by AdventureThruSpace which also includes the pre-ride walkthrough and narration and the exit area where the Sherman Brothers' theme plays at the end of the ride. If you want an even deeper dive into this Disney ride's history, Defunctland's film is an excellent choice. Adventure Thru Inner Space was shrinking guests until it closed in 1985 to make room for the Star Tours motion simulator. Echoes of the old ride still exist today. The original winding queue line was repurposed for Star Tours though a starship now rests where the Mighty Microscope once stood, and that queue line was also reproduced in other Star Tours rides in Disney parks around the world. **More Theme Park Experiences** • Project Fairwinds Disney designed Worlds Fair centerpiece in VR • 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea VR video recreation by Defunctland • Futureport '82 EPCOT recreation under development* • Virtual Towers Online Alton Towers recreation under development* * VR possible on powerful PCs using UEVR _Boarding an Atommobile and preparing to be shrunk._ Summary: ⬤ Impressive recreation with original narration and soundtrack. ⬤ Experienced from the perspective of a rider. ⬤ Free download. ⬤ Excludes pre and post-ride visuals and audio. ⬤ Some scene recreations are approximate rather than faithful. Supported Languages: English Product Links: [ **Free at Meta Quest Store** Get the app here and it will appear on your Quest headset.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/3738585052888487/) [ **Free at Developer Website** Available as a download for Windows PC.](https://www.disneyhistoryinstitute.com/2018/05/adventure-thru-inner-space-vr-project-snowflake.html)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★☆☆](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 3-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ Link](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ link)  [ Free](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ free)  [ History](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ history)  [ Travel](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ travel)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) Located in the Mediterranean country of Lebanon, the city of Baalbek sits in a fertile valley populated for over eight thousand years. Temples have been built in the city, each built on the ruins of a previous site, with the most recent structures being the Temples of Jupiter and Bacchus built by the Romans some two thousand years ago. The Temple of Jupiter is the largest ever built by the Romans, and though much of it lies in ruins today there is still much to marvel at. Baalbek Reborn: Temples presents an engaging 45 minute tour crafted by the German Archaeological Institute that is available in four different languages. Accompanying the audio narration is a combination of 360 degree photography and computer graphic reconstruction of the site from around 40 different locations. _Ruins of the Temple of Jupiter viewed from the VR app._ Aerial photography of the Bequaa Valley introduces the experience, complete with an accompanying narration that provides a good overview of the city and temple site. In virtual reality you're free to engage with the tour at your own pace using the clean and capable menu and map interface on your left hand. The menu is also the place where you can start, pause and skip each location-based chapter of the audio tour. Past and present views from each vantage point are revealed as the audio narration plays out. The menu does provide you with the option to switch between views yourself, though this does reset the position of the audio. Also, there's no snap turning available, making it difficult as a seated experience. Though there's a lot to see on this tour we were disappointed with the mediocre resolution of the 360 degree photography. Particularly for a tour that focuses on architectural detail it was disappointing not to be able to fully appreciate the many examples of inscription and decoration carved into the 2,000 year old stone. Computer generated recreated scenes are also somewhat blurry and look outdated compared with what is possible with modern textures and 3D modelling. _Screenshots of past and present views for comparison._ Use of virtual reality is limited in this app. We can appreciate the site from the many fixed locations provided, but our vantage points are fixed stationary images that are lacking any sense of presence. We cannot walk around the site freely, there's no audible ambience to pull us in, and shots of stationary visitors in the frame remind us that we're just looking at photographs. We checked out the free flat-screen version of this tour hosted by Yorescape that contains identical content and found it to be almost as good as the VR version but without the hassle of wearing a headset. The developers of this app also have four other virtual tours featuring other Roman and Greek sites that are available on Steam for a price. Furthermore they offer even more flat-screen tours including 8 Roman, 1 Greek, 2 Egyptian and 1 Mesoamerican sites, all of which are available on Yorescape for a flat annual fee. _Tour includes vantage points not commonly accessible to the public._ Summary: ⬤ Good coverage of the site with many locations ⬤ Engaging in-depth audio narration ⬤ Mediocre static photography and computer generated images ⬤ Static, stationary prescribed locations with little immersion Supported Languages: Arabic  English  French  German External Links: YouTube:Trailer Wikipedia:Baalbek Product Links: [ **Free at Meta PCVR store** Requires a PC. View in Oculus Rift or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/pcvr/3096742060417405/) [ **Free at Steam** Requires a PC. View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1370800/Baalbek_Reborn_Temples/)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★★☆](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 4-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ Quest](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ quest)  [ Creativity](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ creativity)  [ Travel](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ travel)  [ Utilities](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ utilities)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) Please note that this app has been improved substantially since this 2023 review. We hope to revisit this soon. ImmerGallery enables the viewing of 3D stereoscopic images and 360-degree photography in virtual reality to a high degree of fidelity. This includes images from a multitude of devices including 360° action cameras, drone photography, and dual front-facing lenses like the expensive Canon Dual Fisheye. Remarkably, the software can even process stereograms from the 19th century. ImmerGallery does not, however, support playback of any form of video. The image viewer boasts the ability to automatically detect the format of any type of image file that you throw at it. Albums provide gallery thumbnails that are annotated to differentiate between 2D from 3D photographs, as well as square, 180-degree and 360-degree frames. We tried a number of different file formats on ImmerGallery including old digital cameras, recent drone shots and manually created side-by-side images and the software handled everything with ease. _Cropped view of a sample image, showing controller tips._ Files can be transferred by USB cable link to the headset, using online storage solutions like Pastebin, or directly from your computer folders with a local network link. ImmerGallery also includes sample images, additional downloadable content and even paid downloadable travel guide galleries. Beyond merely viewing just the images and complete albums, ImmerGallery offers additional functionality. This includes zoomable maps for geotagged photography, options to add voiceovers and other background audio, and superimposed graphical effects that include rain, snow, butterflies, and even hot air balloons. We found the rain and snow effects to be a nice novelty, though the simplistic cartoon graphics that the hot air balloon layer adds to drone videos were an unnecessary distraction to us. _Menu system. Thumbnails clearly identify image types._ The menu system is mostly clean and easy to understand, though some of the design and UI choices could be further refined to reduce clutter and improve navigation. We're also pleased that the developer shows continued enthusiasm towards improving the product further, while providing excellent product detail on their website and YouTube channel. If you're interested in checking out ImmerGallery but are uncertain about the price, they offer a demonstration version that includes sample images and allows you to view up to ten of your own images. Also, if you want to learn more about stereo photography, the ImmerGallery has a large list of cameras on its website. However, many older cameras on that list provide poor quality images and modern cameras and lenses are rather pricey. Alternatively you can make your own side-by-side stereo images with a smartphone by taking two images a couple of inches apart. We made one ourselves using the $3.99 iOS app Camera 3D Pro. _Great for 360° drone photography, but maybe without the hot air balloon graphics._ Summary: ⬤ High fidelity viewer that handles every format we could find ⬤ Lots of sample images and a demo version available ⬤ Strong developer support ⬤ Cleaner, less cluttered UI would improve ease of use Supported Languages: English External Links: YouTube:Trailer Product Links: [ **$29.99 at Meta Quest Store** Get the app here and it will appear on your Quest headset.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/4677037565709635/)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★★☆](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 4-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ Quest](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ quest)  [ Documentary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ documentary)  [ Natural History](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ naturalhistory)  [ Short Films](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ shortfilms)  [ Moderate Comfort](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ moderate)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) Genesis is a 360-degree stereoscopic VR feature that delves into an epic subject in twelve short minutes. By visualizing the history of the Earth as a single day through a sequence of scenes, Genesis covers everything from the formation of the Moon and the Cambrian Explosion to the evolution of mammals into early humans, leading to the present day. Depicting such an extraordinary scope in such a small runtime can never resolve to anything greater than skipping a stone over the surface of Earth's story, yet Genesis accomplishes its goals through big scenes underlined by a broad narrative. As a spectacle, the visual depth of several scenes left us impressed, and the suitably bombastic and atmospheric musical score adds an excellent layer of immersion. However, we were largely frustrated by two factors. Firstly, rather than being a structured film with a cohesive style, the production felt more like a montage of individual shots that rarely, if ever, utilizes the unique perspectives offered by virtual reality. Our second frustration stemmed from the fact that, although some scenes were well-rendered and graphically detailed, others looked remarkably blurry, as if we were peering through cataracts. Rendering and displaying stereoscopic 360-degree surround video on a device such as the Meta Quest necessarily requires compromises on graphic fidelity, but this doesn't explain how the quality of the video can vary from one scene to the next. We suspect this is partly due to the choice of scenes - a detailed churning ocean looks incredibly fuzzy, but later a static forest scene appears well rendered. In one shot that we struggle to understand, in a forested scene with giant dragonflies the foreground insects look blurry while the backgrounds are pin-sharp. _A fierce looking Stegosaurus._ Thanks to Faber Courtial for listening to our concerns and producing a re-rendered version of the movie at the same 4K resolution which improved the visuals from an earlier release. If you have previously watched this movie before September 2023 you may see improvements with the remastered version. The studio also commented that increasing the movie's resolution to 8K would increase the download from a 4GB file to a massive 17GB. As all the movement and action in Genesis are framed towards the front of the viewing area, we wonder whether a high resolution 180-degree video might be a better compromise. Faber Courtial is a visual effects company that creates high quality productions for both museums and television, and we're delighted that they're now investing in virtual reality with experiences like Genesis, Into Space and Rome. As virtual reality products become more powerful and accessible to a greater number of people, we're looking forward seeing what they can accomplish when technology catches up and it becomes possible to reproduce their high quality work effectively in the medium. _Asteroid on an Earthly collision course._ _A wistful Austalopithecus looks into the camera._ Summary: ⬤ Epic subject told with objectivity ⬤ Impressive visual spectacles and immersive soundtrack ⬤ Mixed video quality detracts from enjoyment Supported Languages: English External Links: YouTube:Trailer Product Links: [ **$2.99 at Meta Quest Store** Get the app here and it will appear on your Quest headset.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/5973067346124586/)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★★★](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 5-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ Quest](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ quest)  [ Link](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ link)  [ Meditation](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ meditation)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) Realms of Flow by talented digital artist Marc Zimmermann is a highly polished meditation app with ten or more different immersive scenes and multiple additive layers, but what makes it really shine are all the customization options that allow you to tailor the experience to meet your personal preferences and current mood. Accompanied by engaging ambient and electronic soundtracks, each flowing and dynamic scene offers something different. From natural ocean settings to abstract crystalline structures. One scene even evokes feelings of being under warm blankets while being read poetry. These scenes appear to be pre-rendered videos that loop after a few minutes, but several layers of augmented features add to the experience - each of which can be activated separately or placed in an automated timeline. _Organic iris-like shapes shimmering and slowly contracting and flowing._ Breath Guide tracks the tempo of your respiration, which you can follow by moving your arms in time with each exhalation, or by placing your left controller on your belly where the app senses your chest movements. Visual cues are superimposed on the display as you monitor your breathing. Spatial Sounds adds ASMR-type audio effects that appear close to your ears, Entrainment aims to stimulate the brain using synchronizing audio beats and Humming Guide reprojects the sounds you make into the microphone back into your ears when you exhale. All of these features provide additional visual feedback on screen. Voice-Overs in either English or German mostly discuss approaches to aspirational mindful goals which we found to be trite and distracting, but occasionally scenes offer narration that augments the experience; like that of the poetry reading that accompanies the Starry Blankets scene. The final feature is Element of Play which involves moving your hands in time with your breathing while tracing a line of dots on either side of the screen. We struggled the most with this feature as it was difficult to hit the targets that lie on opposite sides of our peripheral vision, resulting in lost focus. _Warm sensations and poetry readings from Starry Blankets._ Initially we'd recommend beginning with a bare-bones scene, then adding features on the fly through the session timing menu until you find what works for you. If you want to micro-manage your experience there are also a further level of menus with settings that can adjust every aspect of the app's audio and visual functions. You can also reset the view so the visuals are presented above you when lying down when you check the 'roll-axis' slider. Also you'll need to remember that this only works with the in-game 'reset view' option, and not the Meta Quest 'reset view' button. Realms of Flow is the best meditation app we've experienced to date, and we're relieved to see that it's available at a reasonable one-time price. Other similar (and lesser) apps have opted for often predatory monthly subscription plans that deliver occasional meager updates and leave users with nothing when they cancel. Both Meta Quest and PCVR versions offer similar experiences, and Quest version offers a visual quality slider that will be beneficial for the faster processor in the Quest 3. _First of two levels of menu for customizing your experience._ Summary: ⬤ High quality, varied dynamic visuals ⬤ Very high level of customization ⬤ Additional experiences added for free Supported Languages: English  German External Links: YouTube:Trailer Product Links: [ **$16.99 at Meta Quest Store** Get the app here and it will appear on your Quest headset.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/6062798767111272/) [ **$14.99 at Meta PCVR Store** Requires a PC. View in Oculus Rift or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://www.meta.com/experiences/pcvr/6614869648525799/) [ **$14.99 at Itch.io** Requires a PC. View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://epicscapes.itch.io/realms-of-flow)

[ VR Review](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ vrreview)  [ ★★★☆☆](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ 4-star)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ [ Link](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ link)  [ Art](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ art)  [ Music](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ music)  [ Comfortable](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ comfortable)  [ Stationary](https://www.v1rl.com/search/label/ stationary) From 1912, La Péri was the last composition by French composer Paul Dukas, who described his piece as 'a dance poem in one scene'. Most will know Dukas from The Sorcerer's Apprentice which later featured heavily in Disney's Fantasia, but there's little reason why La Péri shouldn't be equally revered. This modern retelling of La Péri's story with modern technology remains stage-bound; and this is where the scene opens when you put on your headset. From your position on the stage, machinery manipulates pieces of set into place around you and a pedestal appears, topped off with a book. Turn the pages of the book as John Rhys Davies narrates the tale of Iskender (Alexander the Great) searching for immortality and stealing it from a winged spirit of Persian culture. _John Rhys Davis adds narration and voiceover to the spectacle._ Much of the spectacle of this experience centrally revolves around you. Not only are you center stage, but manifestations of the winged spirit move about you including some spectacularly rendered motion-capture ballet dancing. These occur in short sequences interspersed by moments of book narration that place you back onto an empty stage again. On occasion you'll be tasked with an action, such as plucking lotus petals from La Péri's chest, but we found these interactions didn't add much to our enjoyment. In fact they distracted us from the animation, since it was unclear when to interact and when to spectate. Enjoying key moments are important in this experience as there are regrettably few of them. Few also are the moments that Dukas' music accompanies this presentation - in fact we can only recall a few short minutes worth, with the rest of the production focusing on narration and far too many scene transitions. These are the reasons we're awarding a lower score for Firebird - La Péri despite its impressive brief ballet sequences. _Lotus petals are the key to immortality for Iskender._ Summary: ⬤ Spectacular but brief motion-capture ballet performances ⬤ Good production values ⬤ Minimal use of Dukas' musical score ⬤ Distracting interactive elements Supported Languages: English  French  Mandarin External Links: YouTube:Trailer YouTube:Dukas' Score Product Links: [ **$9.99 at Meta PCVR Store** Requires a PC. View in Oculus Rift or Meta Quest (via Link).](https://www.meta.com/experiences/pcvr/1303015946406069/) [ **$3.99 at Steam** Requires a PC. View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://store.steampowered.com/app/436490) [ **$3.99 at Viveport*** View in PCVR headset or Meta Quest linked to PC.](https://www.viveport.com/apps/b701bb19-88a0-4324-9ffe-af81025b2ecf) *Included in Viveport Infinity subscription.