‘I visited London’s newest VR experience Life Chronicles and felt like I was actually walking through history’

Having initially launched in Paris the Life Chronicles immersive virtual reality adventure is finally in London and I was one of the first to visit before it opens to the public on Saturday (May 25).

Created in collaboration with Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle France and VR specialists Excurio the experience offers an educational yet fun experience for all ages. 

You start the Life Chronicles adventure by naming your avatar which others will see you as in the digital world of the experience. 

Unfortunately your name is as much as you can customise your avatar as you simply appear as a genderless glowing figure although it certainly would have been cool if you could have had a life-like character of yourself for others to see.

Then it's time to get your head set fitted before you’re transported back to prehistoric times in the experience. If like me you are a glasses wearer you may want to take them off at this point as I found the headset soon gets hot which made my frames fog up.

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After a quick briefing on how to use the headsets and what to expect in the experience you are greeted by your virtual tour guide Charlie and you embark on an adventure together.

In the experience you take on the role of someone from 100 years in the future who gets the chance to travel back in time to research the different creatures and environments. 

Diving deep into the past you get to witness the evolution of life on Earth up close from the depths of the ocean to tropical forests. After the first few minutes you soon forget where you are as you explore new environments. 

However, the virtual obstacles in the digital world often had me treading carefully. It really felt like what I was seeing in front of me was there from the side stepping on a cliff edge to crawling under jungle foliage. 

Walking around the experience at your own pace there is so much to see as you turn your head. You can even walk up to stuff and get a closer look where you can really marvel in the detail of the production.

At the end when you take your headset off you discover the grand world you spent the past 45 minutes exploring was actually just an empty open space. 

On my way out of the experience I got an idea of what I looked like during the VR adventure as I realised there is also a window into the space from outside where you can see visitors stumbling around while going through the immersive event.

Whether you’re a history buff or are looking for something different to do in the capital, Life Chronicles is well worth a visit.

The experience officially launches tomorrow with tickets available on the Life Chronicles website.