Horizon of Khufu is VR the way that you imagine its potential will become

Just under 30 years ago I came to Atlanta for a business trip and the client wanted to impress us by taking us to a “VR experience”. It was VR, but it was the mid-90s version of it that has us tethered via a thick cord that constrained our movement as we navigated a series of lines that were akin to Pong or a very primitive first-person-shooter game. Horizon of Khufu: Journey in Ancient Egypt is not that version of VR. This is a wholly immersive VR experience that puts you into old town Khufu. You do still have to wear the glasses. However, as an entertainment experience for the price point, it’s challenging to put Horizon of Khufu in a league with anything else.

At 45 minutes long it’s just the right length to allow the technology to demonstrate its abilities and to mesmerize your senses as to what it’s capable of. In particular, there are three instances during the show where you would bet money that you are physically moving upward via a platform. Even though the ‘platform’ is supposedly moving slowly (it’s not), you unconsciously spread your legs just a bit wider and use your arms to counter-balance things as if you’re trying not to hold onto the handrail on the subway. There were some other very effective tricks that the story within Khufu tells you to logically have people walk from spot to spot.

It’s on par with fully buying into a ride at Walt Disney World where they’ll shrink you down and place you inside the bloodstream (RIP Bodywars) or that the ride is actively being hijacked by a pirate, gangster or careening off track into the ‘broken’ area. Taking part in Horizon of Khufu, if you allow yourself to fully lose yourself in the experience, is a fascinating and relaxing journey that you can never prove you took place in.

Horizon of Khufu is one that you can’t document with your smart phone. That fact alone might put off some of the younger generation who are unable to rectify the two variables. What you see via the headset in Horizon of Khufu is 3D and you’ll spend a varying amount of time trying to touch what you see, pet the cat or pick up the sand that you see on the pyramid blocks in front of you. Unlike movies that you can see previews of that are exactly what you’ll experience, this is something that excites your senses. The only images that you’ll leave Horizon of Khufu with are those that you take before or afterward of you in a room with seemingly bizarre black and white symbols on the curved walls.

If you can’t share it on social media did it really happen, or was it worth doing? Is the above just a graffiti gallery photo with a son and dad, or something more? In the case of Horizon of Khufu, it certainly is, even if the end enjoyment of the exhibit is challenging to describe or is in a format that some will never, or are unable to participate in. The minimum age to engage in Horizon of Khufu is eight and if you’re subject to vertigo or motion sickness it’s not for you.

I have not tried Oculus Quest, but I have seen that the high school students that I teach have fully embraced it. The awkwardness and hesitancy to utilize the technology that some older (see: middle-aged) folks have because it was embraced too early have passed and the experience is now ready for prime time.

When you enter Horizon of Khufu you’ll get fitted for your headset, have it tested out and be provided with the basic parameters of how to safely enjoy the experience. When you see a blinking square in front of you that’s your cue to walk toward it and stop there. Once you’re in the square the next portion of the ‘tour’ will resume. The tour guide will explain what you’re seeing on the Giza Plateau or in the Great Pyramid of Giza. This show does follow some predictable storylines, but they’re effective and in-line with what you’ll discover at major theme parks.

At the end of the show when you take off the headset the first thing that you’re likely to think is, “What did I just experience?” You’ll gaze into the white room with the Rorschach symbols on the curved walls and convince yourself that what you’re looking at is the same thing that you just experienced. The only aspect that would’ve truly made Horizon of Khufu completely over the top is if they would’ve incorporated wind or smells into the show that aligned to where you were in the story. Having said that, they’re probably trying to figure out ways to integrate them into future shows and we’ll be in line to check them out too.

Horizon of Khufu: Journey in Ancient Egypt is playing in Atlanta until October 31, and is also playing in Montreal, London, and Sydney.