Horizon Of Khufu: Journey In Ancient Egypt – Westfield Stratford, London

This new VR experience transports visitors to Ancient Egypt, showing just how far virtual reality technology has come.

Horizon Of Khufu: Journey In Ancient Egypt

I really can’t resist a bit of virtual reality. In the last few years I’ve seen VR theatre, opera, immersive art experiences (like this, this or this), games, and even virtual reality as medicine. Basically if there’s an opportunity to do something new in VR, I’ll take it. So it’s no surprise I went along soon after opening to Horizon Of Khufu: Journey In Ancient Egypt.

Created by French company Emissive, Horizon of Khufu debuted in Paris in 2022. It’s now in several cities worldwide: Lyon, Paris, London and Shanghai, with New York coming soon. Developed with the input of Harvard egyptologist Peter Der Manuelian, the emphasis is on the multi-sensory experience, but there is a definite educational core as well, to the extent that I now feel better prepared if I ever do go to Giza in future.

The Horizon of Khufu is another name for the Great Pyramid of Khufu or Great Pyramid of Cheops (same guy, Cheops is the older spelling). It’s the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing. And the Horizon of Khufu experience takes you not only inside it but back in time and into a mystical realm in order to learn about the pyramid’s construction, and Ancient Egyptian beliefs and practices around death.

What Should I Expect?

The visitor experience at Horizon of Khufu is pretty slick. Actually the hardest part for me was finding it: I always get lost at Stratford Westfield. The best advice I can give is to head towards John Lewis and use the store locator screens to search for nearby Tempur. Once you’re there with tickets scanned, there are lockers to put your things in, and a brief introduction during which you will name the avatars for your group so you can ‘recognise’ people once you’re in the experience.

Then you head down to be fitted with a backpack running the VR programme, and a VR headset. The backpacks have ergonomic straps so they don’t feel too heavy. Then you calibrate your headset and start your journey! It must look funny: it’s essentially a bit empty retail space, with individuals or small groups exploring together. The experience itself is basically a guided tour, so although other groups occasionally pop up near you as ghostly avatars, you mostly feel like you have the place to yourselves. This is dependent on groups keeping conversations to a low murmur, something the experience encourages.

It’s really quite fun, and as a former aspiring archaeologist, rich with interesting historic details. I also enjoy testing out the technology and my own limits. Things like wandering off slightly until I find the edges, or walking out into the void or through walls. It’s funny the extent to which your brain tries to protect you even when you know what you’re seeing isn’t real.

The experience isn’t cheap at £45, but I felt it was worth it. Horizon of Khufu was like an extension of the VR opera I saw some time ago: properly immersive and a great application of the technology. Find out more or buy tickets here.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 4/5