If I told you I embarked on an expedition billions of years back in time in the space of 45 minutes you’d probably chalk it up to a very imaginative daydream (or look at me in concern). But, luckily for my sanity, Life Chronicles has made this time-travelling adventure a reality – well, virtual reality. With the magic of cutting-edge technology, a snazzy headset and the incredible insights of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (French National Museum of Natural History), Excurio will take you on an epic journey through the evolving paleo-landscapes of our planet.
We headed over to Westfield Stratford, where Life Chronicles shares a space with Ancient Egypt experience Horizon of Khufu, and entered the realm of virtual reality once more. Here’s our Life Chronicles review…
As most mind-boggling journeys tend to start nowadays, I slipped on a virtual reality headset and the world around me transformed into the unknown. Before it all kicks off you get the usual lowdown of how to navigate this digital universe – in other words, red lines means a wall, don’t walk into them, the ethereal silhouettes are actually real people, don’t walk into them either and, crucially for my busy half-term visit, where the sound button is found. Then, once you’ve found your virtual reality footing, your adventure begins.
Life Chronicles is nothing if not cinematic. You are made to feel a part of the story as you meet guide Charlie and her trusty robot sidekick Darwin before an unexpected glitch sends you all back billions of years. And I mean billions – 3.5 billion to be exact. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to locate vital probes that have been scattered along the timeline and you might just meet a dinosaur, giant dragonfly and tiny elephant or two along the way. It’s all very Journey to the Centre of the Earth meets Jumanji with a dash of Indiana Jones thrown in – I kept half expecting The Rock to, well, rock up in his signature adventure gear he seems to love.
How interactive is Life Chronicles?
It’ll come as no surprise your first stop is when the first traces of microbial life sparked into existence. Or, as the factually inclined like to call it, the Archean era. Don’t worry, you’re not going to be crouching on the floor, peering through digital microscopes, in fact this is where the magic of virtual reality is really put to use as you shrink to walk among the tiny organisms.
Like something out of sci-fi epic, these once smaller-than-a-dot creatures appear like fantastical beasts. You can scurry underneath towering legs and even get to ride on the back of a trilobite (a marine arthropod) – I kind of felt like Daenerys on the back of her dragon, just with less fire breathing, death and destruction of course.
There are plenty of these interactive touches found throughout to immerse you in each of the environments you explore – whether it’s ducking under rippling water to see marine creatures, dodging carnivorous insects in a paradisiacal forest or even wandering along a tree branch to take in a dreamy sunset. I can only imagine what I looked like outside of my virtual reality bubble. It’s these cinematic elements that really bring the experience to life.
There are numerous leaps through time that not only take you through the years but also around the world. With each time jump on the Star Trek-reminiscent beam of light you will get to journey to a variety of incredible locations such as Hell Creek, Montana. It is known today as one of the most famous fossil sites in the world – take a guess what captivating beasts you’ll discover on your time-warped trip there. The Cretaceous era was personally one of many highlights, with interspecies interactions and egg-hatching galore. Let’s just say Alan Grant would be pretty jealous.
What are the visuals of Life Chronicles like?
Imagine having to create a world from scratch, thinking of every last detail to make it feel real and immersive. In Life Chronicles, they have executed this to enchanting effect. As well as fleshing out the visuals with ambient sounds and striking background views, the movement of the animals you encounter is natural and even small elements – like dusky rays of dappled sunlight – help make it feel extra special.
Is Life Chronicles an accurate depiction of Earth’s evolution?
These fascinating visuals clearly wouldn’t be possible without valuable input from experts to ensure they are authentic reflections of the past. You’re practically learning just by taking in the surroundings, no textbooks required. The combination of virtual reality and scientific research makes you feel like you’re stepping inside an evolution pop-up book. One where the creatures and places you encounter are annotated, and your guide Charlie shares even more information about the era you are experiencing. Excurio and Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle have made it so people of all ages can lose themself in the fun of the adventure and emerge with newfound knowledge about the history of the planet. It’s a win-win all around really.
Is Life Chronicles worth a visit?
To put it simply, if you’re in need of a bit of magic and wonder in your life then the Life Chronicles VR experience is definitely worth a visit. It was not only a delight for my animal-obsessed inner child – getting up close to historic beasts and roaming through jungles – but also felt like the first time in a while I learned something new about this planet. And all without even scrawling down one note.
If possible, I would try and visit on a quieter day – the headset isn’t exactly soundproof so often loud conversations would drown out what virtual guide Charlie was saying. Plus, with it being half-term, there was a lot of dodging around small, wandering silhouettes (aka children) which sometimes made it hard to fully lose yourself in the experience, though didn’t affect my overall enjoyment. To be fair, their shouts of delight and amazement often added to the joy of it all. Ultimately, it’s an enlightening adventure for all ages, and an incredible chance to enjoy a spot of time travel or even just an epic escape after a busy day of shopping and crowd-dodging in Westfield.
