There is something about history. Something about being able to read about, but some times if you are not able to experience it, it might not have the same meaning. This is what I love about VR and what The Farm 51 has done with the Chernobyl VR Project. It has taken history with VR in mind and has given us a real connection to a most troubled and sad time in history.
So what is the Chernobyl VR Project? Before we get into that, let us take a ride on the VR time machine and go back to 1986…April 26th, 1986 to be exact. A day that was supposed to be like any other day. Imagine blue skies and smiles, for the most part, that day and playing at the pool that was really a highlight for Pripyat. Then disaster strikes. You hear the sirens start going off and lights at the power plant start going off and on across the board like life is starting to drain.
Then 50,000 lives of local residents would be forever changed in ways most of us could never possibly imagine. All due to a late-night safety test that was supposed to show a simulated power failure. The kind where safety systems would be turned off to present a blackout. But the reactor designed flaws and combining operators arranging the core in such a way that it caused reaction conditions to be uncontrolled. Water invaded the system which caused steam explosions and when you mix that with open-air graphite fires, well the result is not good and caused the most disastrous nuclear power plant accident in history.
Now let’s get into the Chernobyl VR Project. This tour allows you to step away. Step away from gaming…step away from other experiences you may have encountered. But allows you to step through time and see a time where its future was truly lost. I really love how we are shown how things used to be. To be able to see through the eyes of a place that has a history that was still growing.
In your time here, you will be able to see the interviews, go on guided tours, visit 360-degree photos or just visit the area. It’s all up to you how you would like to experience Chernobyl. And for that, I do appreciate the options that are given. You are taken to a place at a time that for the most part that was not much different than yours or mine. But takes your spiritual side and opens it up in a way that makes you feel sad and appreciative at the same time. And for an experience to allow one to enter this eye-opening vision, I really want to thank The Farm 51 for this.
I mentioned the interviews. Yes, the interviews are something that you should not just sit through, but listen to their soul. Listen to the ones that experienced what it was truly like at the time and sharing about how the government kept people in the dark. I didn’t really want to acknowledge what has happened. Sent away from their families to seek medical treatment and just accepted that people were dying in a very inhuman nature. If you take the time, really take the time, you just might be moved in a way you never thought possible.
I don’t want to give too much away. The Farm 51 has done something special. They have set a new way to visit history. A way that works very well in VR and gives your emotional side a spiritual opening, if you just take the time to open yourself up and allow that unfortunate time really shine in a way that we can all learn from it. I really appreciate the narrative journey and it really shows what was and what is, and paints the vision in such a way that it really does give new respect and presentation for VR.
The Chernobyl VR Project is out now on PlayStation VR and is also available on the Oculus Rift/S, Oculus Go, Gear VR on the Oculus Store and Steam. A review code was provided.
Also, check out the interview with The Farm 51.
To learn more about The Farm 51, please visit their site, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
If you missed the trailer, please enjoy. Until next time, I need to experience Pripyat even more.
Mr. PSVR, October 17, 2017, theplaystationbrahs.com
