REVIEW: VIKINGS - THE IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE

1 day ago
2 min read

We travel back to the Golden Age of the Vikings in this dramatic new adventure

We board a Viking longship and travel through enchanted forests back to the Golden Age of the Vikings, in this powerful new experience which blends Norse mythology with history.

Vikings: The Immersive Experience combines impressive sets, special effects and interactive installations with clever audio and VR storytelling, to bring the empowering story of Queen Kraka to life.

Our journey begins by donning clever audio headsets for personal guides, which make the experience and exhibits much more accessible and exciting for the younger children in our group.

The scene is set by watching the origin story of Kraka - peasant girl descended from the Gods, warrior, leader and all-round badass - projected onto a cave wall. The rocks dramatically open to reveal the life sized Forest of Time for us to explore at our own pace.

We begin by sitting on wooden trunks around the sacred Yggdrasil (World Tree) and donning VR headsets, to step inside Kraka’s Viking world and live her story, beliefs and conquests in a dramatic and intense immersive environment.

This area is filled with with fun, hands-on installations for all ages, from stepping inside magical pools to learn traditional knotting techniques, to using interactive, touch screen maps.

You can even speak to a virtual Queen Kraka herself to learn more about her people - she will answer any questions in character, even “Do you watch Spidey?” She doesn’t.

Finally, we are led into The Mists of Time chamber for the dramatic grand finale. Theatrical lights and dry ice fill the room and the walls slide apart to reveal an imposing Viking longship through the swirling blue mist, in the middle of a large immersive room.

We board the ship for an electrifying 360° show with projection, light and sound, where we sail through storms and sunsets as the dramatic story unfolds.

Feverish scenes play out, showing Aslaug becoming Queen Kraka and avenging King Ragnar Lodbrok’s death; their fearless sons with suitably mental names - Ivar the Boneless and Bjorn Ironside - and legendary voyages, battles and the Great Heathen Army march.

By the end, we’re clinging on for dear life, as the sail drops for a projection of a screaming and defiant Queen Kraka to explode across it.

Luckily, after all the excitement, there’s a Nordic-themed cafe at the end to catch our breath and eat some crisps around a fire pit, while the children play Vikings in the dress up area.

It’s an adrenaline-pumping experience, fizzing with Game of Thrones-esque drama, which leaves out the hairier bits for younger visitors.

Pleasingly, its VR and projections bring the stories to knuckly-whitening life, but it doesn’t just rely on tech, and the otherworldly sets provide the magic and soul.

Vikings: The Immersive Experience, Dock X, Unit 1 Canada Water, Surrey Quays Rd, London SE16 2XU.
Tickets from £23/adult, £16/child. Under 3s go free
Running until 31 May