Berlin Wall: The Virtual Reality Experience (PC)

Travel back in time to a city divided by the Iron Curtain and discover how free expression helped topple the world's greatest symbol of oppression in this educational narrative adventure produced by the Newseum in partnership with Vive Studios.

Go behind the Berlin Wall in an immersive experience that transports you to communist East Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As you walk through the deserted streets, you pass communist propaganda posters and razor-sharp barbed wire, all while dodging the guard tower searchlights that sweep no-man's land looking for wall jumpers. That's the immersive trip that visitors to the Newseum -- and now you -- can take in "Berlin Wall: The Virtual Reality Experience."

The experience begins in West Berlin as you meet up with an English-speaking news correspondent who offers a brief introduction to the wall and its history. When you enter virtual East Berlin, you use your handheld controllers to maneuver some of those searchlights, wind your way through secret passages in abandoned buildings, and locate the escape tunnel that will take you under the wall back to the relative safety of West Berlin. Once there, grab your sledgehammer. You’re among the first to put cracks in the wall, breaking down a decades-old barrier to freedom.

"Berlin Wall: The Virtual Reality Experience" is inspired by and based on the eight sections of the Berlin Wall and an actual East Berlin guard tower that have been exhibited at the Newseum since it first opened. "The Wall" is the first of several artifacts in the museum's collection being brought to life in VR.

About the Newseum
The Newseum promotes, explains and defends free expression and the five freedoms of the First Amendment: religion, speech, press, assembly and petition. Headquartered on historic Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., the Newseum’s compelling, dynamic and engaging exhibits, programs and education initiatives help ensure that these fundamental freedoms remain strong and protected both today and for future generations. For more information, visit newseum.org

About Vive Studios
Vive Studios is HTC VIVE’s development and publishing initiative for virtual reality content. Vive Studios actively develops and publishes content with the best partners across key categories for VR including games, education, cinematic, design, social, real-estate and sports, as well as tools and applications that can revolutionize areas such as media, retail, healthcare, and location-based entertainment centers and arcades.