Review: The Last Stronghold - An Epic Medieval Adventure
- Immersive Rumours
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Image: Excurio
The Last Stronghold: An Epic Medieval Adventure is the latest immersive VR production from French producer Excurio. Running alongside Machu Picchu: Journey To The Lost City inside the W12 Shopping Centre in Shepherd's Bush, the 45-minute-long experience invites guests to explore a virtual recreation of 14th-century Carcassonne alongside Simon de l’Estang, a young noble who travels to the city to help defend it under the guidance of his uncle, Geoffroy de Varenne.
Excurio are best known for the much-loved Horizon of Khufu: A Journey Into Ancient Egypt, a VR experience that played at Westfield Stratford a couple of years back. It was highlighted by Jack Pirie - the director of Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds and Elvis Evolution - as one of their immersive highlights of 2024 in our Year in Review series and has previously garnered rave reviews from the likes of No Proscenium and Forbes.
Image: Excurio
The Last Stronghold uses lightweight, all-in-one HTC Vive headsets, similar to those deployed in Colosseum: The Legendary Arena and Titanic: Echoes from the Past at Eclipso’s Camden venue. Setup is frictionless, with minimal adjustment required, even for glasses wearers. Thanks to the lack of wires and hefty backpacks, those taking part can move unrestricted around the venue's vast space, though visitors must remain mindful of the room's physical boundaries, which are clearly marked by a glowing red grid that overlays the action if you venture too close.
The experience's narrative focuses on two defining elements of 1300’s Carcassonne - the strategic design and innovations that made it the world’s largest fortified city, and the religious persecution that was prevalent across the region at the time. On paper, this might sound like a pretty dry subject for a VR experience that has 'adventure' in the title, but The Last Stronghold leans far closer to being an episode of Game of Thrones than a BBC Four documentary thanks to some large-scale scenes and set pieces scattered throughout.
Image: Excurio
The experience begins in the dense forest on the outskirts of Carcassonne. The year is 1303, and our protagonist, Simon, is making his way to the city to aid in guarding it. On the journey, Simon waxes lyrical about what a stand-up guy his uncle is and how his role in managing the city's defences means that he holds a significant amount of power within its walls (spoiler alert: he might not be such a great guy!). Upon arriving at the city walls, visitors are given an in-depth tour of the architectural ingenuity that makes Carcassonne so difficult to breach, from its narrow portcullis and double-walls to its fifty-plus watchtowers.
As spring turns to winter and the clock rolls over to 1304, Simon begins to master the art of defence under the tutelage of his uncle, and is soon dispatched to patrol the city's perimeter. Along the way, there's the mandatory training montage complete with sword-fighting sequences, an impressive display of a trebuchet's power, and a breakdown of how those tasked with defending the city live side by side within one of Carcassonne's many turrets.
Given that The Last Stronghold has been created using extensive historical and archaeological research, with experts from the Centre des monuments nationaux having collaborated on the project, the focus given to the city and its defences in the experience’s first half is more than justified and is surprisingly engaging for a story set during peacetime.
Image: Excurio
While the city’s fortifications keep external threats at bay, internal tensions have been bubbling away for some time. Its citizens are outraged by the continued efforts of Carcassonne's Inquisitor, Geoffroy d’Ablis, to round up potential heretics who are said to be going against the established religious dogma. An altercation early on in the experience between the Inquisitor and a man begging that his wife be released sets the stage for The Last Stronghold's second half, which focuses on the city's residents' struggle against those in charge ahead of King Philip IV's much-heralded arrival.
At the sharp end of this struggle is Agnès, the granddaughter of a local healer and an outspoken critic of the Inquisitor. While initially she and Simon butt heads, the pair become linked after an altercation in the city’s main market inadvertently leads to Agnès' grandmother being dragged away by the Inquisitor and his enforcers at the behest of Simon's uncle.
With a story that spans the best part of a year, visitors not only witness Simon’s ascent to a fully-fledged guard but also Agnès' potential downfall as tensions within Carcassonne continue to build, and she takes drastic action to dampen the Inquisitor's influence and save her grandmother. Things come to a head during the experience's climax, in which Agnès takes matters into her own hands, and Simon's loyalty to his family and his position are tested.
Image: Excurio
While free-roaming VR is now a familiar format for many, with 'metaverse' zones featuring in many of London's biggest immersive exhibitions, Excurio elevates the experience through its use of scale and detail. Walking the ramparts and looking out across the French countryside carries a genuine sense of vertigo for those who dare glance over the edge. Inside the city’s cathedral, huge stained-glass windows rise high above you, creating an awe-inspiring sense of presence, and the show's final act delivers the most memorable moment, as an encounter with a colossal, fire-breathing dragon places guests at the centre of the action.
The Last Stronghold's quieter moments prove equally effective, with engaging small details scattered throughout. The experience's free-roaming market square scene includes a man crawling between stalls in search of a hog that’s broken loose, along with several hushed conversations that we almost certainly shouldn't be privy to, and a close call with somebody emptying their chamber pot into one of the city's cobblestoned streets is not only an unexpected surprise, but also helps give this virtual recreation of Carcassonne the feeling of being a living, breathing (albeit smelly) world.
Image: Excurio
With impressive tech, grand set pieces, and a captivating story that chronicles both the might of 14th-century Carcassonne and the unrest that touched every corner of it, The Last Stronghold stands out as one of the most well-crafted VR experiences available in London right now. It confidently balances spectacle and substance and offers something memorable for families, history lovers, and first-time VR explorers alike. The high benchmark set by Excurio's Horizon of Khufu has been cleared - don't miss out.
★★★★
[Tickets gifted in exchange for an honest review]
The Last Stronghold: An Epic Medieval Adventure runs at W12 Shopping Centre near Shepherd's Bush. Tickets are priced from £18.50 per person. For more information and to book tickets, visit feverup.com
