This Is Your Country Too
Learning ∙ Narrative ∙ PuzzleThis is Your Country Too is a short and sweet interactive comedy about being trapped in airport immigration. You embody a teenager trying to escape from a stateless limbo - like Tom Hanks in that movie: The Terminal. A playful satire on how our identity is often defined by strangers OR what it feels like not to be white, despite being British.
A fun and educational animated experience for VR rookies and history enthusiasts. It lasts about 15 minutes. The interactivity is entirely gaze controlled – so there's no need for hand controllers - and you can remain seated.
Locked in an office all alone while the immigration officers decide where you belong, you must play a mini escape-room game. Before they return, you have 3 minutes to absorb as much British culture as possible from the clues around you. Will you learn enough for them to let you in?
Developed with support from Arts Council England and CoStar / Storyfutures, the story is based on a BBC Radio comedy by award-winning writer, Avin Shah, about the experiences of post-colonial Asian migrants from East Africa, whose British citizenship was downgraded by the UK government in the 1960s.
| comfort | ⦾ Comfortable |
| age rating | 0+ Everyone |
| website | strictlyimmersive.com |
| developer | StrictlyImmersive |
| publisher | Strictly Immersive |
| connection | Internet not required |
| app version | 2 |
| languages | English |
Reviews 3
Interactive and Fun!
Interactive and engaging story exploring important historical events.
The only VR my grandparents understand!
It’s hard to find VR experiences that appeal to more than the younger generations these days, most people still think the technology is for the overly niche gamers etc. But I am happy to say This is Your Country Too is an exception. While not a long experience, it manages to immerse you in the struggles many immigrants faced not too long ago in trying to prove themselves as legitimately belonging to western countries, through captivating storytelling, well written characters and all too real homages to real events. I won’t say too much more about the specifics of the story, but I know it bears a lot of parallels to my own family’s journey to the UK.
There’s so many little things about the experience that make it special. The charming narrator, your sweet auntie guiding you along while making fun of you, the surprisingly lively voiced acted airport staff and also the entire aesthetic that screams a storybook from your childhood coming to life in front of you.
This is your Country too is ultimately a tongue in cheek yet deeply sensitive and insightful representation of the realities of many commonwealth citizens a few short generations ago, and yet with ever growing sinister parallels to the increasingly anti-immigrant sentiment in Europe. Perhaps more experiences like these are the first step in restoring the healthy and basic respect for each other we are starting to lack. Well done to Avin Shah and team for a great VR experience!
A fantastic Tale about immigration
I absolutely loved the storytelling. The narration makes you feel like you’re in the shoes of an immigrant in the 70s. I love how the UK seems so strange through the eyes of a young boy.
This story is so personal that it becomes universal.