VR and the Approach of Hyperreality

May 14, 2025 VRNerd

Since the rise of virtual reality over the past 15 years, detractors have complained that there remained an unacceptable chasm between the richness of our view of the natural material world and those able to be created and shown in VR. Now a handful of companies and developers are pushing forward apps and experiences that prove a VR hyperreality could soon be upon us.

Coined by French philosopher Jean Baudrillard, the term “hyperreality” refers to an artificial representation of reality so vivid and believable that the line between the reality and unreality become blurred and one is indistinguishable from the other. Along with television, social media, and Disneyland, VR has long been seen as another step toward an eventual hyperreality. Now, thanks to advances in remarkably realistic VR graphics, users everywhere can take that step.

Hyperscapes

Although little more than a tech demo, Meta Horizon Hyperscape widely impressed users with its photorealism. [Image: Meta]

Meta delivered its Horizon Hyperscape Demo in the latter half of 2024 to a generally positive reception. Clearly a demonstration of the tech and far from a deeply immersive, customizable experience, Hyperscape allows Quest users to place themselves in a virtual environment so lifelike the app comes with a warning: “Experiences may seem realistic. Don’t sit or lean on virtual objects in this experience.”

Providing users with six distinct locations to explore in remarkable detail, the Hyperscape Demo gives a view of what could soon be expanded to include historical monuments and places of significance, users’ own homes, studios, and offices, public spaces, gardens, and potentially even locations currently inaccessible to most humans. (Think of a Hyperscape rendering of the Mariana Trench and try not to feel too terrified.)

A simulacrum of a conference room with lush greenery outside — This is not a conference room with lush greenery outside; it is a simulacrum. [Image: Meta]

Steampunk Forests & Other Fantastical Environs

Meta isn’t the only VR developer pursuing immersion in hyperrealistic environments, of course. Forest, a tech demo from Oniri, brings users a richly detailed and powerfully realistic forest scene with some unusual elements. Strewn across the landscape, steampunk-inspired structures, ruins, and vehicles identify this forest as a creation, not a real location. Nevertheless, the realism is quite astonishing and a great showcase of Oniri’s capabilities.

Gracia hyper realistic cooking videos in virtual reality — Instructional cooking videos take on a whole new level of realism with an app like Gracia. [Image: Gracia]

Gracia, another Quest app working with ultra-realistic imagery, takes another approach altogether, favoring 3D renderings of humans engaged in workouts, training sessions, meal preparation, and dancing. A mixed reality offering, Gracia brings these real people into your real world, edging even closer to the arrival of Baudrillard’s hyperreality.