An immersive cinematic experience that sets the stage for what’s possible.
Gaming in virtual reality (VR) is usually where the mind tends to go, when the medium is mentioned.
And it makes sense why one might think that way. With numerous headsets and multiple platforms launched over the years, VR gaming has seen hundreds of titles of varying genres released.
But besides games, there are other ways users can get the most out of VR. Integrate the tech into your everyday work or be simple and bring common video players into your headset, the options are limited but they exist. If you do intend on using players like YouTube, Pluto TV, the only thing you’ll really be able to do is watch content on a digital screen of varying sizes. There’s no 3D or immersive video content available within.
While major platforms might not churn out content that’s meant to show just how detailed movies/shows can be in VR, there are a few developers who have made video content which caters to the platform.
Well-Link Tech is one of those developers who have brought Mulan 2125 to fruition.
While the story is still unfolding through an episodic release on Quest headsets – currently episode one is available for free with the second released Jan. 16 for $9.99 – the film has seen itself become Asia’s first XR release to have a theatrical box-office launch.
Mulan 2125 was nominated for the immersive competition at the Venice International Film Festival and won the Best Innovative Technology Film award at the 2025 Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival, Golden Rooster XR Film Exhibition.
Focusing on the timeline of earth 100 years after the impact of a comet, viewers experience Mulan’s story as she finds a means of escape from the evil PAC group.
While the story is confusing – and with only two episodes of what appears to be three available – the way it’s done is probably enough to entice those looking for something new.
The story itself feels rather sluggish and after about 40 minutes and two episodes, it feels like nothing has been done. To understand there’s gonna be some spoilers below.
Mulan is dead at the start, brought aboard the enemy stronghold to be autopsied. However, she awakens thanks to some strange green glow within and jumps into action before the viewer is taken back in time to see how she was captured.
From here the story is basically just following her as she wanders around the dark tunnels of the ship on which she lives, with some action sequences added in.
A good chunk of the film has the viewer following her in a third person perspective, which means you’ll spend a lot of time starting at the actors butt in very tight pants.
Perverts of VR will certainly love watching this.
Graphically the film looks good enough, with a touch of animation on the characters to let you know that they’re not real.
You’re treated not to a full 360-degree immersive experience, instead it’s a somewhat ok looking 180-degree view – which drops you into the “action” at some points throughout the episodes. However, this is very much a gimmick as you just need to hold your controllers and move them around to mark targets on the map. There’s no indication that one can fail when doing this, so it’s really just an added performative way to engage viewers who paid for the experience.
Anyways things look alright, but there are numerous instances throughout each episode where things seem to have a framerate drop or just happen to be lower quality that it should. Perhaps this is because of the Quest 3, perhaps it’s just laziness. For the introductory cost of free – with the additional episodes wanting a good chunk of change – someone out there could argue that it’s worth it.
However, by the end of all the episodes being released, it’ll cost more than a regular movie ticket and leave you feeling meh.
The idea here is certainly interesting, and there are probably many people out there who will enjoy the series and the way it’s done, but overall Mulan 2125 is like a tech demo in the early days of VR.
One can hope the best is yet to come.
Not everyone will enjoy this experience, but if you’re interested in what films can be like in VR then you can definitely try out the first episode for free.
Mulan 2125 was reviewed on the Quest 3 after redeeming the first episode for free from the Quest store and receiving a review code for the second episode.
