In EVEREST VR we wanted to recreate the feeling of summiting EVEREST as faithfully as possible in VR. Photorealism was a key element to achieve full immersion which could only be done by pushing the limits of models, textures and shaders while still trying to work within the constraints of vanilla UE4 and the punishing performance requirements of VR. Another aspect involves subtler 'brain hacks' and manipulation of perceptive realism in order to fully engage with the lizard brain of the user. The combination of the two creates a stronger and more subjective sense of realism, a kind of magical realism, that we think is especially well adapted to VR.