They did it again!
In the past few years, I’ve had a very negative stance towards VR gaming. The thought of paying as much as a new console for a VR accessory, which is not even wireless, was really strange for me. It would be safe to say I never jumped on the VR bandwagon. Not because VR is terrible, but because it was too expensive.
THE BEGINNING
When Nintendo first revealed their Labo kits to the world, specifically the robot kit with the visor, gamers started speculating whether or not Nintendo would dip their toes in VR as well. At the time, it sounded crazy to me. I’ve tried Google Cardboard on my iPhone 6. It was good for its price but I could never find something to keep me interested in it for long. Games felt clunky, unimaginative and pixelated. Very pixelated. How would the Switch fare with a similar VR solution with its 720p screen I thought? The answer: pretty f***ing well.
GOING IN FRESH
The Labo VR kit was my first experience with Nintendo Labo on Switch. I went for the most affordable and arguably the most attractive package which included the VR kit itself as well as the Blaster. For almost $40 I can play the included mini-games with the VR kit, play the Blaster games, make my own games and best of all; I can play The Legend of Zelda Breath of The Wild and Super Mario Odyssey in VR. That last part is potentially the best reason to purchase this kit.
EASY PEASY
As you probably already know or realised from the pictures, Labo kits are made of cardboard. The included game cartridge comes with incredibly detailed 3D-rendered instructions which can be manipulated so you can double-check the smallest details when assembling. It takes 3-5 hours to assemble everything in the Starter Kit with the Blaster but the process is worth it once you see how good they managed to make this VR experience, despite the obvious limitations.
BUILD-QUALITY
The build-quality is good, but it’s obvious that cardboard will need some care, especially if you have young children or clumsy partners. Cardboard or not though, the whole package feels premium and you will constantly find yourself wondering how on earth they thought of all the bits and pieces. Oh and you will also have newfound respect for the crazy amount of things the Switch controllers can do. Seriously, it’s 2019 and Nintendo is still shaking things up.
SURPRISINGLY GREAT
Most of the mini games are nothing to write home about, just interesting little tech demos to get yourself acquainted with the device. But once you get to the Blaster games, that’s when the fun begins. I found the games strangely immersive and most of all, fun to play. It works and it works well. You can aim accurately, the visuals are well-made and the framerate isn’t vomit-inducing. Really cool stuff.
WORTH IT
I was delighted by how much bang for your buck you get with this Labo VR kit. The Blaster is awesome and will certainly bring out the kid in you. Especially if you own Breath of The Wild or Mario Odyssey, I highly recommend getting this. The free updates on April 26th will add a new VR mode to Mario Odyssey and make Breath of The Wild fully playable in VR. If you want to check out the rest of the “VR toys” available for purchase, check this trailer here.
Do yourself a favour and try this out. You won’t regret it. Nintendo managed to do VR in a fun toy-like way, accessible to kids and affordable for curious gamers. Hiroshi Yamauchi would be proud.