Reading Time: 5 minutes
Earlier this week, GeekMom Corrina and I made another pilgrimage to NYC to check out the latest from Nintendo of America. This time our big city adventure included an introduction to the newest product in the Labo line, the Nintendo Labo: VR Kit. What we discovered was a virtual reality experience with a genuinely novel slant, and, of course, lots and lots of cardboard.
Blast Off
After checking our coats and catching up with our Nintendo cohorts, Cory and I were ushered into yet another clean, white playroom and shown a tabletop strewn with various Toy-Con VR modules. Before we even had much time to speculate on how and why all the components worked together to achieve VR gameplay, we were presented with an introductory video from NOA.
With the formalities out of the way, we were presented with the Toy-Con Blaster, a sizable cardboard construct with a rear-mounted (thumb-activated) trigger and shotgun-style cocking mechanism. The Toy-Con VR Goggles, complete with the Switch tablet inserted inside, serve as your sight, and the left and right Joy-Cons are attached at the base and barrel respectively.
While I was admiring the build, noting the similar components from other Labo products, Corrina began blasting aliens. She was clearly having fun and she looked kind of ridiculous, so, of course, I had to record it. For valid journalistic reasons.
A Different Perspective
Next, it was my turn, and once I found the game’s menu — this on-rails shooter is presented in 360-degree VR, so the floating text was actually behind me — I, too, set off for a world-saving adventure. Eliminating the (adorable) alien threat was beyond fun. Rather than a tightly contained home VR experience, it instead felt more like the kind of wrap-around shooter you’d experience at an amusement park or large arcade. (R.I.P. DisneyQuest!)
The Blaster itself was sturdy and responsive, and the gameplay expertly choreographed. The distance and direction of your projectiles…
