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[NSW] Nintendo Labo (basic VR + blaster kit)

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    [NSW] Nintendo Labo (basic VR + blaster kit)

    I would have never bought this if it wasn't for the announcement of Spice And Wolf coming to the Switch too. Yes, the Switch version will be the worst iteration of the game but entry price on Nintendo's hybrid is significantly lower than PC or PS4, and perfectly acceptable for something I'll use once, maybe twice. And no, I don't have any interest in any current VR title on any platform. So, the least I spend, the better.
    I've got the basic kit, comprised of VR goggles/Switch cradle and blaster.

    The kit comes in a rather large but shallow box holding a number of cardboard sheets, a plastic bag with washers, stickers, adhesive foam pads, a Switch cart case holding the minigames and instructions, and the lens unit.
    You first need to pop in the cart into the Switch and follow the instructions on screen. Interacting with the digital instructions is easy, and you can fast forward or go rewind easily, and all steps are represented by 3D models, allowing you to manipulate the point of view to best suit your needs. All of this is accompanied by a catchy music and some basic, yet funny animations.
    Building the VR goggles, if you have assembled model kits before, is very straightforward and takes less than half an hour. The "hardest" part is where you have to attach 8 foam pads in the cardboard piece that will hold the Switch itself, but it's nothing to speak about. Unfortunately there aren't any extra pads, and I doubt you'll be able to deatch those without damaging the cardboard and/or keeping the adhesive on the pad active.
    Once you have build the goggles unit you're onto a "safety" to use when the Joycons are detached from the Switch, something that takes 5 or less minutes.

    I haven't assembled the blaster yet but I'm pretty use I won't...why? Well, let's talk about the minigames included. Maybe the ones usign the blaster are better, but I'm not particularly keen on trying them.
    Not because I've immediately felt motion sickness, or the low resolution made my eyes hurt, but because they are game concepts where the only "VR" interaction is simply shifting the point of view: I would compare them to Nintendo Land, or even Wii Sports, but both those titles were much more fleshed out and fun to play.
    There are almost 20 of those minigames, but with the exception of a few of them, they last five minutes and nothing more. Games might require to attach or detach the Joycons, and this is where things get fidgety, to attach the 'Cons you need to remove the "safety guard", which won't fit with the 'Cons attached to the console.
    The most complex game of all is a platformer that I was surprised it even has a wall jump, but there's nothing much to say about other games.
    The first thing you notice when using the Switch so close to your eyes? Damn, the console's screen is dirty! Having the screen so close to your eyes really highlight any kind of dirt or dust spect. Then the resolution...it's low of course. You can almost count the pixel sites composing the Switche's screen, and the image is rather blurry, with plenty of colour aberration around some edges and plenty of colour bleeding in high contrast areas. I don't have any experience with other VR goggles and I must say I was expecting something worse for this, but it's far for being optimal.

    The goggles don't come with any kind of headstrap, ad while this makes removing the headset immediate, it also means your arms get tired rather quick (but I must say I've been driving for almost four hours today, so my arms weren't perfectly fit). The goggles with the Switch inside aren't particularly heavy, the console snuggly fits into them, and holding the contraption gives a rather surprising feeling of sturdiness.
    The googles aren't the most comfortable thing ever, the plastic touching the forehead and nose quickly are too stiff and you start sweating after just a bit. Despite the side lobes being carboard and being somewhat distant from your temples there's no light filtering in from anywhere, and no cardboard part comes into contact with your skin. In fact, I'd say the Labo's carboard is less prone to cut you than the cardboard used in boxes, all edges are rounded out and the whole thing is well engineered so that edges are kep away from hands and head.

    In the end, what I've got was exactly I was expecting: a lacklustre product of which the assembly part is the funniest, and the various minigames are something forgotten the moment you remove the Switch from the goggles cradle. Or maybe even before. I had pretty low expectations for Labo, and at least those weren't betrayed.
    Last edited by briareos_kerensky; 22-01-2023, 20:51.

    #2
    Thank you for the impressions. Have you tried Breath of the Wild or Smash Bros Ultimate with it yet?

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      #3
      Nope, maybe I will in the following days.

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