Less than six months after gamers and future engineers were surprised by the audacity (and durability) of cardboard, Nintendo is at it again with their latest entry in the wonderful Labo series. While the ingenuity of what you can actually do with crafty cardboard sheets never ceases to amaze, the Japanese company have also learned their own lessons, packing these delightful peripherals more of a substantial gaming experience this time.
Unlike the more short-lived games or the first two releases, the Vehicle Kit lets you explore a whole open world with the Toy-Cons you construct, in this case a car, a submarine and a plane. You actually just control one vehicle, which instantly transforms when you activate a peripheral by inserting a key for your right Joy-Con – both its mind-boggling IR sensor camera and gyro controls are responsible for getting all these moving parts of cogs, switches and levers to produce clever and fun game results.
Of the three, you’ll get the most mileage out of the car Toy-Con, which is also the most complicated and longest to fold together. The large steering wheel itself is straightforward enough but it’s got even more impressive gadgets, from a cord you pull to gives your car a boost to levers that do handy things like turn on your windscreen wipers, fill up the tank at a petrol station, or cut down trees with a Ben-Hur style chainsaw, obviously.
The plane Toy-Con looks the least remarkable if only because you’re basically just making a joystick. But taking flight is so effortless as you zip around this colourful toy box while a trigger lets you shoot lock-on missiles. They’ve even thought about what happens if you decide to yank the key out mid-flight – instead of hurtling down to ground, it opens up a parachute, which you can use the key to steer a safe landing.
The submarine, while certainly unusual and takes more time to get used to controlling its twin turbine jets, is sadly the one you’ll spend the least time with as there’s fewer watery locations to explore. However, it demonstrates the thought that goes into each of these constructions. Consider how the cardboard have markings for you to pop out gaps so it’s like your turbines have a fan, or that rotating them makes a clackety sound thanks to a bit of card you inserted earlier. It all adds a tactile charm to the experience.
The same level of attention to detail applies to the building process for each Toy-Con, which can be a time-consuming process, especially with kids with varying levels of concentration. However, instructions are easy to follow thanks to the brilliantly accessible videos with clear, encouraging and playful writing – though even with a rating for ages 6+, it’s still an activity a parent should be taking part in with the younger builders. You only wish that Ikea would take a leaf out of Nintendo’s book and do something similar.
If the open world of Adventure mode feels like sparser Mario Odyssey kingdoms stitched together, it’s nonetheless filled with plenty of missions for you to make the most of your vehicles, whether that’s seeking out collectibles, popping balloons in the air, or chauffeuring around the figurines and plastic animals that inhabit this world. The content of the 11 different regions may not take more than a few hours for a seasoned gamer to finish but younger players will have fun simply learning to drive around in these vehicles. As you can make a spare key, a second player can even slot this into another ToyCon to join in for co-op riding the back of the vehicle with a bazooka. It makes for a relaxing and cohesive experience you can enjoy with all three Toy-Cons without the faff of quitting out to other menus.
Yet there is more outside of Adventure mode. A paint studio lets you customise your vehicle by using a spray can, which you can even use with stencils thanks to the use of the right Joy-Con’s IR camera. For add thrills, there’s also rally challenges for your car, submarine and plane, while two other mini-games leverage the car Toy-Con for novel alternatives to Mario Kart and ARMS. Circuit Mode has you racing other computer opponents with your car Toy-Con but lets you use the levers to punch other cars, while Battle Mode takes that to its absurd conclusion with 1v1 car punch-ups – Rocket Punch, if you will. There’s even a basic Scalextric-type racing game which only requires using the foot pedal.
As with previous kits, you can make use of the Garage mode to create your own games, but even better, you can also create your own custom controls. Because as much an engineering marvel these Toy-Cons are, if you just want to play them with regular sticks and buttons, or the touch-screen, or indeed create your own unique Toy-Con, well, with a bit of basic programming, you can!
This expands multiplayer options much better than the Robot Kit which required a second kit just to play two-player deathmatch. Here, for instance, the Slot Cars mini-game supports up to four players, so while one player uses the pedal, you can programme others to move their cars with a control stick, a button, or perhaps just by shaking the controller.
The Labo Vehicle Kit once again proves what ingenious toy makers Nintendo are while largely improving on its predecessors with a better thought-out game experience packed with additional modes and compatibility to make it viable for extended experimenting and party play. Just like with the motorcycle Toy-Con from the Variety Kit, you’ll even be able to use the car Toy-Con with Mario Kart 8, though this update has not gone live at the time of review. The only conundrum left to unbox then is where you’re going to store these afterwards.
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