Released in April, Nintendo Labo was one of the more unusual games of this year – or any year. The box contains cardboard sheets, rubber bands and string along with a game cartridge, inviting players to build ingenious little cardboard models that, when combined with the Nintendo Switch console and its controllers, become working interactive toys. It’s rather like cardboard Lego, presented in a way that gently introduces the basics of engineering.
Labo is not as playground-popular as Minecraft or Fortnite, but it’s a rare video game that provides educational value as well as fun, and does so without forcing it down kids’ throats.
What’s in the box?
There are three Nintendo Labo sets available: the Variety Kit, the Robot Kit and the Vehicles Kit. You don’t have to buy more than one, though you’ll need a Nintendo Switch to use any of them. All contain a game cartridge, a stack of large pre-cut cardboard sheets printed with different shapes, and a scattering of the aforementioned string, rubber bands and other basic parts. Those elements can be used to assemble a variety of mechanical contraptions: a steering wheel, an undersized piano with moving keys, and even a wearable backpack used to control a giant robot.
Each has various slots in which to insert the Switch’s tiny break-off Joy-Con controllers. With the Joy-Cons tracking movement, the cardboard creations can be used to control various games on the Switch. The steering wheel, for example, can be used in conjunction with a cardboard foot pedal to guide a buggy around a cartoon island.
Who is it for?
It’s worth noting that the three-years-plus and seven-years-plus PEGI ratings denote maturity of content, not construction complexity. Each box offers several hours of building time. The builds can be fairly complex, but thanks to a combination of smart design, clear instruction and high-quality materials, things are surprisingly straightforward. Nintendo suggest that sixand up is the ideal age range for Labo. Younger builders will need some help, but that is one of Labo’s greatest strengths: it is tremendously fun to make things together. Much more so than Lego, Labo kits are great for collaborative construction.
How does it work?
During the building process the Switch serves as an interactive instruction set. Imagine a printed Lego manual with animated instructions that can be paused, rewound and viewed from different angles. The result is consistently impressive; the cardboard controllers work well, are robust, and look great. It’s easy to spend as much time admiring your creations as it is playing the games they are designed for.
Are the games any good?
The real pleasure in spending time with Nintendo Labo comes from building a projects and seeing something physical you have put together work to control a virtual world. The games themselves aren’t mind-blowing, but that’s not the point. In combination with the self-built controllers, there’s a powerful magic to exploring all the digital content.
The Variety Kit, offers what are perhaps best described as interactive toys, from musical instruments to a simple motorbike driving game. The Robot Kit, meanwhile, lets players explore a city as a giant machine that can walk, drive and fly. The Vehicle Kit, which might be the best, offers an open-world island that can be explored by buggy, plane or submarine, depending on the controllers you have made. There are also a number of mini games and extra modes spread across the three kits.
Is it really educational?
Labo makes a great, effective attempt to help builders understand the mechanisms they are constructing as they make them, and plenty of encouragement to customise and personalise builds with the likes of paints and stickers. There’s also a complex Toy-Con Garage mode, which lets users design their own cardboard creations and programme basic interactive experiences to use them with.
What the Labo kits do brilliantly is engage young people with design, engineering, construction, creativity and even software production. They are always fun, and immensely engrossing and satisfying, so it never feels like school – more a chance develop a taste for the distinct thrill of creating. The combination of programming and engineering info with traditional craft also means it will appeal to a wide variety of interests.
