Review: Exploding Kittens VR
Exploding Kittens VR is classic card game re-imagined for Virtual Reality, and leading up to release I have had the opportunity to play the game with the developers at Saber Interactive. The question is, does the re-imagined version still capture everything that made the board-game so popular?
Release Date: October 3rd 2024
Developer: Saber Interactive Inc
Publisher: Saber Interactive Inc
Price: £15.99
Reviewed On: Meta Quest 3
* Access Provided For Review *
Damn You Kitten!
If you are not aware of what Exploding Kittens is, this is classic card game where you will draw cards hoping to avoid the Exploding Kitten and be the last person standing. You will take it turn drawing cards, with other cards in the deck offering you items and advantages. Be it avoiding your turn, items that be used to punish other players and steal some of their collected items. Where this sounds straight-forward it makes for a very tactical approach to try and get the advantage over others and avoid that dreaded Kitten.
It was great getting the opportunity to play the game with the developers, as they got to show my around all the features of the game – and actually explain to me the rules and how Exploding Kittens worked in general, as personally I never played the original card game. However, don’t worry if like me you are not sure on the rules, there are books in the lobby that will explain all the rules to you, and available at the table to give you information when you require it.
Before entering a game you will be placed into a lobby, which a group of other players. In this lobby you will find tables to play the games of Exploding Kittens at, that you chose to join. Outside of this, you can play darts and basketball that you can play with each other or on your own while waiting. Then you have arcade machines and mini-games that will require coins to play, which you will gain by playing and leveling up in game. As well as the coins you will also be given tickets, which can be used to purchase new avatars to use in the game, you can also use a machine in the lobby that cost one-coin to spin the wheel and you can win up to 15 tickets.
As mentioned this is a re-imagining of the board-game, which has seen the team at Saber Interactive not opt for a simple option like just having a deck of cards at the table – which I think was an awesome decision to take. Instead they replaced these with a mystery box full of red gachapon balls. You will then press the button on the box on your turn and it will dispense a ball. These balls can either include the abilities, which will be items inside of the ball and these match the ones in the card game. If you land on the kitten, a bomb will come out of the gachapon and the Kitten will be climb onto the box – and you will have to hope you have the wire cutter in your items to defuse the bomb.
With the move to VR, all the items are used physically be it putting on glasses to have a look into the box, shooting a paw from a catapult to request an item from the chosen player or slamming down a gavel on the table to repel an incoming attack to name a few. Even adding these little interactions while sat around a table of players, makes for perfect immersion in Virtual Reality.
Now you know an idea of how the game has been re-imagined for VR, within the previously mentioned lobby there are a number of tables. Each of the multiple tables will be linked to either standard mode, which will see you be given more time to make your move. Then Blitz mode which plays like standard mode but, you move time is reduced and more Kittens will be placed inside of the box. Finally there is duel mode for those wanting to go 1v1 against each other. Over my time playing the game to review it, I have been impressed with each mode, which does allow you to mix it up a little, and has been fun even when taking a beating across multiple games.
Wacky World Of Exploding Kittens
Visually the team have done great translating the style of the cards into Virtual Reality, within the card game. With everything being very cartoony mixing bold and bright colors and thick bold outlines. This is carried out around the lobby, the tables, the box and the wacky avatars they have included. This works perfectly with what Exploding Kittens has always been about and the art style from the cards in the board-game.
However, it seems like they haven’t made the sound match the wackiness they could have with the visual style. Not that what they have done doesn’t work. What they have done with the sound works well but, it’s just a little toned down compared to the colorful setting you are taking in. I would have just preferred even your power ups had a bit more of beef are cartoon like audio. It could have just added that little bit more to the cartoony look and wacky avatars – which would have taken the audio design to a next level.
Comfort
The Verdict
The team at Saber Interactive have made a great VR re-imaging of the internationally successful card game Exploding Kittens. Which is easy to pick and play, even if you have never played the board-game – as the rules are easy to understand and simple to get used to. Although the team have done great with how they have translated the game to Virtual Reality, I don’t think its an essential purchase for everyone. I think it will find its place within friends circles, who like to get together for some more relaxed and fun gaming or even with families that at times like to get together and play board-games (and all have access to VR), rather than finding it’s feet with random players in the lobbies.