Preview: Exploding Kittens VR
When Exploding Kittens VR was announced, I was interested in seeing how the team at Saber Interactive were going to translate this classic card game to Virtual Reality. Now, I have been lucky enough to have some games with the developers in a preview of what is to come later this year.
Release Date: Fall 2024
Developer: Saber Interactive Inc
Publisher: Saber Interactive Inc t
Price: TBC
Previewed On: Meta Quest 3
* Access Provided For Preview *
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 this opportunity to play the game with the developers, as they got to show my around all the features of the game – and learn what it is like to get my ass-kicked every game I played. Every design choice they have made has made sure this delightful card game has converted to Virtual Reality perfectly.
Before getting into a game, which can be played against others online, bots or a mix of both, you will be placed into a lobby. Outside of the tables to play the game there are multiple elements to the lobby that offer more fun. There is darts and basketball that you can play with each other or even on your own while waiting. Then there is 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.
But that’s enough about the hub/lobby lets get into the meat on the changes they have made to make it suited to Virtual Reality. Where it would have been a simple approach to just include the deck of cards on the table Saber Interactive have 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, and the abilities will be items inside of the ball, to 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.
From within the lobby you will join one of the available tables to start the game, during my time with the developers I got to try out the standard, blitz and duel modes. The difference between the modes is standard is for two to five players and you are given plenty of time to decide what to do on your turn. Where blitz mode is very a fast paced version of the standard mode and duel will see you take someone on 1v1. I really enjoyed each mode I played even through I lost every one I played.
The team at Saber Interactive have created a fantastic take on Exploding Kittens to make it suited for Virtual Reality, while sticking to the fundamentals of the card game. I had a lot of fun in my session with the developers and certainly cant wait to get around the virtual table and play this with friends and/or strangers online when it releases in Fall this year. Even if you have never played the card game before, the game is very easy to pick-up and understand and you will be having fun plotting your best moves in no time at all.