(Originally posted on viewport)

When people think Nintendo, they often see a company at one end of the experimental spectrum. At times, they take the conservative approach and refuse to step outside safe boundaries, while at others, they go off the rails, releasing a product that defies the industry’s expectations. With the announcement of the Nintendo Labo back in January of 2018, Nintendo has leaned towards the experimental territory once again. With a wildly unique approach on how it interacts with you, it brings the promise to a provide a joyful experience that caters to everyone.

In both of the kits available at launch (Variety Kit or Robot Kit), Labo emphasizes creation, learning, and discovery through its different cardboard toys (or Toy-Cons) that you will build. It does this with its three main sections of the software, Make, Play and Discover. They nicely describe the primary cycle of gameplay: create the kit, interact with it through games, then learn how it works.

Most of your time will be spent in the Make section, as the instructions guide you through popping cardboard pieces off the runners, folding and snapping them together. Don’t let the childish exterior fool you, these are relatively involved builds, with the complex ones taking upwards of three to four hours.