Nintendo today announced that the latest update to Super Smash Bros Ultimate has added a special mode which allows the game to be played with the Switch VR Labo Goggles.
Nintendo launched the Switch Labo VR Kit back in April—part of the company’s ‘Labo’ product line which offers built-it-yourself cardboard accessories for Switch. The Labo VR Kit includes a heap of interesting accessories and specially made VR content, but we were quite surprised when the company also added VR modes to Super Mario Odyssey and Zelda Breath of the Wild.
Nintendo has surprised us once again, today announcing that an update to Super Smash Bros Ultimate has added a VR mode to the game.
The game’s VR support is limited to a specific single player mode found in the ‘games and More menu. The mode allows players to watch AI characters battle it out from a close vantage point where they can look around at the battles and levels as they unfold. “Dozens” of the game’s levels are supported, though some aren’t (likely because some stages would be too large to be seen from a single vantage point). Players can also join the battle against the AI, though it looks like it may be limited to 1v1—local and online multiplayer isn’t supported in VR. All of the matches in the VR mode appear to be timed to just a few minutes, likely because Nintendo wants people to take breaks to avoid nausea.
With the addition of Super Smash Bros to Mario Odyssey and Zelda Breath of the Wild, Switch’s top three games (according to Metacritic) now have some form of VR support.
And while the VR modes in these games aren’t something players are likely to come back to over and over, it seems like Nintendo could be gauging interest for a more serious VR offering, possibly figuring out if a future Nintendo console should be more oriented toward VR (with things like a smaller, higher resolution screen and more advanced tracking capabilities).
So far, consumers appear to be responding well to the Labo VR Kit. On Amazon, the full Labo VR kit is rated nearly as well (4.5 out of 5) as Oculus Quest (4.6 out of 5), which is right on par with the Switch itself (4.5 out of 5).