If you’re looking forward to the impending release of Nintendo Labo, then you’ve probably already read all about Nintendo’s innovative cardboard model/game hybrid. First announced in January this year, the Switch exclusive has an initially baffling concept where you have to build objects out of cardboard in the real world, and then use those paper creations to interact with the console and its detachable Joy-Cons in a series of mini-games. In GameSpot’s last hands-on with Labo, editor Kevin Knezevic found himself enamored with the whole concept, saying: “Labo’s mini-games are secondary to the actual act of assembling its peripherals, and the appeal of the title stems not from the software itself, but from witnessing the surprising things your humble cardboard creations can do.” Other early impressions of Labo have been similarly positive.
But here’s the thing with those early impressions: they’re all from the perspective of adults. Nintendo Labo, despite the increasing finesse required for some of its more complex cardboard builds, is in many ways aimed at kids, and it’s initial appeal (hey, let’s make things out of paper) certainly has a more junior tilt to it. So instead of presenting you with yet another view of Labo from a games journalist aged in their 30s, we here at GameSpot decided to go straight to the target market for our next hands-on look: an eight-year-old kid.
In the video above, GameSpot EIC Randolph Ramsay lets his son Sebastian loose on Labo at a recent preview event held in San Francisco. Sebastian came into the event excited about the game after having seen its trailers, but would he be able to build and play with Labo on his own? Or is adult guidance still a prerequisite? Check out the whole video to find out.
