Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Adds VR Support

Nintendo Labo, Nintendo’s DIY cardboard-based kits that add a new dimension to playing various Nintendo Switch games, has done it again. The latest update for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate went live this week, and it included a somewhat odd feature in addition to the rest of the usual suspects: virtual reality.

More specifically, once players update to Ver. 3.1.0, they’ll be able to use the Toy-Con VR Goggles from the latest Nintendo Labo kit to participate in what Nintendo describes as “limited, timed, offline battles.” That includes both a single-player fight against computer-controlled opponents as well as the ability to simply watch CPU fighters duke it out. The new VR mode can be found within the game’s Games & More menu. You can see it in action in the official video above.

Which is all to say, VR mode won’t be making multiplayer battles any worse than they already are, because it’s confined to its own little corner. The mode is reportedly a little… underwhelming. “There’s a lot of debate over the best way to play Super Smash Bros.—GameCube controller, Pro controller, handheld, connected to LAN—but there will be no debate that VR is the worst,” Kotaku’s Cecilia D’Anastasio noted after spending time with it. According to them, it’s a dizzying, unsatisfying experience at best—a gimmick, basically.

In addition to the VR mode, the latest update for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate includes a number of fighter adjustments, which you can check out here. Some new amiibo functionality has also been added, which you can check out here.

In total, this update is the first one released since mid-April’s 3.0.1 update. The last substantial update, 3.0.0, added a bunch of new content like Joker from the Persona series and features such as Stage Builder. Because it features fighter adjustments, any saved replays will need to be converted to video before updating.

What do you think? Will you be giving Super Smash Bros. Ultimate a shot in virtual reality? Let us know in the comments!