Exploding Kittens VR

VR provides an interesting platform to have shared experiences with both friends and strangers. I remember my first time logging into Ubisoft’s Werewolves Within on the original PSVR. I found myself sitting around a campfire with a group of strangers for hours as they explained the intricacies of social deduction to me. It was a remarkably good time, and I really enjoyed the sensation that I was in a shared space with real people, even though we were all represented by cartoon-like characters in the game.

Since then, I’ve played any number of card and strategy games in VR, and I’m always impressed by the sense of shared space and experience. However, over time I’ve realized that my enjoyment of these games often hinges on whether or not I really like whatever game we are playing; the shared spaces are always fun, but the activities within these spaces carry more and more weight as the novelty of virtually sitting together wears off. 

This brings us to Exploding Kittens VR, a new adaptation of the hit card game available on Meta Quest. I’ll be frank – as a board and card game fan, I’ve had a passing familiarity with Exploding Kittens, but I had never played it before hopping into this game. After spending some time in the game’s tutorials, some single player matches against bots, and a session with a couple of friends, I find myself impressed with the commitment to the bit, and the cleverness of the tactile implementation of the previously card-based gameplay.

For those not familiar, Exploding Kittens is a more-complex, card-based version of Russian Roulette. Players take turns drawing cards, attempting to avoid drawing the Exploding Kitten. There is an element of luck here, but there is also some strategy involved. If you are unfortunate enough to draw the Kitten, you had better hope you are holding one of the game’s various ways to defuse or deflect its explosive effects which you could hoard or steal from other players. Otherwise, the kitten goes bang, and you are out of the game. There are various other ways to screw over the other players, making them draw twice in a row, or stealing a random goodie from their hand, for example. But the basics are draw a card and try not to explode.

The gang at Saber Interactive have done an admirable job of translating these somewhat simplistic mechanics into a fun VR experience. Players can saddle up to a table in the game’s nicely designed social club and tap a button to join a game. In-game cards are represented by various tactile objects that only the player can see. For example, if you want to stop a player’s action in the real-world version of the game, you can play a “Nope” card. In VR, you pick up a virtual hammer and smack it down on the table, which is much more effective and fun.

The card game itself works very well, even if the proceedings are bit slower than a real-life game. Play rotates from player to player around the table, and players will need to chat it up a bit to fill some of the empty space left by turn transitions. Animations and sound effects assigned to various cards are amusing – at least the first few times you experience them - and there are three slightly different versions of Exploding Kittens that can be played. The standard game is the slowest (and also has the most depth), but the Blitz and Duel modes move more quickly if you just want to knock out a few rounds. 

The bar-like social hub is also nicely designed, with a few typical VR interactive amusements (basketball, darts) to entertain players in between matches. The art style on display is very much in-line with what fans of the game might expect, and players can earn tokens and tickets to play games in the hub and unlock cosmetics (and no, there is no real-world money store; all cosmetics are earned via in-game currency).

The Gaming Nexus gang had a great time goofing off in the hub, and though most of us were new to the game, everyone caught on very quickly and fun was had by all. The game itself is a hoot, and is wildly better when playing with other real-life humans. The skins you can buy added an extra layer of weirdness, which is always welcome. 

Ultimately, your enjoyment of Exploding Kittens VR will come down to two factors. First, do you like Exploding Kittens? And second, is anyone else playing Exploding Kittens VR? If the answers to both of these questions appears to be “Yes”, then you can consider Exploding Kittens VR to be twenty bucks well spent. If not, you might want to look elsewhere for your social interaction.