Exploding Kittens VR Review: Classic Card Capers Blasting Onto Quest

Exploding Kittens VR is a new iteration of the popular party card game of the same name made specifically for VR.

The iconic card game — known for its blend of tactical trickery and irreverent sense of humor translates unsurprisingly well to VR. The basic premise sees players take turns drawing cards in the hope of avoiding drawing the dreaded 'exploding kitten.' Should a player draw that card and have no way of defusing it, they are eliminated from the game!

The rest of the cards in the deck offer various means of survival. From skipping turns or taking a peek at the next 3 cards to more sinister schemes such as stealing cards or launching attacks, the core tenet of the game is simple; trust no one and avoid the kittens at any cost.

A New Gaming Cat-agory

Saber Interactive has been given the task of bringing the popular card game to a new virtual audience. Thankfully, the source material is so strong that the heavy lifting has already been done for them. The VR iteration of the game stays faithful to the original game, enhancing its core gameplay nicely by introducing physical interpretations of the card’s functionality that are well-suited to the medium.

Your deck of cards is replaced by a mystery box containing small red balls. Each of these balls contains an item that shares a function with the cards from the original game. The ‘See the Future’ card, which allows you to view the next three cards, is replaced with a pair of x-ray specs that achieve the same. The defuse card is replaced with a set of pliers that must be used to clip the wires and defuse the kitty bomb before it’s too late, and so on.

These substitutions make sense and align with the quirky sense of humor built into every game in the Exploding Kittens franchise. For the most part, they make good use of the physicality of VR and feel like a natural translation of the game into the virtual environment. There are, however, a few interactions that are a little clumsy and go halfway towards immersing the player before abruptly reminding them that they are in a video game.

One particular culprit is the slingshot that targets a player to steal from. The player grabs the slingshot in one hand and draws back with the other, exactly as expected. But rather than firing the projectile by releasing the grip button, as instinct would suggest, propelling the shot is administered via an entirely unnecessary button press.

This approach is so counterintuitive that I needed multiple attempts to work it out, even with a glowing icon indicating the required command floating right in front of me. It's hardly an experience breaking issue, but small things like this that stop the VR implementation from being excellent.

The Cat's Out Of The Bag

Exploding Kittens VR offers players three ways to play the game. Classic presents the original version of the game, adapted for VR. Blitz mode increases the number of Exploding Kittens resulting in a faster, high-stakes mode for those willing to live a little dangerously. Finally, Duel mode gives players a chance to dispense with the crowds and challenge each other head-to-head.

Although each mode affects the pacing slightly, Exploding Kittens VR remains inherently the same, and the mode chosen will likely come down to personal preference. With such an array of expansion packs and even completely different games within the Exploding Kittens brand, it is somewhat disappointing to see the game launch with just the original deck on offer.

Perhaps I’m being greedy, but it feels like Saber Interactive could have been given deeper access to the well of fun that the franchise offers for the VR version to be the definitive way to play.  

There are, however, variant versions of each card that can be purchased with the in-game currency. Each card has multiple iterations with unique art and linguistic silliness to collect. There is also a range of avatars that will be familiar to fans of the series, which can also be unlocked with a little patience and good fortune.

Social Cat-alyst?

Alongside the core game, Saber Interactive has also included a social hub to give players a place to chill out in between games. There is a little arcade area that has a range of mini-games to play, a basketball hoop to shoot at and a bar to enjoy some virtual refreshments. There is even some secret lore hidden in the artworks scattered throughout the hub that hints at the mischievous lives of the game’s pesky feline friends.

While all of that sounds like exactly the type of elements needed for an online virtual party game to thrive, the hub's shallow delivery leaves this aspect feeling flat and unengaging.

To play the mini-games, players must earn coins by playing at the main tables. The amount of coins administered is small, and the playtime for each mini-game is shorter. There’s a`whack-a-mole’ style affair and a basic breakout style game as well. Each mini-game is a worse version of a game you’ve probably already played to death. Even on a successful run, it takes about sixty seconds to play before ending abruptly.

There didn’t seem to be leaderboards or options to progress, or anything to recommend playing them again after a first try. Similarly, the remaining environmental interactions come up short. Basketballs fly through the air with a disjointed physics that feels unrewarding to throw. Food and drinks can be consumed, but only via blocky animations. Items can be picked up, but not really interacted with. Unfortunately, it feels like a social hub made by people who don’t really spend time in VR social spaces themselves.

Hardly Cat-astrophic

Graphically, Exploding Kittens is exactly what you would expect from a VR version of the franchise. Off-beat characters set in a bright, colorful environment set the tone exactly as one would hope. Chunky, cartoon outlines and a simple, stylized palette make it easy to be immersed in the whacky world of catspionage.

The sound design is adequate but feels slightly more subdued than would be expected from such a characterful setting. Exploding Kittens VR's soundtrack, sound effects, and even the limited voice work all blend in the background in such a way as to feel slightly muted and incomplete. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing bad going on here. But in a world populated by tiny cats that spring out of boxes atop bundles of dynamite while sheep people attack their rivals with fly swatters, a little more audio pizazz goes a long way.

Exploding Kittens VR Review - Final Verdict

Exploding Kittens is, in pretty much any format, a fantastic game. Despite a few elements that could be improved, the VR iteration successfully delivers the core of what made the franchise an international success. It’s hardly a must-have for every VR library, but if you have long-distance family or a game-night group that is too far away to get together with physically, Exploding Kittens VR is easy to recommend as part of your next virtual game night.

UploadVR uses a 5-Star rating system for our game reviews – you can read a breakdown of each star rating in our review guidelines.