There’s something about watching a speedrunner play Nintendo Labo that’s really special.
Nintendo Labo is a game that turns regular cardboard cutouts into playable controllers, fishing rods, and pianos, through the use of the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controllers.
By using those cardboard creations, players can create physical tools to help them interact with a game. They can use a fishing rod to catch fish, use a steering wheel to race against computer controlled opponents on motorcycyle, or become a giant robot that can destroy a New York-like city.
The Robot game mode in Nintendo Labo is one of the few available that has a mission mode, asking players to complete 15 different challenges based around the Robot’s abilities. And that’s where the speedrunning comes in. Twitch streamer Shredberg has been streaming speedruns of this mode over the weekend in an attempt to complete all these missions as quickly as possible. He completed all the missions in under 45 minutes, which is an impressive accomplishment.
His time, however, has a lot of room for improvement. Shredberg constantly critiques himself, knowing that there is still room for improvement. Even with all of the mistakes, however, watching Shredberg try to complete the courses as quickly as possible while flailing his body around is really fun to watch. There’s a full-body physicality to it that’s missing from traditional speedruns, and it will be fun to see how this technology—and the speedruns that going along with it—will evolve.
