Hello readers! I just woke up from a year-long nap, and it just so happens to be a new year. So, in celebration, what’s a better way to welcome the new year than by spending time with family and friends while frantically screaming instructions at them in VR (virtual reality) as they sit next to a ticking bomb?
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
“Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes” is a game developed by Steel Crate Games; it’s available on most mobile, PC (personal computer), console, and VR platforms for $15. All platform versions of the game are essentially identical, besides from the obvious fact that the VR player gets a more hands-on experience. The game itself is fairly simple, but the randomization and sheer amount of possible scenarios makes it a fantastic party game. At least two people are required to play, so, sorry for you solo players.
What do you do?
The idea of the game is extremely simple. One player puts the VR headset on and is placed in a mixed reality environment, an experience where a virtual element is placed in the physical world, such as a table and a binder. This means you can see all the looks on your friends’ faces as you’re blown to smithereens from their vague instructions.
The non-VR players provide instructions from the provided manual on how to defuse the bomb to the VR player. (More on the manual later!)
VR Player
The VR player selects a level from the blue binder on the table in front of them, then is placed into a room with a bomb. The bomb has six puzzle module slots on each side, as well as a timer. After each completion, the complexity and amount of modules on the bomb will increase.
Each module comes with a little light in the top right corner. When the puzzle is solved correctly, the light will turn from red to green, and the module will be solved. You have three strikes (or just one if you make the terrible decision to play on hardcore) to solve all the modules within the time limit. And, if you take too long or mess up too many times, you can probably guess what happens next.
Non-VR Player(s)
The non-VR player(s) serve as the “man in the chair.” Using descriptions of the puzzles from the VR player, the non-VR player searches through the handy bomb defusal manual, available for printing on the game’s official website, to help solve the modules.
With a bit of luck, the puzzles can be solved simply by direct instructions from the non-VR player. But, sometimes, more cooperation is required. For instance, the pitiful non-VR player may have to use complicated multilayer Venn diagrams to decide whether to cut the wire or not.
Final Thoughts
Even though the game is fairly straightforward and the puzzles seem to get repetitive after a few games, the real fun comes from the people who you’re playing with. For this reason, it’s quite difficult to leave a definitive review on this.
If we look strictly from a gameplay, price, and accessibility standpoint, I have to give this game a 9/10. It’s an amazing party game that can even be played online if you’re able to call a friend and have them pull up the ol’ manual. The game has fantastic replayability, and it gets better with more people joining in.
The only quirk preventing this game from getting a 10/10 score is that the VR controls tend to be a little finicky from time to time. Usually, this is an issue with all VR games because the headset needs to track the position of the controllers, but in this game especially, your virtual hands can fly across the table and slam the bomb into the other side of the room. In this case, that’s not an ideal thing!
Besides the controls, this is the perfect game to play while staying warm inside on a cold night, waiting for winter to pass. Maybe steer clear of the fireplace if you plan to be the one defusing the bomb, especially if you’re playing the VR version. Anyway, I really should get going. This weird, beeping thing has been going off for the past seven minutes and twelve seconds, it’s getting really annoying and I– [BOOM!]
