Even after multiple decades, Virtual Reality is still struggling to make its way into the hearts of the average gamer. There have been a few exceptions to the rule, probably most notably Beat Saber, as its simplistic yet highly addictive gameplay being tied to real-world music tracks (along with the Star Wars power fantasy of wielding Lightsabers) was the perfect storm to grab attention and sell customers on the VR for-the-home experience. Grokit aims to attract newcomers by introducing a considerably more exciting form of AR than the goofy “see it but not really” experiences that mobile titles like Pokémon Go offer.
Grokit
Developer: 3lb Games
Publisher: 3lb Games
Platforms: Meta Quest 3 (reviewed), Meta Quest Pro, Meta Quest 2
Release Date: September 18, 2023
Price: $14.99
Let’s face it: no matter how hard VR game makers try, most VR experiences ultimately end up boiled down to bite-sized entertainment elements made to encourage physical activity and improve hand-eye coordination. Grokit is no exception to this rule, but what makes Grokit unique is that it segments the VR experience by using the Quest’s cameras to deliver a seamless Augmented Reality experience that makes for an excellent middle ground between AR and full-fledged VR. This type of experience is known as Mixed Reality, and though Grokit does also offer a full VR experience as well, the MR experience is what makes this title notable.
On the surface, a glance at the experience page in Meta makes Grokit look like a workshop app, and maybe, in some ways, it is: Grokit consists of a collection of mini-games that are easy to jump into but difficult to master, similar to WarioWare or Mario Party. Upon initial login, Grokit will let you choose and customize an avatar for yourself. From there, there’s a toy room where you can interact with some of the weapons, move around trophies or a fish tank that plays music for some reason, and finally, you can interact with the little bots that float around in the interface. Once you’re done there, you can move into the games where you choose between an offline or online lobby, and Grokit presents you with a suite of mini-games that you can play individually or you can create playlists or randomly let the game choose what you play next.
Initially released in September of 2023, many updates have been made to Grokit, including the Twilight Echoes add-on that allows you to play some mini-games inspired by 3lb’s other VR title, Vault of Stars.
Some games you’ll find in Grokit work well and are mostly intuitive. Games like Chomp turn your hands into sharks, and you eat the fish as they swim around. You open and close your hand to “chomp” them. Pretty clever name, right? Other games that are highly self-explanatory include Claws Out, where your hand becomes a cat claw, and you extend your claws by opening your hand wide and swatting at the green balloons to score points, while games like Frost/Snow/Dragon Blast turn your hands into different types of blasters (or Dragon heads in the case of Dragon Blast). You shoot ice/snowballs/fire blasts by opening and closing your fist. Easy, fun, cute, and inoffensive. These games are excellent for playing with young kids or casual gamers who like the idea of interactive movements for exercise, but none of Grokit‘s experiences last much longer than a minute or two, so you’re unlikely to break a sweat unless you’re really going hard.
While a majority of the titles work well, Elemental Forces and Force Bees aren’t nearly as responsive which ruins their gimmick. Force Bees requires you to close both fists to summon an angry bee to your hands which you then open your palms and “push” out in the direction of the sunflowers. More often than not, the bee just kind of tumbles away and you’re better off scoring points pulling the bee back to your hands and moving so it passes through the flowers on the return path. Elemental Forces has you controlling orbs that you throw out into the bodies of skeletons that reanimate when the core touches them, and to manipulate this orb, you close your fists to draw it in and then “force push” the orb out by flattening your palms to “blow” the orb in the direction you wish for it to go. These experiences function adequately at best, but the more intricate the experience, the worse the controls feel.
As it stands, the list of mini-games is small, but the cost of entry is fairly low – though I feel like it’s still about $5 higher than it really should be. Grokit is currently $14.99 and that’s not a terrible deal considering the mini-games selection, free game updates, and the addition of online gameplay with voice chat. The biggest reason to show interest in Grokit is that it appears that Grokit will serve as 3lb’s primary development lab in order to showcase their own developmental experiences. Remember earlier when I said it feels like a workshop? With a little bit of research, it appears that 3lb might be trying to use the Grokit experience as a fundamental tool to encourage other developers to build inside of it. Think of it as a MR Roblox style platform. If that’s the case, the $15 price tag should include some tools that players could use to actively start creating their own mini-games and help Grokit become a player in the VR space.
Be aware that Grokit isn’t going to satiate a hardcore gamer for more than a few minutes at a time, but if you’re looking for a game that will ease someone into the VR experience, or allow someone who might be prone to sensory overload, Grokit‘s Mixed Reality approach might be the perfect tool to bridge that gap.
Grokit was reviewed on a Meta Quest 3 using a code provided by 3lb Games. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Grokit is now available in the Meta Quest store.
