The Virtual Boy for Switch 2 is a collectable gadget, not a true console remake

The Virtual Boy for Switch 2 is an excellent way to experience Nintendo’s strange VR headset for yourself. It benefits from the exceptional build quality you’d expect from a Ninty gadget and includes details that pay a lovely homage to the original. Missing elements like an included controller and some functional features, however, mean it feels less like a proper retro console remake and more like an interactive model.

Its price—$99 / £66.99—and the fact that it contains no electronics of its own stings when you realise the headset completely relies on a Switch for visuals. In the box you get the headset, a V-shaped stand and an adapter bracket for the OG Switch, but no matching controller.

You’ll also need an NSO subscription to play the games, and there are no physical visual adjustment dials. At a glance the new goggles are almost indistinguishable from the original. The plastic and metal V stand are solid, and the stand even fits the original headset, though the fabric eye covers have slightly different fittings.

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