When comparing Universe Sandbox ² vs The Lab, the Slant community recommends The Lab for most people. In the question“What are the best HTC Vive games?” The Lab is ranked 5th while Universe Sandbox ² is ranked 19th.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Gameplay that promotes experimenting
Want to crash the moon into earth just to see what happens, you can do that. Create a black hole y the Sun, you can do that too. Just about anything the player can imagine can be done in the game just to see what the outcomes will be, which is fun in and of itself but also quite informative.
Pro Shows what the system is capable of doing
Pro Amazingly fun collection of mini games and experiences
The lab is a collection of a bunch of very fun mini games. You get to use a bow and arrow to defend your castle against waves of enemies, control a fighter drone in a classic arcade style shoot-em-up, repair a Aperture science robot, explore the secret shop from Dota and more. Although each game is simple, they are all very well executed and make fantastic use of VR mechanics.
Pro Nice VR games collection
Pro Perfect for showing your friends what the Vive can do
All the games and experiences are very easy to play and are simply an incredible introduction to the capabilities of VR.
Pro Free
It's free so there's no risk of wasting money in case it turns out you don't like it.
Pro Amusing writing
The Lab is a mini game collection created y Valve, who are know for a very specific witty sense of humor. That is not lost in The Lab whatsoever as the writing is cleverly funny, which makes a mini game collection game all that more enjoyable.
Pro Non game sections are really interesting
The user can stand on the top of an Icelandic mountain top and look around, there is no game to it, it is just an experience but one that is quite interesting as it is almost like actually being there.
Cons
Con Time settings are not explained well
The user can speed up or slow down time, though the tool to do so is not explained well, leaving the user guessing as to what they are doing.
Con More a proof of concept than a full fledged game
The mini games are quite short and will not provide a whole lot of entertainment. The purpose of this title is to showcase what room scale VR is capable of (which it does well), but when considered as a game for those interested in gaming it falls a bit short.