When comparing Fantastic Contraption 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 Fantastic Contraption is ranked 22nd.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Very fun to build and create machines
Thanks to the Vive, building a contraption is incredibly fun and actually feels like you're creating something "real". You can move around your machine to adjust it and add new components in a very natural way.
Pro Encourages creativity
By giving you a task and leaving how you will complete it up to your own devices the game allows for a sense of creativity as well as the feeling of accomplishment.
Pro Cute art style
The art style is cute and when you look at how you look only to see you're a cute animal, it can be quite funny and sweet. You also have a pet cat named Neko that you get your supplies from, and a dog that you press to go to the next level.
Pro Comes free with the vive bundle
Comes free with the Vive bundle, which is a bundle with no additional cost, but has limited stock, so may be difficult to obtain.
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 Expensive
It's the most expensive game on the Vive costing $39.99. When comparing price to content, there may be better options out there at a lower price.
Con Building can be frustrating and causes a lot of trial and error
It is almost impossible to attach objects completely straight to one another, meaning if you are trying to use multiple wheels, each will be a bit crooked, causing a lot of adjusting and restarting, which can be very frustrating.
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.