The game clearly excels outdoors. There's more room to move, you have AR tags that you can scan, the GPS tracking is enabled (a big selling point to the toy and the enhancing the video game feel), teammates carry ammo and can share it with you, and if you don't have ammo there's an element of realism in making you run back to your base to reload. Respawn points are on the field and you have to report back there as opposed to respawning where you stand.
Indoors, the game is a little different. No GPS tracking, unlimited respawns and reloads. The grenade device still works inside though, and indoors it was a really entertaining element to have. But more on that later. That being said, the reload is NOT instantaneous. The minute you hit reload there's a time delay before you can fire again. It was just my friend and I against each other but I had to make sure that if I hit reload that I was well hidden or had a grenade.... just in case.
I opted out of using headphones for indoor play (in the basement we used it wasn't like we couldn't hear each other) but I could still hear my friend taunting me through the Recoil blasters when I was on the hunt. Indoors the speakers worked pretty well, and over the din of the muzzle flash and noise from the Spitfire and Rogue units we used there wasn't a lot of need to pay attention to what was being said. However, grenades, coming under attack, all those warnings still happened and when I did hear them they were much appreciated. The readout of health, ammo, and who killed me with what item (grenade or weapon.)
Some shots of the action:
One item I still used (in spite of my initial misgivings) was the hit sensor that clips to your back pocket/back collar. It did not interfere with my using the blaster as much as I thought, nor did I trip on it or get tangled up. To be fair I wasn't doing parkour while using the blasters but for the most basic of motions (with the build of an adult) the wire stayed out of my way. Would it be great to have a future patch that allowed multiple bluetooth hookups, allowing for bluetooth headphones, the blaster unit, AND the grenade? Definitely.
Recoil Rogue
The mount and my phone didn't feel weird really either, at least to me. Maybe that's a product of being used to looking at my phone for information, but seeing a heads up display with my hit points and ammo was refreshing. I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND HAVING A PROTECTIVE CASE ON YOUR PHONE. Definitely for everyday living, and absolutely if you use Recoil. Accidents happen, that's just how things go. But the mount was incredibly secure (make sure to read the instructions appropriately and use as directed) holding both a small phone and my large ZTE ZMax phone.
Hits seemed to register without issues, though I don't have a total gauge on distance as we were indoors. The Spitfire and Rogue are both full auto (just hold the trigger) but the Rogue (pictured above) has a higher ammo capacity than the Spitfire. Couldn't tell if the reload speed was different or not, but either way it's delayed and means the difference between getting hit and keeping score :) Seeing your life bar and having scorekeeping automated just made focusing on the game a lot easier and just having fun with the blasters for a few rounds. Once we were done with a round, back into the lobby and restart another game. The setup (loading the app, bluetooth matching, setting up) takes a bit in the beginning to get started but once you get going having a great play session is a breeze. And the flexibility of the system to go either in or outdoors is great. I don't believe you can transition seamlessly indoor to outdoor and vice versa, but it's hopefully nothing a patch can't fix in the future.
Air strikes weren't possible inside, but the grenades definitely added a nice dimension to the game. It's one thing when you have a camped position but it's another when you see the grenade roll in to where you're hiding (and vice versa if you're trying to hide in a room). It was an extra tactic that added some depth even for two people. What I will emphasize here is the grenades are hard rubber around a hard plastic case. Do NOT THROW INDOORS. Underhanded rolling (lightly!) is encouraged, or the grenades can be placed and set as mines with a time delay only.
Recoil Grenade unit
Definitely don't sleep on this as an outdoor or indoor activity! It's available now, the starter kit (with the required Wi-Fi hub) is currently $116.99 at Target.com. Be active indoors as the weather gets colder (where applicable) or just open yourself up to a whole new way to play laser tag as the world is now game!
Not gonna lie either, when my friend and I were cleaning up, it was nice not having to clean up darts too. Easy to pack, easy to clean, easy to set up, and even easier to have a good time. Make sure to add this to your list of holiday pickups as a gift! The starter kit is a great value for multiple people to play, and that's one way to start your gift opening day!
And you can find my initial overview of Recoil here.
