The new Star Wars film is still several months away, but we can experience at least a little Sith until then. Sphero, developers of the film’s already iconic new droid BB-8, have released an update to the popular Ollie ‘bot that channels this inner evil. And it’s aptly named, too.
Meet: the Darkside.
Actually, I take that back. Meet “Warboy”. That’s the name I gave my review unit, which arrived soon after I watched Mad Max: Fury Road. It only took a bit of time before I started to bond with the little guy, thanks to some lite customization offered. There’s a strange tipping point where humans and robots might form some kind of emotional connection, and things like the Sphero line of products always feel like one of the first steps to get there.
Warboy arrives in a black box with red lettering, instantly giving me the impression that he isn’t necessarily going to be a nice kid. Inside the company has packaged the all-black device with an extra set of wheels & tires, something that sets it apart from its less expensive all-white Ollie little brother. It’s a more serious presentation for a device that’s meant to be more than just a toy. Like the original Ollie, it’s a sturdy cylindrical device that rolls around and is controlled by an associated mobile app. The internals are virtually identical, too, so beyond the color & presentation it’s not a massively different being.
But that presentation is what’s so important, and it begins with the pairing of the Darkside to the app. Opening the app and tapping the phone to Warboy initiates a new interface, colored in red and black and forcing me to come up with a threatening name for the bot. It actually didn’t like “Warboy” as a name at first, but I forced it in any way. This is where things were a little finicky on my first pairing, as the Ollie needs to be fairly charged to connect. Charging the device to its full 60-minute battery usage time takes about three hours, so I’d recommend plugging it in ahead of time if giving it as a gift. Once it was ready, though, pairing was easy and simple.
The Darkside has a multicolor LED array inside it, and the app allows us to change the colors to whatever we’d like, even making them flash as if in a nightclub.
The app is where we control the Ollie, and doing so requires using the virtual joystick and trick pad within it. This is where I find the only real issue with the device. My unit wants to constantly face north as its starting point, and the virtual joystick never seems to align to how I want it to go. This isn’t an RC car; it’s going to take practice to get it to consistently do what you want. I find myself crashing into walls and getting trapped in corners often. Luckily the device seems to be fairly sturdy, withstanding every crash – even accidentally off of a table.
Once I figured out how to do tricks – like drifting, flipping, spinning — I had a really fun time trying it out on all surfaces. Though my kitchen will never be the same, performing tricks on tiled surfaces is glorious fun. We ran him down a hallway, drifting around corners as he crashed into walls at his 14 MPH top speed. The little guy even seems to get frustrated with me, spinning madly if I get him “dizzy” or bouncing around if I’ve left him alone for too long.
Even though it’s great indoors, the Ollie is perhaps even better made for outdoor fun. Switching them can be a pain – there’s unfortunately a loud “snap” and “crack” when popping the wheels on and off, and a screwdriver is needed to actually take things apart – but the more rugged tires are made for rougher hard use. I’m impressed with how it handles over different surfaces; cement, dirt and even grass don’t slow down its mobility, and it’s even able to make its way up rocks if pushed enough.
It’s cute (or maybe terrifying?) to see Warboy rolling through the grass at great speed, disappearing under a bush and popping out the other side. The range is good, too. The Darkside Ollie manages to stay connected for at least 25 feet, which is plenty for doing tricks and racing down the street.
And then there’s the moment where we crash our little Ollie so hard that he (or she) flips around and lands with a hard thump that would break any other toy and our hearts in the process. And we find ourselves holding our breath for just that moment to see if he’s alright. The lights come back on, he spins around a bit, and he’s back to being an aggressive little bugger.
The Darkside is a great little toy, and one that can be personalized enough to almost form a bond with. Though the interface still needs improvement, the durability of the toy is enough to make up for our mistakes.
Bring on our robot pets.
This review is based on a retail units sent to SideQuesting by the manufacturer.
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