The Gamescent is a thing. Finally! The smoke wafting from the barrel of my virtual M1928 submachine gun can fill my living room, the blood of Doom's demons can drift past me as I eat dinner. The future is here, and it smells smelly.
The new accessory, compatible with PC, consoles, and VR, plugs in via HDMI or 1.3mm audio to take the sights and sounds of your favorite games and transforms them into real-world smells via six scent pods. The system uses AI to translate audio from each in-game event and pair it with the correct accompanying scent. Six are available in the launch package; gunfire, explosion, racing, clean air, ocean, and forest. A further six are also available, but some aren't for the faint hearted - you can also pick up napalm, 'human exertion' (ew), and blood as well as 'big city', more ocean, and fresh cut grass.
The whole package is now available to buy from Amazon, Walmart, or Best Buy, with an introductory offer dropping the $179.99 MSRP down to $149.99.
Very few PS5 accessories or Xbox Series X accessories manage to truly offer something new - and call GameScent what you will, it's certainly new. Its effect will most likely be best experienced with a VR headset, though. If you're after sensory overload like no other, this is a solid starting point.
I haven't wrapped my nostrils around the GameScent yet, so I can't speak to the quality of its scents or its ability to accurately release the right gasses at the right time. However, should everything work as expected it could be a neat addition to a more experimentally minded game setup. I can image trudging through Horizon's dense forests only to catch a whiff of the ocean once I've made it to the coast. After all, who needs to go outside and touch grass when we can smell the fruits of a long hard day's work of Lawn Mowing Simulator from the couch.
Engage some more conventional senses with our guide to the best gaming headsets to make sure you're getting the most immersive audio possible. Or, take a look at the best gaming TVs and the best gaming monitors to keep those visuals on point.
