Nerf Modulus EXS-10 review – hands on with the most customisable Nerf blaster yet

What’s better than a giant, battery-powered toy gun that fires foam bullets? One that has a complete set of accessories and upgrades to tailor it to close quarters combat, long range sniping or rapid reloads. We’ve been playing with, sorry, thoroughly testing Nerf’s Modulus (which unfortunately won’t be available to customers in the rather stunning flight case my press kit arrived in) to see whether it will be a must-have toy for Christmas.

The Nerf Modulus is as much a platform as it is a single toy; once you buy the gun you’re free to invest in accessory kits whenever you feel like mixing up your Arsenal. Five rails places across the blaster let you got a range of scopes, barrel extensions, bipods, fore grips and stocks, which can be clipped on in any order to create entirely new looks. It’s just a shame these accessories aren’t universally compatible; you’ll only be able to use them with Modulus, meaning anyone with a different Nerf blaster is left out.

Accessory packs include the Stealth Ops kit, which has a folding grip, red dot sight and proximity barrel, the Long Range upgrade kit, which has a bipod, long range barrel and “distance scope”, and the Flip Clip for extra capacity. The Strike and Defend clip was an office favourite; it combines a flip-up shield with a replacement stock that doubles as a one-shot blaster for when you’re out of primary ammo.

The attention to detail is great, with convincing rifling inside the barrel extensions. All combined, you can create some seriously cool looks, from a bullpup-style rifle with spare magazine in the stock, to a close quarters SMG, or a long-range sniper rifle.

However, besides their aesthetic qualities, none of the accessories really add anything of use to the blaster. None of the sights have lenses in them, the shoulder stock is very flimsy, the shield is too small to actually block a Nerf-wielding attacker, and the barrel extensions can be a little wobbly when you stack several together at once.

They certainly don’t help extend the range; Nerf claims you’ll be able to fire darts up to 90 feet, but that’s only true if you’re outdoors and are firing with the wind behind you. Indoors, shots fell significantly shorter.

It’s also puzzling as to why Nerf added side rails to the blaster when there are no accessories in the range that will actually work with them. Apparently the company has more accessory packs in the works, so perhaps early adopters will be able to extend their accessory collection next year.

Underneath all the accessories, Modulus is essentially a remodelled Styfe, a two-year-old blaster. That means the fire rate is about the same, emptying the standard 10-round clip in a matter of seconds. Reloading isn’t exactly quick, so investing in the Flip Clip makes a lot of sense if you’re planning an all-out Nerf war.

Like all battery-powered Nerf blasters, the Modulus is noisy. Holding down the power button spools up the flywheel so you’re ready to fire a shot as soon as you pull the trigger, but it means you can’t get a sneaky shot off without everyone nearby knowing you’re coming. It also puts office-based hijinks on ice unless you have particularly forgiving (or deaf) co-workers.

While Modulus looks pretty slick, the White, grey, orange and green colour scheme doesn’t match any existing Nerf blaster, meaning it will stick out in your collection of you own multiple guns. At £60 for the base blaster and £15-20 for each accessory pack, Modulus isn’t cheap, either. Considering doesn’t rule the roost in terms of performance or range, serious Nerf addicts may be a little disappointed, but Call of Duty fans that insist red dot sights belong on everything are sure to love it anyway.