While exercise is definitely important, sometimes it can be very hard to find the motivation to do it.
To counter that, what you can do is get some VR fitness games that make exercise a whole lot more fun.
In this post, we will go over our top 3 picks for the best VR games for weight loss that are currently available on the market.
Winner
Holofit
Holofit is a brilliant VR game that takes advantage of your in-house exercise equipment to create fun virtual worlds as you exercise. If you don’t have any exercise equipment, you can still use Holofit with its “freestyle” mode.
Runner Up
Beat Saber
Beat Saber is one of the most popular VR games currently available and for good reason: Not only is it a lot of fun but its sweat-inducing gameplay can give you a proper workout as well.
Also Great
Superhot VR
Superhot VR is a brilliant action game that will give you a full-body workout. In this game, time moves only when you move. Hence, you have to use that to your advantage in order to traverse stages.
Now that you’ve been introduced to our top 3 picks, let’s delve deeper and see what their gameplay is like. This will help you find the most appropriate one for your needs.
Best VR Fitness Games - Top 3 Reviews
#1: Best All-Around VR Fitness Game - Holofit Review
Holofit is a brilliant VR app that aims to bring the workout equipment you have at home to life.
It creates virtual worlds for you to traverse through as you work out at home. It can sync to a wide array of gym equipment via Bluetooth such as rowing machines, ellipticals, and exercise bikes.
If you don’t have any gym equipment at home, you can still use it in “freestyle” mode. That being said, the freestyle mode only works with Oculus VR headsets.
It’s definitely one of the best VR games out there to get if you want an intense body workout as you traverse through beautiful landscapes.
Factors to Consider Before You Decide to Buy Holofit
Price: In terms of pricing, Holofit has a monthly subscription that is not too expensive. We prefer games that are just a one-time purchase but since the monthly subscription does not cost too much, it’s passable.
Fitness Viability: Holofit has “fit” in the name. Hence, the game is designed to be a VR fitness video game. It connects to your gym equipment via Bluetooth so you can easily use them with your VR headset.
Fun Factor: When it comes to the fun factor, Holofit is definitely up there. A normal jog on your treadmill is monotonous. Holofit enhances it by making you traverse through beautiful landscapes.
Similarly, you can have tons of unique experiences with different gym equipment you may have on your phone.
- Does not cause motion sickness
- Easy to use and navigate
- Guided training
- Tons of stages and landscapes to choose from
- Lots of fun
- Has a monthly subscription instead of being a one-time purchase
Best All-Around VR Fitness Game
The best all-around VR fitness game is Holofit thanks to its user-friendliness, tons of content and great compatibility.
#2: Best Rhythm VR Fitness Game - Beat Saber Review
Beat Saber has been incredibly popular since it came out and for very good reason.
While it’s not technically a fitness game, the amount of physicality it demands from the user is definitely enough to burn calories consistently.
The gameplay consists of slicing through boxes with two lightsabers that you have in each hand while you avoid obstacles to get to the end of the stage.
Oh, and did we mention that you slice these boxes and dodge obstacles on the beat to songs? Yes, Beatsaber has an extremely vast library of songs to choose from, and new songs are constantly being added each day.
The community adds tracks to the playlist very regularly, so you’ll always have a large library to choose from.
Factors to Consider Before You Decide to Buy Beat Saber
Price: The base game is not that expensive. However, if you want to add certain tracks or songs to your library, you may have to buy additional music packs.
Fitness Viability: We mentioned above how the gameplay of this rhythm game consists of slicing through boxes and avoiding obstacles. The difficulty of the stages depends on how intense the song you choose is.
You can choose to have a super chill workout or a super intense one. It’s entirely up to you.
Fun Factor: Beat Saber continues to be popular to this day exactly because it is extremely fun. With its vast library, you are sure to find tracks that you love and slice boxes with lightsabers as you listen to them. If that does not sound like a fun time, we don’t know what does.
- Does not cause nausea or motion sickness
- Little to no bugs
- Very helpful community
- Easy to use
- Extremely fun
- You have to pay extra for additional music packs
Best Rhythm VR Fitness Game
The best rhythm VR fitness game is Beat Saber thanks to its stunning visuals and extensive music library. You can choose a chill song for a chill workout or a heavy metal banger for an extremely intense one.
#3: Best Action VR Fitness Game - Superhot VR Review
Superhot came out as a regular game first but now, the developers have come out with a virtual reality version that is even more immersive.
The game has a very unique concept: Time moves only when you do.
So that means, as long as you stay still, any bullet, bottle, axe or blunt object that is being thrown toward you will stop and stay suspended in the air.
Hence, you have to hold your position in whatever angle it is as you plan what your next move will be. For example, maybe you ducked and were holding that position. That’ll give your thighs an extreme workout.
The options are endless. The fact that you have to hold your pose while you decide your next move provides opportunities for some intense muscle workouts.
Factors to Consider Before You Decide to Buy Superhot VR
Price: We feel that Superhot VR is quite reasonably priced when you look at how unique the game is and how much content it has to offer. It also is very well-optimized to take full advantage of VR technology.
Fitness Viability: As mentioned earlier, you have to hold your pose while you decide your next move. Oftentimes, you’ll have to hold your pose in uncomfortable positions that’ll give many of your muscles a workout.
It’s great if you want to build up your muscles while trying to decide the best way to get out of an intense combat situation.
Fun Factor: Superhot VR is a game that puts you in the mind of a protagonist that can stop time as they plan their next move. You dodge bullets and find unique and creative ways to defeat your assailants. Does that not sound like fun?
- Does not cause nausea or motion sickness
- Great for intense workouts
- Unique game concept
- Unique art style
- Good replay value
- Limited content
Best Action VR Fitness Game
The best action VR fitness game is Superhot VR thanks to its highly unique game mechanics and strong art style.
Buyers’ Guide
In this section, we will discuss what factors you must think about when you browse the market for a weight loss VR game.
There are many factors to consider and oftentimes, consumers don’t think about these factors and end up with a game that does not satisfy their needs.
Some factors you must consider when you browse VR games for weight loss include:
Price
Obviously, the price of the game is extremely important as you don’t want to spend an exorbitant amount of money on just a single one.
That being said, there do exist many VR games that have a high price; However, that high price is justified. This might be due to the fact that they have a vast library or a library that is constantly updated.
This means that games such as these have a lot of value to offer and will keep you entertained for a long time. Hence, even though you spend a fair amount first, it’s still justified since you’ll get value out of it for months or even years to come.
On the other hand, when it comes to cheap VR games, you have to be wary when you go for them. This is because a cheap VR game might be cheap because it’s poorly made and does not have a lot of content to offer.
We urge that you look up online reviews for the games you intend to buy before you actually buy them. This will give you an idea of whether they are worth buying or not.
There are also a ton of free fun VR games and apps that you can also consider.
Fitness Viability
You want to get these virtual reality games to get a proper workout and burn calories. Hence, the gameplay of the game(s) you get has to be physically intense so that you can get proper value out of it.
Remember that not all VR games are the same. Some are action games or rhythm games that require you to perform intense physical actions. On the other hand, other games offer relaxing experiences that are meant for people who want to chill.
Obviously, since you want to play games to lose weight, you will look for the former.
User-Friendliness
User-friendliness is very important not just in regular games but also VR games.
If you think that navigating through buggy or clunky UIs is annoying in regular games, wait till you experience them in virtual reality. It’s much more frustrating and more importantly, it gets in the way of your workout.
You want something that is easy to navigate, easy to pick up and easy to use. To get an idea of whether or not a virtual reality game is user-friendly or not, you can look up online reviews for them.
Nausea and Motion Sickness
You don’t want to be nauseous when you want to burn calories. Not only will that get in the way of your workout but it can also just ruin your day by making you nauseous.
Some games are more optimized and well-polished than others. Hence, they ensure that the majority of individuals will not become motion-sick when they play their VR fitness games. On the other hand, other games can make you nauseous within the first few minutes.
Again, this is not something that you can test for yourself until you actually buy the workout game. Hence, your best bet for this is also to look up online reviews for the VR fitness games that you want to buy.
They’ll help you get an idea of whether or not they are worth your money or not.
Fun Factor
At the start of this post, we mentioned that VR games can help you burn calories and become fit because they make exercise fun.
However, if the game itself is not fun, that kind of defeats the purpose, does it not?
Hence, check out reviews for the video game that you want to buy. You can get an idea of whether or not the gameplay is fun or monotonous.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is VR Viable for Weight Loss?
Yes, VR can definitely be extremely effective for weight loss if you can incorporate it into your regular workout routine.
That being said, playing the best VR fitness games is not the only way you should use to lose weight. A healthy way is to incorporate a healthy diet along with playing VR games.
Can I Build Muscles with VR?
Yes. If you’d like to work on your chest, shoulders and back, you can opt for an arcade-style boxing game or rhythm-based boxing game. There are many of them available in the market.
As you play VR fitness games regularly, they can help you develop your upper body as well as other muscle groups.
How Long Should I Play VR at a Time?
If you are in virtual reality for an extended period of time, it can cause eye strain and nausea issues.
We recommend that you should not be in virtual reality for more than 1 hour at a time. 30 minutes at a time is preferable but at the absolute most, you should not go for more than 1 hour.
Can I Play VR Daily?
Yes, of course, you can play VR every day. As long as you take regular 15-minute breaks between your sessions, you can play the best VR games and get your workout in daily.
Studies have been conducted with results that playing VR daily does not have any deteriorative physical or mental effects.
Is VR Bad for Your Eyes?
No. While VR is not inherently bad for your eyes, you can definitely experience eye strain or nausea with the wrong settings in your VR headset or in-game.
For example, if you use a VR headset that does not support your ideal IPD (Inter-pupillary distance), it can definitely cause eye strain and nausea.
Inter-pupillary distance is defined as the distance between your eyes and the screen(s) inside your VR headset. The ideal IPD for most men is 63 mm and for most women, it is 61 mm.
Final Verdict
That’s it for our picks for the best VR games for weight loss.
In the end, we think that Holofit is definitely the best of the bunch since it is inherently tied to traditional workouts with gym equipment.
If you want to feel like you’re not working out while still getting a workout, then you can opt for the other two titles on our list.
In your opinion, what are the best VR games for weight loss? Do you agree with our picks? Let us know in the comments section below.