Mobile VR headsets like Meta Quest 3 are the ideal platform for exercise-intensive games. Find out which VR fitness games are perfect for shedding a few pounds.
One of the biggest benefits of many VR games is physical movement. Virtual adventures combined with body control can have a positive effect on your health. This is exactly what the Virtual Reality Institute of Health and Exercise is studying.
Since 2017, the institute has been conducting studies on the effects of Virtual Reality on people’s physical health. Researchers are creating “exercise ratings” that describe how many calories you burn playing which VR game, and what type of exercise it equates to.
In the following list, we refer to the values from the Exercise Ratings and estimates from the VR fitness site VR Fitness Insider. Since update 23.0, Meta Quest headsets have their own fitness tracker. While using VR apps in the Quest, the Move app measures your physical activity and estimates calories burned. You can set personalized fitness goals and track your progress.
To help you find the right VR workout plan to keep you fit and healthy, here are the best fitness games of 2024 in alphabetical order for Meta Quest 3, Quest 2, and Quest Pro.
Audioshield
Price: $19.99 (Quest Store)
Calorie consumption: 360 – 480 kcal/hr.
Audioshield is a VR classic and a great pioneer of rhythmic VR games. It was released for the wireless Quest in April 2020 — exactly four years after its launch on the HTC Vive. You use colored shields to fend off glowing bullets or avoid obstacles. What makes Audioshield special is that you can load your own songs into the game.
Audio Trip
Price: $19.99 (Quest Store)
Calorie consumption: 360 – 480 kcal/hr.
If you’re looking for a mix of Beat Saber and Dance Central, Audio Trip for Meta Quest is for you. Fast-paced beats and flying balls of light will make you sweat, and ideally, it will look cool, too, as you can see in the gameplay trailer. A professional dancer was involved in the development of the choreography. Once you have played through all the songs, you can use the integrated level editor to create your own VR dances.
Players can change the colors of the stones, and new equalizers for the various sound effects provide the necessary fine-tuning. You can also show off your skills with custom songs and your own choreography on an international leaderboard.
There are now several expansions for Audio Trip: “Get Funky” brings new choreographies and three funk songs to the game. There are also more environments. The “Make this your Audio Trip” update includes many modification options and the “Swanky Song Pack” brings new music.
Beat Saber
Price: $29.99 (Quest Store)
Calorie consumption: 360 – 480 kcal/hr.
Beat Saber remains one of the most popular VR games on Meta Quest 3, and the developers regularly release updates and song packs to keep the rhythmic lightsaber action fresh. With the launch of Meta Quest 2, a free Beat Saber multiplayer mode was added.
The free song pack OST 4 followed in 2021, with main composer Jaroslav Beck focusing on guitars and metal songs. Beat Saber runs in 90 Hz mode since update 1.13.2. Crossplay and app sharing support has also been implemented. If you share your quest with other users, they can now save their own scores and highscores. In addition, Quest and SteamVR players can now swing their lightsabers together in multiplayer mode. The latest expansion is the Hip-Hop Song Pack.
Beat the Beats
Price: Free demo (Quest Store)
Calorie consumption: n/a
Beat the Beats is a challenging VR fitness and rhythm game that combines boxing moves with an indie soundtrack and a built-in world leaderboard. The full version is currently only available for PSVR 2, but conversions for PC and Meta Quest are planned. A free demo is already available in the Quest Store.
The gameplay is very similar to Beat Saber and its many clones: You have to hit light green and purple panels, which fly towards you to the rhythm of the music, with typical boxing movements. The direction of the panels’ approach varies when you use different boxing moves such as jabs or uppercuts. In addition, red triangles in the shape of snakes are coming towards you, which you have to avoid with skillful upper body dodges.
Creed — Rise to Glory
Price: $29.99 (Quest Store)
Calorie consumption: 360 – 480 kcal/hr.
If you’re looking for a one-on-one boxing experience, look no further than Creed – Rise to Glory. The licensed title for the continuation of the Hollywood franchise Rocky is also strongly staged on the Oculus/Meta Quest (2).
Mini workouts with veteran Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) and arcade-heavy boxing matches provide plenty of fun and sweat during the virtual cardio session. Those who want to compete with human VR boxers can take part in regularly held multiplayer events.
Last year, the developer studio added the Endurance mode, which is linked to Oculus Move, via an update. This turns off the game’s virtual stamina system, and your character doesn’t get tired until you are. According to a study by VR Healthy, the new mode intensifies the workout with Creed: Rise to Glory. The game now also offers hand-tracking support.
Dance Central
Price: $29.99 (Quest Store)
Calorie consumption: approx. 360 kcal/hr. (estimate)
If Beat Saber still doesn’t have enough dance elements, you’ll be happier with Dance Central. Here you study entire choreographies with a virtual trainer. You swing your hips to a total of 32 songs from different genres. There’s even a multiplayer lounge where you can meet with other players and just dance away.
Meanwhile, Dance Central has a built-in fitness tracker that keeps you updated on calories burned during dance sessions.
Fitness One XR Evolved
Price: $19.99 (Quest Store)
Calorie consumption: n/a
Fitness One XR Evolved is one of the most versatile VR fitness games around. Focusing on classic exercises such as push-ups, leg lifts and crunches in a variety of environments, it is ideal for those looking for traditional fitness training in VR.
There are different categories such as strength and endurance, and you can create your own workout plans. The exercises are demonstrated in great detail by animated VR trainers, allowing you to follow the movements precisely.
FitXR
Price: $9.99 per month (Quest Store)
Calorie consumption: 360 – 480 kcal/hr.
BoxVR was one of the first VR games designed purely as a fitness program. The creators worked with professional trainers to develop a series of VR workouts. It’s less about shadow boxing and more about rhythm and coordination. Driving beats motivate you to work your arms, shoulders, and chest.
In the summer of 2020, BoxVR received a major update and was completely redesigned. The game is now known as FitXR.
FitXR has now moved to a paid fitness subscription model. For just under ten Dollars a month, you get access to hundreds of fitness classes that are updated daily. The focus is on boxing, HIIT, sculpt and dance workouts. There is also a Zumba class and a mixed reality mode for FitXR. If you just want to check it out, there is a 7-day free trial.
In my long term review of FitXR, I have extensively tested the different courses and described my experiences.
Les Mills Bodycombat
Price: $29.99 (Quest Store)
Calorie consumption: n/a
In a similar vein to FitXR — but without a subscription model — is Les Mills Bodycombat. The fitness chain of the same name offers its special martial arts-based classes at licensed studios worldwide and is growing in popularity. With the Quest app, VR athletes can now work out, too.
While FitXR’s boxing classes focus on the upper body, Les Mills Bodycombat involves the whole body with knee attacks, diagonal hammer punches, and uppercuts from a squatting position. Two qualified fitness instructors guide you through the exercises in a tutorial and accompany you through all thirty classes.
The difficulty levels cater to beginners and advanced alike, but are always very challenging. Ben documented just how challenging Les Mills Bodycombat can be in his Mixed on Monday column. Slight spoiler: It’s pretty intense.
Les Mills XR Dance
Price: $29.99 (Quest Store)
Calorie consumption: n/a
Les Mills XR Dance combines dance with aerobics. With over 25 classes, three levels of difficulty and holographic instructors, it offers a varied and motivating workout. The choreographies are divided into the genres pop, club, vibe and jam and are accompanied by over 40 songs, all from the electro label Monstercat.
I’ve already tried Les Mills XR Dance, and I’m impressed with the fitness-oriented dance in VR. The workouts involve the whole body, and ideally, you achieve a flow where you automatically hit the targets. The trainers move in front of you as holograms during the sessions, so the dance moves are always clearly visible.
OhShape
Price: $19.99 (Quest Store)
Calorie consumption: approx. 400 kcal / hr.
OhShape is another rhythm game that involves the whole body. Instead of glowing bullets, however, you will be confronted with walls. The walls have cut out postures that you have to assume exactly like this. This sounds relatively simple, but at higher speeds – combined with hitting and dodging obstacles – it becomes a sweaty VR workout.
Twelve levels are initially available for you to choose from, but the developer promises regular content updates. Most recently, the paid “The Electro Party” update brought eight additional songs, new environments, and the Challenges feature. This allows you to compete against OhShape players worldwide in two weekly challenges. There is now also a mixed reality mode.
Pistol Whip
Price: $29.99 (Quest Store)
Calorie consumption: 360 – 480 kcal/hr.
Part rail shooter, part rhythm game and a lot of John Wick feeling — that’s Pistol Whip. To electro songs by Apashe, HVDES or Black Tiger Sex Machine, you shoot, hit or rumble your targets off the virtual screen. On the harder difficulty levels and with a lot of self-motion, you’ll burn calories like tennis.
Since the release in 2019, the developers released several new levels and updates. With Pistol Whip 2089, even a mini-campaign came into play for the first time. In it, you’re stranded on a deserted planet and fight against robots and an AI.
The second mini-campaign, Pistol Whip: Smoke & Thunder, puts you in a western scenario and brings a new feature called “Styles” into the game. You can create individual combinations of weapons and modifiers, which increases the replay value of the title.
Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR
Price: $19.99 (Quest Store)
Calorie consumption: 240 – 360 kcal/hr.
For Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR, the developers also worked with professional athletes to make the game feel as realistic as possible. You can choose between simulation or arcade game, and even hit each other’s plastic balls in online multiplayer.
Racket: NX
Price: $19.99 (Quest Store)
Calorie consumption: 240 – 360 kcal/hr.
With Racket:NX, you can expect a VR game that is one of the best titles ever on the Oculus Quest (2). With its 360-degree physics, the game is made for the freedom of movement of the wireless VR glasses.
Since November 2020, there is a cross-platform co-op mode for Oculus and SteamVR players. In 2021, a level editor and Group Launch feature were added, making it easier to invite friends for multiplayer games. With version 7.1.2, Racket:NX received 120 Hz support on Quest VR glasses.
Smash Drums
Price: $19.99 (Quest Store)
Calorie consumption: n/a
Smash Drums is a rhythm game with a difference. Instead of destroying flying blocks, you bang on drums and try your hand at being a virtual drummer on the Meta/Oculus Quest 2. There are a total of thirty rock songs to choose from, which you’ll have to master at varying levels of difficulty. Various modifiers, such as a 360-degree mode or disturbing flying objects, make the whole thing more difficult.
Multiplayer fans can compete in co-op or Versus modes with up to eight participants at the same time. There is still no measurement of the calorie consumption of the VR Health Institute for Smash Drums. But I can tell you from my experience that rocking drums in VR can be extremely sweaty. Developer PotamWorks is busy delivering new content such as the Hard Rock Legends and Punk Rock Legends song packs.
Superhot VR
Price: $24.99 (Quest Store)
Calories burned: 120 – 240 kcal/hr.
Superhot VR isn’t actually a particularly athletic game at first glance. But anyone who remembers Neo’s contortions in Matrix can perhaps imagine how much you can break a sweat here.
In Superhot VR, you’ll be fighting red baddies who are out to take your virtual life. The special feature: Time only continues to turn when you move. You’ll have to strategically plan your movements to avoid the attacks of numerous enemies and to bring your own to the target. This results in almost cinematic fight choreographies, with a coolness and fitness factor that should not be underestimated.
With the Boxing Day update, Superhot Team finally delivered a new addition to the VR goggles after years. In addition to a festive soundtrack, the title got a new endless level and a new scoring system.
Supernatural
Price: $9.99 / month (Quest Store)
Calorie consumption: 600 – 780 kcal/hr.
Developer Within is venturing into fitness subscription with Supernatural. After the free trial month, you get full-body workouts for a monthly fee of $19 or an annual Supernatural savings subscription, moral support from real fitness coaches and a detailed evaluation of your fitness values and successes. Supernatural collects this data via an additional app.
You’ll also work out outside in VR nature and listen to music from world-renowned artists like Lady Gaga and Panic! At The Disco. So far, the subscription model is only available in North America due to licensing issues. However, the developers are working on an implementation for other countries. Supernatural got a big price drop recently.
Synth Riders
Price: $24.99 (Quest Store)
Calorie consumption: approx. 240 – 360 kcal/hr.
The game principle of Synth Riders is similar to Beat Saber and Audio Trip: To the rhythm of crashing beats, you hit different colored balls. The look and sound are reminiscent of the eighties. The arenas have a neon retro-futuristic look and the soundscape is mainly based on synth-wave and electro sounds.
Synth Riders fans can also look forward to regular updates from the developers. In addition to various song packs, the VR game has already been expanded to include a 360-degree mode, a multiplayer mode with an international leaderboard, and a mixed reality mode.
Thrill of the Fight!
Price: $9.99 (Quest Store)
Calorie consumption: 480 – 600 kcal/hr.
With “The Thrill of the Fight!” a PC VR classic has made it to the Oculus Quest (2). If you want to burn calories with the VR goggles, you can’t get around the virtual boxing simulation. The VR Health Institute measures a consumption of up to 600 kcal per hour. Twitter announced developer Ian Fitz, who developed the game single-handedly, a sequel to the VR boxing classic with multiplayer.
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