One of the great challenges for VR fitness is finding the right game for you. Lots of games exist, but the experience feels very disconnected without some kind of unifying platform. That’s the void Omniverse, a unique setup for the VR fitness center from the Virtuix Omni team is trying to fill. Omniverse offers arcade patrons a library of games that cater to a wider variety of tastes.
Basic Setup
The Omni consists of a headset, platform, harness and accessories that help to highlight the experience. The platform has a built-in treadmill, so the game responds to your movements. Feel like sprinting your way past those zombies rather than fighting them? See what you’re made of, then.
That freedom to choose how to handle each encounter, purely based on your own physical strength and endurance, makes the Omni a powerful tool for exploring its worlds.
Games and Platform
The platform should be familiar to anyone with a modern video game console, with tiles that display the titles and screenshots for each game. You can also check the time you’ve purchased from the main menu, and access your user stats (more on that later). The Omniverse launched with 16 games, each offering something unique to the player.
The most competitive is Omni Arena, requiring two players. The game pits two teams in a team deathmatch style battle, using laser guns and grenades to try and take opponents down as you run and leap through an obstacle course. The pillars and platforms allow for a diverse range of options for attacking, and you’ll feel it in your legs and core, as you duck and juke your way out of the line of fire.
Arena is one of several shooter titles, like QuiVr or Hyperdrome, that put players inside digital combat zones with lots of targets to hit. Expect a lot of upper body workout on these types of games, as you’ll be drawing bow strings and holding your weapons at the ready when you clear rooms.
The haunting title “Affected: The Manor” offers a completely immersive horror experience for the brave among you. It’s a more casual walking simulator style of game, similar to the completely benign Nature Treks that are also available on Omniverse. Both ask the player to explore the world, but Affected tries to go for shock value.
The full list of games is below:
- AFFECTED – The Manor
- Bow Master
- Coin Rush
- Hyperdrome
- Karnage Chronicles
- Nature Treks VR
- Omni Arena
- Primordian
- Project Ghost
- Quell 4D
- QuiVr
- The Bellows
- The SoulKeeper VR
- TRAVR: Shadow Ops
- TRAVR: Training Ops
- VRZ Torment
Usage
The Omni is meant for arcade operators primarily and offers a by-the-minute experience. You may have already seen one at your local VR fitness center. However, Omni and the Omniverse reward your loyalty by tracking user statistics. The farther you hack your way through the visual RPG SoulKeeper, for example, the stronger your character will become and the deeper into the game you can go. More abilities, more loot, more reasons to play and keep yourself active. Omniverse thrives on this kind of user engagement.
Another advantage to Omniverse is that you don’t need to choose a title for good. You can easily lose 30-60 minutes your first few sessions just sampling these worlds to find the game that fits your style.
Final Thoughts
The Omniverse is meant for commercial operators, so for most people, it’s an easy introduction into the world of VR fitness. It carries a reasonable cost for something engaging that you can come back to with more rewards waiting. For the VR aficionado, who have tried a fair share of games, Omniverse offers a diverse selection. It would be difficult to walk away from the experience without at least one title piquing your interest.
The other important benefit is that the Omniverse is expandable. Developers can continue offering games for the platform, giving users greater access to a wider variety of titles.
Have you found yourself lost in the Omniverse yet?
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy2mO7a2stA?rel=0&w=560&h=315]
