Recently, a friend approached me and asked whether it would be worth buying a PSVR headset for his PS4. Or, if it would be better to go all-in with a new gaming PC and an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. He had seen some of the work I’d been writing here, and he wanted to get in on the ground floor of VR fitness. I told him the same thing that I’m about to tell you: Get the system that works for your budget.
In fact, most of the games that VR Fitness Insider loves to play are bound to cross-pollinate between platforms at some point.
For example:
Beat Saber is a natural fit for PSVR, despite living through its early access phase as a PC exclusive. Now, it’s officially gotten a port. Another title you absolutely cannot miss is Skyrim VR, which was first released on PSVR and later extended to PC.
Unfortunately, some of my fitness favorites—BOXVR and The Thrill of the Fight!—are PC exclusives with no PSVR ports in sight (for now). But that’s OK. Today you’re going to get a summary of eight games you can play to get fit in PSVR right now. Let’s heat things up.
My first pick is:
Sparc
Back in 2016, when CCP Games announced they were adapting Tron’s famous Disc Arena in a VR game, there was plenty of speculation on what it’d turn out to be.
Later, in August 2017, the project unraveled itself to the world as Sparc—high velocity, competitive VR dodgeball.
I don’t mind that CCP flipped on their promise of lethal frisbees and gave us dodgeball instead. The premise is the same: Hit your opponent’s body or head with a neon-slathered projectile.
Sparc promises exactly one thing, and boy does it deliver.
Granted, the game might first appear to lack depth and replayability due to the existence of only one map and three game modes.
But because both players are always locked to opposite ends of a single corridor, you need to be tactful enough to counter your opponent—and score enough points to win—before they can do the same to you.
Keep in mind that the game is limited to multiplayer, with tutorials being the only singleplayer piece. You can also customize your own avatar.
Matches are no larger than 1v1 at a time. Meanwhile, only four players can join a single lobby, where two inactive players can idle outside of the arena and socialize while queueing up for the next match.
Those other players might also be on PSVR, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Windows MR, or any miscellaneous SteamVR-compatible headset.
Does Sparc play like a real sport?
After your body is dripping with sweat, you’ll sure feel like it.
Sparc, like any other throwing sport, is easier if you have stronger deltoids and triceps. The accelerometer in your controller detects how much velocity you place into each throw. Your throw velocity is adjusted by the number of strikes you have against your opponent—which are earned when you hit your opponent’s backboard.
The strike system exists so that a trained athlete could be playing at max capacity against a couch potato—who is playing at their own max capacity—without the athlete being able to roll through the match.
But then, where’s the physical challenge? Here’s Sparc’s caveat: If your arms get tired from exertion, you cannot control the ball. This means that each match is a battle of technique.
As a PSVR owner who talks about wanting to get fit in VR, don’t sleep on Sparc.
You can find Sparc on the PlayStation store for $19.99.
Rec Room
Rec Room is one of my favorites.
Even if I’m tired and soaked in sweat after a VR workout session, Rec Room is one of those few VR games that remain alluring. It’s a cross-platform online game at its core, with customizable avatars, quests, items, and level-ups to earn.
But there are plenty of activities within the game that can raise your heart rate and get your blood flowing. There’s dodgeball, laser tag, paddleball, disc golf, and more. And like Sparc, it’s multiplayer-only. Whenever you log in, you’ll be co-existing with people using Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PSVR, and so on.
When you get into a large party of people playing together, which is common, Rec Room becomes a bonafide social experience—and if you don’t like a random player who enters one of your rooms, you can mute them or invite your party to switch rooms.
You can even host private rooms and create custom game types to play exclusively with your friends. The friendly competition that Rec Room compels you to have with other players is enough to coax you into putting more energy into each activity.
As a result, I tend to walk away from an hour of Rec Room having burnt about 150–300 calories—depending on how the session goes.
Which is why I fit Rec Room squarely into the LISS category of exercise. The best part? It’s 100% free. Grab it from the PSVR catalog whenever you’d like.
Knockout League
Knockout League is a prime contender for the ultimate boxing game currently out on PSVR. This status might be challenged with the release of Creed (more on that below!), but for something a bit more colorful, you should go with Knockout League when you want to brush up on your jabs.
Knockout League has a collection of themed baddies to fight, each with their own combos and tactics. To perform well in Knockout League, you need to stay on your feet.
You’ll have to duck, dodge, throw punches, know when to hook or jab, and keep your hands raised.
One of the game’s main drawbacks is how predictable each fight becomes after you’ve completed it once. But it has mitt training, a speed bag with feedback, and minigames that can help you build your general fitness after you’ve completed every fight.
It also has a funky art direction style, adopted from the classic fighting game Punch-Out.
You can find Knockout League on the PlayStation store for $29.99.
Sprint Vector
Sprint Vector is a clever racing game that makes the player pump their arms in order to “sprint” to the finish line. It’s also a VR eSport that’s popular in its ESL community.
If you’re looking for a VR game that’s considerably similar to Mario Kart, but with more physical engagement (and less Mario), this is one of the best games you can play. And even though you might look goofy while swinging your arms in place, you will be sweating calories whenever you play Sprint Vector.
Run in place while you play for a full-blown aerobic workout, and also to look less dorky when your friends and family secretly snap smartphone videos of you playing Sprint Vector and post them onto the Internet.
Unlike Sparc and Rec Room, Sprint Vector does not feature cross-compatible multiplayer between PSVR and PC VR. If you want to get really good at Sprint Vector, check out our 18 tips that make the game more enjoyable—while making you a better player.
You can find Sprint Vector on the PlayStation store for $29.99.
Skyrim VR
Skyrim. Is. Everywhere. And if you haven’t played it yet, even if you aren’t a gamer, you’re missing out.
Good news for the fitness fanatics: Skyrim VR is technically a form of exercise and you truly can become the Dragonborn of legend. As a PSVR user, you’re getting the complete game including all three DLC packs; Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn.
Skyrim VR is vast, mysterious and immersive for first-time players. And for previous players—who’ve already weathered Skyrim’s majestic mountain peaks—the VR makeover is enough of a new experience to justify yet another go-through.
I cannot do Skyrim VR the proper justice it deserves without dedicating an entire article to do it. Luckily, VR Fitness Insider wrote an official review that you can find here.
You can find Skyrim VR on the PlayStation store for $59.99.
SUPERHOT VR
“Time only moves when you move.”
That’s the entire premise behind SUPERHOT VR, a clever first-person shooter that feels more like a game of Ultimate Ninja on steroids than the original game that it’s based on.
So how does SUPERHOT VR feel in your hands? Well, imagine being Neo from the Matrix:
And while short, it’s got one of the best singleplayer campaigns currently in VR.
There is no grand narrative to speak of, but rather a series of vignettes that compel you to use each handcrafted environment resourcefully. For instance, one vignette has you escaping from your own execution by ducking a stream of shotgun rounds.
As a first-time player, you won’t actually know that, so you’ll die and reset to the beginning of the level until you figure it out. By the end of the game, however, you will feel like a real action hero.
In fact, SUPERHOT VR was so masterfully done in how it engaged me as a player through the VR medium, that I’m tangibly upset about its lack of paid DLC (so far). I never, ever scrape a game’s Endless mode for replayability. But somehow, SUPERHOT keeps pulling me back for another round.
And after a solid hour of play (even without a weighted vest!), SUPERHOT VR helps me shed between 250-400 calories on average.
Basically: If you’ve ever fantasized about being Keanu Reeves, then you obviously shouldn’t skip SUPERHOT VR.
You can find SUPERHOT VR on the PlayStation store for $24.99.
Creed: Rise to Glory
Another boxing game? What gives?! OK, let me be honest—boxing games are my favorite kind of VR workout. I don’t use a gym, at all, and VR boxing games have made me more muscular than I’ve been in my life.
So naturally, I was excited to see what Survios does with Creed: Rise to Glory; it’s an official tie-in to the Creed films, and it even lets you train with a VR’ified Rocky Balboa.
One of the key things to watch out for is Creed’s Phantom melee system, which abstracts your character’s movement in a way that doesn’t require you to be particularly strong to compete with other players in PVP mode.
And did I mention it has a PVP mode? Alongside a full career mode and free play, you can challenge other PSVR users (it’s sadly not cross-platform) to box against you via matchmaking or friends-only lobbies.
But the real draw is Creed’s high production value—meaning that it’s loaded with more content and stronger art direction than what PSVR owners are used to.
You can find Creed: Rise to Glory on the PlayStation store for $29.99.
Beat Saber
To start things off, I really love Beat Saber. You can check out my feature on it here. And you can check out VR Fitness Insider’s review on it here.
Beat Saber places two lightsabers into your hands—a blue one and a red one—and tells you to slash incoming boxes. Every box is color-coded and painted with an arrow. Or it has a dot in the center, meaning that it doesn’t matter what direction you slash it.
For example: If a blue box painted with an upward-facing arrow flies past your head, you have to slash it upwards with your blue saber in order to get the point. And so on.
Each box makes a percussive crash noise when slashed apart—some custom map makers use Beat Saber’s gameplay to simulate an extra layer of drums on top of existing songs.
Slicing beats in Beat Saber feels punchy and satisfying.
Kind of like a cross between cutting through a block of butter with a hot knife, and opening a beverage can with your bare fingers.
When you get into a flow state, there’s a feeling of power that Beat Saber imparts upon you; like you really could be a dormant Jedi master hiding behind the visage of Pat from accounting.
Whenever I play a round of Beat Saber, I get absolutely soaked in my own sweat—burning roughly 400 to 500 calories per hour if I’m playing fast-paced songs on Expert mode. Depending on how a level is set up, you might have to slash any number of boxes, at any angle, in any direction, at any time. This is all while you keep your sabers away from passing mines, and also while making sure you don’t let your head come into contact with any red blocks.
When used well, Beat Saber’s simple features can compel you to do some pretty crazy (and visually entertaining) movements in real life—making it one of the freshest party games in recent history. If the PSVR edition of Beat Saber eventually contains the capability to add new content via mods and custom songs, then you’ll be playing this one for an insanely long time.
Unfortunately, sideloaded content seems unlikely for now as the developer Beat Games is currently saying no to unlicensed content in the PSVR release at this time. That said, Beat Games does want to release about 30 licensed songs through planned DLC.
Beat Saber launched on the PlayStation store on November 20th for an MSRP of $29.99 with a handful of timed exclusive songs just for PSVR users, as well as a new campaign mode. Frankly, you owe it to yourself to pick up Beat Saber as it is one of PSVR’s sportiest and most addictive games.
Conclusion
If you’re interested in getting fit in VR, but you don’t have a gaming PC or a boatload of cash to throw at one, then PSVR is still a great option. Some of VR’s best fitness titles live comfortably in the PSVR’s ecosystem, with more to come.
Remember that both the PS4 and PS4 Pro will work smoothly with PSVR. If you already have either version of the PS4, you can find a new PSVR system for an MSRP of ~$299 and get started on your VR fitness training.
Which PSVR title excites you the most? Let us know in the comments.