While most VR games and applications that have come out over the years are self-contained experiences, some are designed to be used in tandem with other workout equipment that one might own. Now, a new game has hit the market that might help you take advantage of that treadmill you have sitting in your home in a whole new way.
Coming from developer PlayToWinGames, Happy Run is a new running game that contains rhythmic elements. The project has come about after the developer first designed a first-person shooter called Wildzone and an accompanying locomotion system called DeepLocomotion. The locomotion system itself worked well, but the scope of Wildzone proved to be a bit too large in scope. Therefore, a smaller game was born in Happy Run.
For the most part, Happy Run places you in the midst of a gorgeous world that simulates the experience of running outside. The game is filled with gorgeous vistas, forests, and a handful of paths to run down. While beauty is one major aspect of Happy Run though, the game also places a large emphasis on music.
Developer PlayToWinGames told us that the soundtrack of Happy Run was created to sync up with the average steps per minute for most people who run. The music will start out at a more chill, ambient level as you first start running but as your pace increases, so will the beat of the music. As you begin to run faster, more instruments are introduced to match the pace to which your body is moving. You can also track these movements in-game and can get a look at your steps per minute, the beats per minute of the music that’s playing, and other statistics.
You can check out a trailer for Happy Run right here:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XRLF6gQR1k]
Perhaps the coolest part of Happy Run though is that the game should work with treadmills as well. PlayToWinGames just recently pushed out an update that makes the game compatible for treadmill users and so far, the response has been a positive one. Happy Run shows a virtual treadmill map in-game so that you don’t lose track of where you are in real life. Because of this, you can ensure that you won’t run off course and potentially hurt yourself.
For now, Happy Run is still early on in its development but the game should only continue to grow from here. A new update is planned to arrive next month which will add a bike mod, among other notables. Other planned additions for the future also include an explore mode, larger worlds to run within, and Oculus Quest 2 support.
We always like to tell you why certain games we discuss here at VR Fitness Insider might be worth your time from a fitness perspective, but with Happy Run, the game’s application as a tool for working out it pretty obvious. Even though this game isn’t drastically changing the main activity of running, it’s at the very least providing you with a beautiful world to run within and some great music to listen to while you do so.
As of this moment, Happy Run is available only on SideQuest which means you’ll need to sideload it onto your own Oculus Quest device. Plans to come to the Oculus Store in an official capacity are in the works, but there is no specific date locked in at the moment. The same is true for Valve’s Steam marketplace as well.
Until then, to download the game right this moment, you can head to its page on the SideQuest store page right here.
