Payday 2: VR
Download Payday 2 before you download this game, t’s required in order to play. This is a cross-platform (VR and desktop PC) first-person single and multiplayer shooter where you and 3 friends will rob banks old school style or hit up a biker bar and some other shifty places. You’ll start some trouble with the authorities and use rifles and even rocket launchers to get a hold of those benjamins.
Fitness Potential
Swinging around melee weapons, ducking, and shooting is going to give you a challenging upper and lower body workout with extensive play times. Players that are familiar with virtual shootout games and find it easy to duck and shoot around cars and at other players in single, co-op and multiplayer will want to add a weighted vest to add some resistance.
If you like FPS VR games to be physically active, play: Island 359 and Surv1v3.
Developer/Publisher: Overkill/Starbreeze Studio
Release Date: March 15, 2018
Compatible with: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, with tracked controllers
Price: Free
Link: Payday 2: VR
Protonwar
This is a first-person shooter where you’ll be jumping and flying through the virtual air at top speeds with other real players in a shootout to the death. This game relies on fast reflexes to outplay other players online in Death Match (DM), Team Death Match (TDM), Capture the Flag (CTF), Domination, you vs. AI, and Horde Mode that single players and co-op can play with a friend or random person.
Fitness Potential
Protonwar is a fast-paced, seated and standing game that’s also room scale with lots of openness to the game’s maps. There are lots of hideout places, structures, and platforms to jump off of using the controller. You’ll get the best exercise when you maneuver, creep around, duck, shoot or melee attack other players on the ground.
If you like VR games that are multiplayer and action-packed, play a match of: Sprint Vector and Echo Arena.
Developer/Publisher: Outer Planet Studios
Release Date: March 15, 2018
Compatible with: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, with tracked controllers, gamepad, keyboard/mouse
Price: $12.74 to $14.99
Link: Protonwar
Virtual Boxing League
This is an early access and single player boxing simulator that will have you going glove to glove against AI challengers and punching your way through minigames. Hit and break apart orbs in Ball Blaster, punch faces (some towel action) in Bum Rush, play Punch-a-Tron, and train with the heavy bag. This game is expected to have some live online multiplayer fights with players competing soon.
Fitness Potential
Virtual Boxing League will take real boxing moves to get a high score or to take your opponent down with the round winning punch. Any of the mini-games will give you a great upper body workout with the punches, while the midsection will get a good workout with tight turns and blocks. If your legs aren’t planted into the ground and you’re in a fighter’s stance, utilizing room scale will benefit you. This game has a ton of Steam achievements so use those to keep you fired up.
Are you a boxing fan and want to punch things? Give these games a play: BoxVR and Knockout League.
Developer/Publisher: Spellbook
Release Date: March 15, 2018
Compatible with: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Windows Mixed Reality, with tracked controllers
Price: $16.99 to $19.99
Link: Virtual Boxing League
Quickshot
Video Credit to: Portal Virtual Reality via YouTube
This is a single player and single platform shooter where you’ll be destroying targets at a distance and some that are flying towards you. Aim and blast away at armored targets and with all types of futuristic guns and sabers. Use your special Quickshot ability to slow down time. Step around, crouch, and duck around obstacles to avoid being hit.
Fitness Potential
Using weapons for an extended amount of time while trying to squeeze through narrow obstacles headed toward you will get your whole body warmed up before a faster game. This is a great coordination and challenge game but is also a great game to blow off some steam by destroying things in a casual environment.
Looking for coordination games? Try playing: The Tower and Soundboxing.
Developer/Publisher: Headroom.one
Release Date: March 12, 2018
Compatible with: HTC Vive, with tracked controllers
Price: $2.54 to $2.99
Link: Quickshot
Run Dorothy Run
This is a single person, endless runner and rhythm game that takes place in Oz. You’ll be using your tracked controllers to quickly tap and collect gems for points and power-ups across 16 levels. There are 17 swingin’ song tracks to cut a rug through the Emerald City, the Wicked Witch’s castle, and many other familiar places.
Fitness Potential
Run Dorothy Run is a seated and standing game that doesn’t have room scale, so you’ll be standing or sitting in one place as you hit and collect gems to the beat. This is a mostly upper body game that will test your timing and coordination to hit gems, biker looking flying monkeys and anything else that gets in your way. There are obstacles that will target the lower body when there’s rocks or pillars to squat under, step around, or break with your magic controllers.
If you like rhythm-based VR games for exercise try playing: Holodance and Hatsune Miku VR.
Developer/Publisher: Virtro Entertainment
Release Date: March 13, 2018
Compatible with: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, with tracked controllers (PSVR had an early release last month)
Price: $14.99
Link: Run Dorothy Run
VRFC: Virtual Reality Football Club
This is a soccer (football) simulator that uses arm movement like you’re running in place to move on the field. The game relies heavily on the teamwork of 8 players and in-game chat, which happens to be cross-compatible with other PSVR, Oculus, and Vive headsets.
Fitness Potential
You’ll be using your controller to dribble, shoot, and sidestep which isn’t very active, but the arm pumping locomotion system makes up for that. There’s no room scale yet so you’ll be standing in one place for a while, so you’ll want to get into a power stance. Add some fire to your workout by adding a weighted vest or gloves for resistance that could help you break through weight loss plateaus or lulls in intensity.
Are you a sports fan or sports simulator appreciator? Try playing: Racket: NX and Goalkeep VR.
Developer/Publisher: Cherry Pop Games
Release Date: March 13, 2018
Compatible with: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, with tracked controllers (PSVR had an early release last week)
Price: $13.99 to $19.99
Link: VRFC: Virtual Reality Football Club
RoboHeist VR
RoboHeist VR is single player and has stacked platforms you’ll have to make your way around. Creep around and hide from robots that are trying to stop you from leveling up the teleporter in this early access game. Crouch and squat to hide behind pillars, boxes, and take the stairs by climbing up them to sneak up on eyeball robots and strategize to get through laser traps.
Fitness Potential
The hiding and squatting in this game is a decent core challenge and leg day game that will have you feeling like a kid who’s playing hide and seek. Oh, the golden days. Players also run in place by swinging their controllers like they’re running in place. This game will give you more upper body and cardio fitness benefits if you do this to move frequently, but doing so adds more difficulty handling the weapons, players online report.
If you want more leg day options in VR, play: Holopoint VR and Bit Slap.
Developer/Publisher: Blob Lab
Release Date: March 14, 2018
Compatible with: HTC Vive, with tracked controllers
Price: $9.09 to $12.99
Link: RoboHeist VR
VR Rhythm Action Seiya
Rhythm and beat-driven games are all the rage these days. Sit or stand as you hit beat markers to Japanese EDM and instrumental music. There’s 10 songs to start off with and 15 songs to unlock to keep the music flowing down the platform as the stage around you wildly changes with lasers and cool visual effects for a virtual concert/club atmosphere.
Fitness Potential
Using your dual microphones to hit or punch beat markers (stars) to the music is going to be a challenge for the upper body, especially with faster songs. Accurate punching to high-intensity electro music pushes players to match the changing locations of the punches to the rhythm. Adding weighted gloves could amplify the difficulty after you’ve mastered each song.
If you like rhythm VR games for exercise try playing: Hatsune Miku VR and McOsu.
Developer/Publisher: WANDV.INC
Release Date: March 14, 2018
Compatible with: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, with tracked controllers
Price: $17.09 to $18.99
Link: VR Rhythm Action Seiya
Squash Kings VR
This is an early access, sports and squash simulator where you’ll be playing solo against an AI player on a squash court. There are 5 difficulty levels for you play through for varying challenge intensities. Your objective is to hit the ball in a 4 walled court and are to add some heat behind the ball as you quickly hit the ball back and forth. Don’t miss!
Fitness Potential
Hitting the virtual rubber ball with traditional and funky rackets in higher difficulties will give your upper body a good workout. Adding a Vive Racket and Tracker to the mix is going to give your squash game more realism and physical weight to hitting motions.
If you like playing sports sims for exercise try these games: Racket: NX and VR Squash 2017.
Developer/Publisher: Appnori Inc.
Release Date: March 12, 2018
Compatible with: HTC Vive, with tracked controllers, Vive Racket Sports Set, Vive Trackers
Price: $14.99
Link: Squash Kings VR
Badminton Kings VR
This is also an early access single player and sports simulator, except this time you’ll be playing badminton. Appnori has Vive Tracker and Racket compatible paddle games for days with Squash Kings (above) and Table Tennis (not mentioned here but is early access). Hit the badminton ball (the shuttlecock) over the net at your challenger’s side of the court for points.
Fitness Potential
There are 5 difficulty levels to this player vs. AI badminton match. Hitting the shuttlecock quickly and at higher difficulty levels will give you an upper body workout. If you stay light on your feet and are quick to react you’ll get lower body movement as well.
Are sports sims and hitting a few balls around your idea of activity? Play: Balls! Virtual Reality Cricket and Sparc.
Developer/Publisher: Appnori Inc.
Release Date: March 12, 2018
Compatible with: HTC Vive, with tracked controllers
Price: $14.99
Link: Badminton Kings VR