2018 may be wrapping up but VR Fitness Insider readers know that the industry’s top fitness games, accessories, and headsets are still empowering and fueling the fitness community day in and day out.
Before we toast to a new year, VR Fitness Insider is awarding studios and businesses that have been a major contributor to fitness, health, and wellbeing.
Here are VR Fitness Insider’s award winners and finalists for 2018!
Best VR Fitness Game of the Year
Beat Saber
With a PC release in May and a PSVR release in November, Beat Saber has been helping our community get fitter with EDM and popular music. Slaying the VR and fitness game, Beat Saber has helped fit gamers Bill Lindsay lose 90 pounds and Robert Long shed a whopping 138 pounds! Beat Games rhythm VR masterpiece is a blend of dance, coordination, and arm movements that turn neon red and blue cubes into digital dust. With 50,000 copies sold in its first week and growing by the day, Beat Saber sits in the well-deserved spot of Best VR Fitness Game of the Year.
Finalists
BOXVR, Creed: Rise to Glory, The Thrill of the Fight, Virtual Fighting Championship, Holopoint, Sparc, Sprint Vector, Echo VR, Racket NX
Best VR Competitive Fitness Game of the Year
Echo VR
Formerly known as Echo Arena, Echo VR is a VR esport game from Ready At Dawn that requires a whole lot of aim and strategic teamwork. Players battle against each other in 3v3 teams inside an arena and throw a disc to gain a shot on the opponent’s goal. Players like Sonya Haskins have lost 45 pounds playing it with friends online and in competition. Echo VR has found esports fame with VR crowds at competitions hosted by VR League and VR Challenger League. As a top VR esport title, Echo VR wins Best VR Competitive Fitness Game of the Year.
Finalists
Sprint Vector, Onward, The Unspoken, Beat Saber
Best VR Sports SIM Fitness Game of the Year
Racket NX
Digital racquetball with Racket NX by One Hamsa turns the sport into a classic arcade game inside VR. Using the controller as the racquet and the digital orbs as the racquetball, Racket NX is a great solo game or game you can also get a buddy workout in. Hitting the polygonal panels and racking up score points for multiples is the way to keep competition amped up. Players swivel in 360-degree and let the ball ricochet like a pinball for lower body movement. This is why Racket NX wins Best VR Sports SIM Fitness Game of the Year.
Finalists
MLB Homerun Derby, Goal Keep VR, 2MD VR Football, Eleven, Racket Fury, First Person Tennis VR
Best VR Boxing Fitness Game of the Year
Creed: Rise to Glory
PSVR and PC VR gamers stepped into the boxing ring with Creed: Rise to Glory this year and punched their way to fitness. Whether players trained with “The Pride of Philly” Rocky Balboa in the gym, played against the film’s top contenders or went beast mode in PvP against real players online, Creed: Rise to Glory is a heck of a boxing and fitness game. Survios created this game with realistic boxing moves, AI interaction, and arm-pumping locomotion moves that earned Creed: Rise to Glory the Best VR Boxing Fitness Game of the Year.
Finalists
Virtual Fighting Championship, The Thrill of the Fight, Knockout League, The Fastest Fist, Drunken Bar Fight, Virtual Boxing League, Boxing Apocalypse, Mech League Boxing
Best VR Fighting Fitness Game of the Year
In Death
As an archery game, Sólfar Studios’ In Death, is a major workout for the upper body. Pickoff armored knights, ghouls, baby cherubs, and more from a distance or up close. This VR fighting game has players peeking around corners of procedurally generated castles and is hours of fun to play. To keep combat fresh, the game has an achievement progression tree that keeps virtual archers vying for the coveted top spot. It’s permadeath design and arm-heavy gameplay mechanics make In Death the Best VR Fighting Fitness Game of the Year.
Finalists
QuiVR, HoloPoint, SwordMaster, GORN, Superhot, Sairento VR, Elven Assassin, Battle of Red Cliffs, The Wizards, Skyrim VR
Best VR Action Fitness Game of the Year
Sairento VR
Players had lots of fun this year embodying a time-slowing ninja in Sairento VR by Mixed Realms. Dodging bullets and using a katana, shuriken, Kusuragami, as well as using pistols and rifles to attack enemies made for a realistic cyber ninja workout. Virtual ninjas upgraded their weapons with relics and slayed Sumo, ninjas, guards, and more in quick bursts of activity. Shooting and swordplay are physically intense in combat situations and slowing down bullet-time strategically makes Sairento VR the Best VR Action Fitness Game of the Year.
Finalists
Space Pirate Trainer, Raw Data, Serious Sam 3, Superhot, Onward, Robo Recall
Best VR Meditation App of the Year
Satori Sounds VR
Keeping our minds resilient and having a positive outlook on life is easier to achieve with uplifting hormones flooding your brain with meditation and exercise. Satori Sounds VR by ZCat Systems and Brainwave Dynamics is a great VR meditation app for major headsets and will clear away the mental cobwebs you’ve got around. View relaxing environments in 360 and customize binaural beats, Solfeggio frequencies, and isochronic tones for restorative relaxation. Promoting a clearer and more present mindset with sound waves earns Satori Sounds VR the Best VR Meditation App of the Year.
Finalists
Guided Meditation VR, House of Meditation, WiseMind, Mind Labyrinth VR Dreams, Flow VR, Remind VR, KameaVR
Best VR Cardio Fitness Game of the Year
BOXVR
Elevating the heart rate and pushing fitness goals beyond your comfort zone takes a powerhouse game like FitXR’s BOXVR. It’s got great tunes and room for a custom playlist to send your body and motivation into overdrive. BOXVR fighters jump into this platform VR game and boost their stamina but also carve off excess weight. Juan Espinosa shredded 15 pounds while Tyler lost an amazing 65 pounds! Jabbing, uppercutting, double punching, and doing side lunges and deep squats is why BOXVR has achieved the two-time title of Best VR Cardio Fitness Game of the Year.
Finalists
Beat Saber, Bitslap, Creed: Rise to Glory, The Thrill of the Fight, Soundboxing, Sprint Vector, Virtual Fighting Championship, Virtual Boxing League
Best VR Arm Workout Fitness Game of the Year
Beat Saber
Equipped with a neon crimson and ice blue saber, players sliced matching cubes to the beat of electronica. Aiming for accuracy and follow through, as well as learning patterns and following the beat of the music, Beat Games created a monster arm workout. Hardcore Beat Saber players turned their arm workout up a notch by modding the controllers to become a double-sided saber. PC players created modded beat maps to their favorite music, which set arms ablaze. Beat Sabers persistent upper body movement for PC and console VR makes it the Best VR Arm Workout Fitness Game of the Year.
Finalists
Sprint Vector, Creed: Rise to Glory, Bitslap, The Fastest Fist, Sparc, BOXVR, Soundboxing, The Thrill of the Fight, Virtual Boxing League, Virtual Fighting Championship
Best VR Headset for Fitness
HTC Vive Pro
For the second year in a row, HTC and Valve have come out on top as the leading manufacturer of VR headsets for fitness. Released in January of this year, the Vive Pro emerged as the dark blue headset that many designers and developers used to make fitness-focused games and experiences that rock our world and our bods. With 1440×1600 resolution per eye, outward facing camera tracking, SteamVR 2.0 tracking and a play space of 10 square meters, the Vive Pro is the Best VR Headset for Fitness.
Finalists
HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Microsoft Mixed Reality (Samsung), Sony PlayStation VR
Best VR Accessory of the Year
Vive Wireless Adapter
Vive and Vive Pro headsets became tetherless this year with the lightweight Vive Wireless Adapter. Adding this wireless adapter cut the PC cord and set fit gamers free and on a new trajectory inside VR. Being free to move around in a play space of up to 20 square feet opened up new fitness and movement possibilities for multiplayer gaming. This helped VR-centric businesses and arcades and gamers with multiple headsets really show off what VR can really do. Wire-free is the way to be and is why Vive Wireless Adapter won Best VR Accessory of the Year.
Finalists
VR Cover, VIVENCHILL, Vive Tracking Pucks, Mamut Touch Grips
2018 has been an amazing year for VR. There are so many great games out now that are fun to play but also can get your body moving. VR Fitness Insider would like to thank ALL of the VR game and accessory developers out there that are pushing the boundaries of this new technology. Virtual Reality is the perfect platform to get your body moving and arguably the best fitness tool anyone could buy.
