Here are our full impressions. Here are our full impressions.
Fitness and gaming used to seem odd bedfellows, but they’ve never been closer. We’ve had a lot of
apps on Quest 2/3, from the dedicated ones such as
, to the more casual ones. With Shardfall: FitQuest VR, this might be the first time I’ve considered putting down the resistance ring and switched to a VR workout instead on Quest 3.a whole host of fitness experiencesI mention Ring Fit Adventure because if you’ve spent any time in the Switch exclusive, Shardfall will feel more than a little familiar in terms of both color palette and the way in which its challenges are presented.SupernaturalThis world is a colorful one, full of lush, verdant landscapes, although the background admittedly lacks definition. While your job is mainly to move along a linear path, it doesn’t hurt that there’s a storybook-like quality to just about everything.Until You FallEach level starts with a running section, and herein lies one core issue — you won’t be able to play Shardfall: FitQuest VR while seated. It’s too bad, but you can choose to use the Auto Run feature in the settings. We’ll get to that later. You’ll encounter enemies that appear out of nowhere and will challenge you to hand-tohand combat. While you might feel that fighting robots and corrupted forest spirit with just your hands is unfair, magical gauntlets can help to even out the odds. If an opponent blocks on one side you can switch sides. You can use an uppercut if a robot is particularly clever and puts his hands up. It’s a challenge for a man of 6ft5in who is a regular gym-goer to drop down low enough to dodge an attack by squatting. Completing a skirmish earns you the choice of a couple of boons, Hades-style, letting you earn more mana or do more damage.
You’ll reach a literal fork in the road after a few encounters, letting you extend the session by what developer Quell estimates as an extra five minutes, or head straight to the final encounter. Rage-powered enemies are often present. Crafting unlocks increasingly powerful gauntlets and each fight gives a rating to encourage repeat runs. You can also challenge your friends on leaderboards. Shardfall FitQuest VR has plenty to offer, including weekly leagues and a practice area to improve your skills. As such, it’s an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a new style of workout on Quest.
Shardfall: FitQuest VR arrives on the
platform today.
