Fitness One XR Evolved for Quest 3 review: Real fitness exercises in VR - does it work?
Fitness One XR Evolved lets you do classic fitness exercises with a VR headset. I trained with it for a week.
Most VR rhythm and fitness games are clearly inspired by early music games like Guitar Hero. Notes, blocks, or balls appear on a virtual track in front of the player, who must hit them in time. Fitness One XR Evolved, however, takes a different approach to Beat Saber, Synth Riders, Les Mills Bodycombat and the like.
Fitness One XR Evolved by Verseus Games lets you perform classic fitness exercises such as push-ups, leg lifts, flutter kicks, sumo squats, crunches and much more. Find out how good it is here.
Fitness One XR Evolved: Review in a nutshell
The classic exercises in Fitness One XR Evolved are a great complement to traditional Beat Saber-style VR fitness apps. Excellently animated trainers guide you through numerous workouts in various environments. However, more spoken instructions would be helpful. Furthermore, some exercises are difficult to perform with the VR headset on your head.
- Available for: Meta Quest, Pico
- Tested on: Meta Quest 3
Fitness One XR Evolved is suitable for you if you...
- want to do classic fitness exercises in VR
- are tired of Beat Saber clones
- want to put together your own training plans in VR
Fitness One XR Evolved is less suitable for you if you...
- don't want to do classic fitness exercises in VR
- need detailed instructions for individual exercises
- have problems with balance in VR
Classic fitness training in VR
Exercises are divided into cardio and strength categories, which are further subdivided into arm workouts, total body workouts, core workouts, HIIT, fat burners, and other units that target specific muscle groups and fitness goals. A plan for a quick office chair workout is also included, and you can create your own workout plans. This makes Fitness One XR Evolved one of the most versatile VR fitness apps ever.
The units, which vary in length, are divided into different levels of difficulty that you must unlock as you go. The intensity increases slowly from exercise to exercise, with useful breaks in between, and stretching is not neglected either. Fitness One XR Evolved supports the hand tracking of the Quest VR headsets, so there are no annoying VR controllers in the way during the workout.
While this generally works well, the game occasionally interpreted my hand movements as an intention to activate the pause menu. The VR headset is sometimes a bigger problem.
There are exercises where the head touches or is close to the ground. Both the VR headset itself and the head strap can interfere with this if you use accessories like the Elite Strap from Meta or the Comfort Strap from Kiwi Designs. Another drawback is that because you cannot see your own body in VR, it can be difficult to keep your balance or assess your posture correctly.
Well animated coaches guide you through the training
Virtual trainers placed directly in front of you guide you through each exercise. With the centering feature, it can sometimes be difficult to place the trainers correctly as they are very close to you. But with a little patience, you can find the right position that gives you enough space and a good view of the trainers.
The VR coaches show you how to do it, you imitate them. Unfortunately, the coaches are a bit taciturn. | Image: Verseus Games
When the workout begins, the coaches briefly demonstrate each exercise and when the clock runs out, you have to repeat the movements yourself for the allotted time. There are no performance controls like in other VR fitness games. So you have to be honest with yourself. At the same time, you will not be corrected if you do an exercise incorrectly. There are also very few spoken instructions. Only very rarely do the AI-generated voices of the trainers give you tips on how to do what you have been shown.
Therefore, you should always know exactly what you are doing to avoid injury. If an exercise is unclear, look it up first. There are countless free tutorials online for all common fitness exercises. After all, the character models and their movements are very detailed. This is the great advantage of Virtual Reality: You can follow the movements very well because you have a spatial view of the action.
Reward system and personalization
You will be rewarded with in-game currency for completing training sessions and can use it to unlock various environments, some of which are beautifully designed. You can also use it to buy cosmetic items for the trainers. There are countless outfits, hairstyles, shoes, and even makeup to choose from.
This is a nice idea in itself, as it personalizes the training experience and creates additional motivation. However, why there are skimpy swimsuits, physically correct representation of the movement of certain body regions, and options for sweaty models remains a mystery to me.
Verdict: Good approaches with minor flaws
Fitness One XR Evolved brings variety to my VR fitness routine with classic exercises in appealing VR environments. Both the fitness arenas and the characters are detailed — maybe a little too detailed in some respects.
The instructions, which could still be improved, and the sometimes awkward placement of the trainers in the room detract from the experience. Nevertheless, I will add Fitness One XR Evolved to my VR fitness routine and hope for future updates.
My request to the developers: Fitness One XR Evolved would benefit tremendously from a Mixed Reality mode where I could freely place the trainers in my physical environment and see myself and my own movements.
You can buy Fitness One XR Evolved here
- Meta Quest Store (App Lab): $19,99
- Pico Store: $19,99
Note: Links to online stores in articles can be so-called affiliate links. If you buy through this link, MIXED receives a commission from the provider. For you the price does not change.
