The Thrill of the Fight 2 launching in Early Access this November
The Thrill of the Fight is one of the most loved VR boxing games ever. After eight long years, a second title has been announced.
After almost a decade of speculation, we heard promising stirrings of a sequel earlier this year. We now have official screenshots and a beta release date from the developers.
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Reliving the Thrill of the Fight
The original The Thrill of the Fight, first released in 2016, is essentially a VR boxing simulator. It includes different game modes for fun and fitness. The game’s simplicity represents its greatest strength and its greatest weakness.
Warming Up and Working Out
You can’t experience The Thrill of the Fight without the heat of the gym. The game offers several warm-up modes including a peanut bag to practice rhythm, a heavy bag to build force in your hits, a dummy to practice targeting, and a speedball to practice your footwork.
Another game mode, called “Extras” was probably where this particular boxing title showed the most character. This setting involves more stylized opponents with dialed-up abilities like enhanced speed or stamina that force the player to develop specific skills.
Getting into the Ring
The Thrill of the Fight 2 features a new-and-improved VR gym. Image: Halfbrick Studios.
The game offers two major play modes. One is essentially an arcade mode that puts you against a generic AI opponent in your home dojo “Hazegood’s Gym”.
There’s also a story mode, but don’t expect any plot or character development – you just move from one opponent to the next. These opponents have different fighting styles and get increasingly tougher to put down. And the size of the ring and audience gets bigger and bigger, which is a nice touch. Even after you beat the biggest, baddest opponent, don’t expect a belt ceremony.
The lack of narrative can feel a little anti-climactic, but multiple tiers of difficulty settings for each opponent gave this original title a lot of replay value.
... And That’s it
The original Thrill of the Fight works with haptic wearable accessories, but that’s it’s only real bell or whistle. A lot of features that would make a lot of sense for a boxing simulator – including PVP modes and hand-tracking – were noticeably absent.
Other than the seasonal extras, the game received few updates over the years, leaving fans waiting for more. However, it was hard to complain as the game didn’t break the bank with its $10 price tag.
All New Thrills
Thrill of the Fight 2 has been highly anticipated almost since the release of the original. This is in part because of advancements in VR technology making fans eager for updates.
It is also in part because the game’s developer, Sealost Interactive LLC., has been promising a sequel for years. Players on social media asking for things like merchandise (I want my Hazegood’s Gym shirt!) have long been met with the explanation that the team was too busy working on another title to engage in fan service.
To be fair, the game was produced driven almost entirely by the passion of developer Ian Fitz. Fitz had no experience with game development and the earliest version of the game was a side-project. A major part of the game’s journey has been Fitz’s quitting his day job to devote himself entirely to the series.
Naturally, a teaser trailer released by Meta in mid-September elicited excitement and expectation. The teaser trailer, which features no gameplay footage and no information on features, certainly succeeded in teasing. But now we know more.
Everything We Know About the Thrill of the Fight 2
For one thing, it’s not just Ian anymore. A release shared with MIXED explains that Fitz has teamed up with Halfrbick Studios – the company that gave us Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joy Ride.
Both of these games share some common ground with The Thrill of the Fight – namely, pioneering simple mechanics in intuitive and endlessly entertaining ways. If that doesn’t give you confidence for the game’s direction, rest easy. The release details that the partnership came partially out of Halfbrick CEO Shainiel Deo’s love for the original game.
A screenshot of the new avatar customization interface for The Thrill of the Fight 2. Image: Halfbrick Studios
Listed among the features for the second game are elements that we’ve come to expect from the first, including responsive physics, immersive gameplay, and a focus on a realistic boxing experience. Also listed are some of the features that fans of the original have most longed for: multiplayer modes and customizable avatars.
A more engaging trailer released by Halfbrick Studios did show gameplay that focused on multiplayer gameplay and showcased improved graphics. According to the release, multiplayer gaming will include direct PVP modes, and rank-based matchmaking.
The game's new images and video also leave some gifts for fans. For example, a sign on the wall in one still shows us not "Hazegood's Gym" from the original title, but "Fitz's Boxing Gym."
There’s still no word on wish list features like controller-free hand-tracking. Further, while the original game was released first on PCVR, then Quest, and later VIVE, we only have release materials from Meta so far, raising the question of whether or when it will come to other platforms – and whether crossplatform gameplay or even avatars will be available.
See You in the Ring
We don’t have a date or price projections for the new game. However, the Halfbrick trailer gives us November 21 as a release date for multiplayer early access.
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