What are the best VR fitness apps and games? Between dedicated workouts to games which simply get you moving, we’ve had many great choices these last few years that got us immersed in our VR headsets. If you’ve never liked visiting the gym or struggle to focus with more traditional home exercise, virtual reality offers a great means of mixing fitness with home entertainment, making it an ideal choice.
By utilizing your full body, there’s an inherent physicality which traditional games don’t provide, naturally lending itself to healthier lifestyles. So, even with less intense experiences, you’ll be burning through those calories quickly. For that reason, we’d recommend wearing a sweat band while playing, and make sure you clean your VR headset after use. Be sure to avoid any abrasive cleaning products, though, as these will likely damage your VR headset.
It’s worth mentioning now that this list doesn’t contain any VR experiences that weren’t specifically designed with fitness in mind, even if they provide a decent workout. That includes VR games that aren’t focused on fitness, yet still provide an incidental workout, like Pistol Whip, Synth Riders, and Creed: Rise to Glory. Undoubtedly, you’ll work up a sweat playing them, but those aren’t part of our list here for that reason. However, other games that’ve gone a step further have been considered.
So, if you’re looking to find out which are the best VR fitness apps and games, here’s our top five recommendations. And if you’re looking to pick up a new VR headset to help with your fitness routine, our VR headset deals guide has all the latest offers and discounts.
Best VR fitness apps and games
(Image credit: Beat Games)
1. Beat Saber
Rhythm is a dancer.
Specifications
Price: $29.99 / £23.79
Platforms: Steam, Oculus/Meta Quest, PSVR
Publisher: Beat Games
Release date: May 1, 2018
Reasons to buy
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Rhythm games don’t come better than this
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Diverse soundtrack and custom levels
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Comes with a free fitness-focused song
Reasons to avoid
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PSVR multiplayer doesn’t support cross-play
Beat Saber is one of VR’s most acclaimed games, and for good reason. Created by Beat Games, this iconic rhythm game is a great example of a simple premise executed perfectly, swapping the plastic accessories of older music games for a VR headset and motion controllers. Giving you two colored light sabers in each hand, all you need to do is slice the corresponding blocks, avoiding any obstacles like bombs or walls along the way.
It’s a brilliant workout and the game has always warned players this requires high physical activity levels, so get those warm ups in first. However, Beat Games took this a step further post-launch with FitBeat (opens in new tab), a free fitness focused song that’s an intense ride on higher difficulties. Beyond this, Beat Saber’s largely been fueled by an active modding community on PC and Quest, who’ve continued making new maps and songs at pace, alongside official DLC packs.
(Image credit: Harmonix)
2. Dance Central (2019)
It’s a dance revolution.
Specifications
Price: $29.99 / £22.99
Platforms: Oculus/Meta Quest, Oculus Rift
Publisher: Oculus Studios
Release date: May 21, 2019
Reasons to buy
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In-depth fitness tracker
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Feels like a natural fit for VR
Following its success on Guitar Hero and Rock Band, Harmonix established itself as the king of rhythm games, and many of us remember Dance Central from the Xbox 360 days. Starting life as a Kinect launch game, Harmonix took a small hiatus before making a surprise return with Dance Central (2019) (opens in new tab). Bringing us a new 32-song soundtrack, this latest entry ditched those camera peripherals for VR.
It adapted to this new format well and Dance Central leaned into the fitness aspect of VR gracefully. However, this isn’t just another incidental workout. Harmonix went further by releasing an integrated fitness tracker. Appearing in-game as a virtual smartphone, Dance Central estimates how many calories you’ve burned during a dance off once you’ve input your weight and height. Even if you’re not playing to lose weight, it’s a great time that comes highly recommended.
(Image credit: Holodia)
3. Holofit
Your holographic workout coach.
Specifications
Price: Free download (7-day free trial, $11.99 monthly subscription)
Platforms: Oculus/Meta Quest, HTC Vive, Mobile
Publisher: Holodia
Release date: November 14, 2019
Reasons to buy
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Pairs up with existing cardio machines
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Won’t leave you staring at walls during exercise
Reasons to avoid
–
Wired headsets risk potentially getting tangled with machines
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Uses subscription model
Holofit is best described as a companion app to existing fitness equipment, compatible with any Bluetooth enabled exercise bike, rowing machine, or cross trainer. Featuring over 100 different workout settings, Holofit aims to liven up your home exercise experience when using these machines. This provides 10 different environments, taking us to space stations or tropical environments, instead of spending your time staring at walls.
Boosted by a virtual coach and five workout modes, there’s plenty to keep you occupied here. Because of its reliance on physical exercise machines, Holofit is best suited for those who already own one, so it won’t universally appeal. Still, you can trial it for seven days free first to decide if it’s for you. While it’s available on PC, the Meta Quest’s wireless design makes it a much more preferable platform to test this out on.
(Image credit: Fit Reality)
4. Viro Move
Fight your way to fitness.
Specifications
Price: $24.99 / £19.49
Platforms: Steam
Publisher: Fit Reality
Release date: October 20, 2021
Reasons to buy
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Enjoyable program
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Challenges those seeking a tough workout
Reasons to avoid
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Visuals could benefit from sharper resolution
Fit Reality’s Viro Move (opens in new tab) is a strong choice for PC players, aiming to replicate your gym results. Career Mode offers four sports with 30 levels each. Boxing turns your motion controllers into punching gloves, hitting blue and orange orbs while dodging incoming walls. Swords has you swiping through these orbs without the color coordination. Shooting sees you taking down enemies once a hitbox aligns with them. Finally, Weapon Master combines all three into one mode.
If Career Mode starts getting too easy, Viro Move houses some tougher ‘Challenges’ that’ll keep you on your toes, awarding new cosmetics once completed. Alternatively, should you seek variety without necessarily making it harder, ‘Playlists’ mix up the levels to keep it interesting. It’s a good workout, there’s a fun EDM soundtrack backing it up, and if you’re playing alongside friends, you’ll also find some online leaderboards.
- Check out Viro Move on Steam (opens in new tab).
(Image credit: YUR Inc)
5. YUR.Fit
An excellent fitness companion.
Specifications
Price: Free
Platforms: Steam, Oculus/Meta Quest
Publisher: YUR Inc
Release date: September 2, 2020
Reasons to buy
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Keeps track of progress across all Steam VR games
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Compatible with heart rate monitors
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Direct app integration in several games
Reasons to avoid
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Not officially available on Quest
YUR.Fit is an app that provides a real-time overlay, monitoring your heart rate when playing VR games to track your weight loss. Ranking progress through a level system, YUR breaks down your workout for each game. So, when you’ve finished your latest round on Pistol Whip, expect an email detailing how long you played, calories burned, and more. It’s a good fitness companion and for greater accuracy, one that’s also compatible with Bluetooth heart rate monitors.
If you’re not fond of the set overlay, some games directly integrate YUR support. Often, that’s achieved via unofficial mods, though official adoption of the YUR Watch (opens in new tab) has increased. Allowing you to track progress through an in-game virtual watch, it’s supported by games like Gym Masters (opens in new tab), OhShape (opens in new tab), Synth Riders (opens in new tab), and more. Quest users can access it through SideQuest, though there’s a similar built-in app called Oculus Move (opens in new tab).
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