Over the years, plenty of games tried to combine fitness with the fun of playing a game. It gave us experiences like Wii Fit, Fitness Boxing, and some might even say Just Dance. Although most of these games succeeded in their promise of giving you a work-out in the comfort of your home, none came close to what Ring Fit Adventure brings to the table. This isn’t just a gimmick, this isn’t just an easy sports game. Ring Fit Adventure is the first game that really blurs the line between working out and playing a game, we loved every second of it!
Time for an adventure
Since this was my first hands-on experience with the game, I didn’t really know what to expect. I do work out in my daily life, going to the bouldering gym three times a week, it’s safe to say that I’m not out of shape. Testing a game as Ring Fit Adventure seemed like an easy task, I didn’t expect a full work-out but a good warming-up at best. I’m happy to confirm I was brutally wrong. Ring Fit Adventures gives you a complete work-out without you actually noticing it.
Before you start the adventure, you’ll need to create a new profile based on your age and strength. You push and pull the Ring-Con to calibrate your strength and you jog on the spot to calibrate your running speed using the Leg Strap. It’s very intuitive and your profile is ready in minutes. But, be warned, if you pull and push as hard as possible, you’ll automatically set the bar extremely high. A ‘mistake’ I made, resulting in some very intense levels. It’s advised to hold back during this calibration so you can actually play the game for a longer amount of time but in case you made it too hard on yourself, you can easily tone the level of difficulty down in the menus. It’s easy to get started and the menus are kept nice and simple so you’ll never get lost in the options. Once calibrated, you’re set to go!
The adventure starts off with an introduction to the story. To keep things short, you’ll need to defeat the swole dragon Dragaux and his minions together with your Ring-Con. It’s a short and easy story but it’s nice to have one in a fitness game, from the story to the graphics, this feels like a ‘real’ game instead of yet another fitness gimmick. The adventure plays as an on-rails runner where you’ll need to do the actual running. On your way to the finish, you can collect coins by pulling your Ring-Con or break boxes by pushing it. While running, you’re constantly working out without actually noticing it. I got sucked into the adventure immediately thanks to the intuitive controls and in mere seconds I completely merged with my virtual character. Since you’re literally doing all the work yourself, this feels like one of the most immersive games I ever encountered, even topping my Virtual Reality experiences. Although I only saw two levels of the game this far, I really can’t wait to see what surprises this mode holds. Besides running around, combat forms the other major portion of your work-out.
Use your own strength to conquer the enemies
While running around in the gorgeous world of Ring Fit Adventure, you’ll encounter some enemies from time to time, transforming the game into a truly interactive RPG. Just like many other RPGs, bumping into the enemies will activate combat where you both attack and defend in turns. Since this is Ring Fit Adventure, both moves will demand a lot of exercise. Before you can attack or defend, you’ll need to select one of your available exercises, ranging from classic squats to pure strength exercises using the Ring-Con. The better you execute the routine, the more damage you’ll deliver to your enemies. Sounds easy? Well depending on your initial calibration, battles will offer you a mild to extreme work-out, giving you the freedom to decide how hard you want to push yourself.
During my session, I calibrated a bit too high, resulting in a true cardio work-out where I had to perform over ten squats followed by over ten core exercises. Needless to say, this got me burning some calories in no time. It’s impressive to see that Ring Fit Adventure enables every type of player to play it at his/her pacing all while playing a fun game. Since combat is made in true RPG fashion, there’s an extra layer of depth too. Some enemies indicate a certain color showcasing their weakness. If you attack them with an exercise of that color, you’ll inflict a lot more damage, which is both a blessing and a curse. It’s good to take them down quickly but it can make your work-out a lot harder if you struggle with a certain type of exercise. On top of that also comes the ability to drink smoothies, boosting up some of your stats and eventually leveling up, enabling you to change your set of exercises. I’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg here but it’s amazing to see how well the game is made. The game isn’t an afterthought, it’s clearly created with the Ring-Con and Leg Strap in mind and it wants to deliver a rather lengthy fitness journey, which is amazing!
Mini-games extravaganza
Although I must admit I had a blast going on this interactive adventure, I was happy to learn that the game holds more in store, including some fun mini-games. Sadly, we couldn’t play a lot of them during this session but smashing small robots or trying to bake some gorgeous pots did showcase the potential of the Ring-Con becoming the ultimate party accessory. In the robot game, we had to twist and turn the Ring-Con around and push at the right time to hammer down a robot popping up, if we managed to hit the golden one, we scored more points. This more action-orientated mini-game fitted right in the line of others such as archery but it’s clear that variation is key in the mini-games department.
Pottery challenged the players to re-created a vase, sounds easy but it isn’t. By bending down and coming back up while pushing the Ring-Con, you sculpted the clay. Before the time runs out, you needed to make a vase that resembles the pattern as good as possible. What sounded as an easy task resulted in a challenging work-out where keeping balance in combination with endurance was the key to success. The mini-games offer a different kind of work-out where you can easily pass along the Ring-Con and challenge your friends to beat your score. It’s a great mode for parties and I’m guessing there’s a wide variety of payable games still to be discovered.
Your daily work-out
As if the Adventure mode or the mini-games weren’t enough to impress, Nintendo demonstrated another mode, aimed at those who want to work out on a daily basis. Using the same stylized menus, you can make a total of three routines, using the exercises you got to know in the other modes. These daily routines are considered serious work-outs and depending on your selection of exercises, this can really become a nice addition to your sports schedule. The best part about it is that you don’t need the game to get your daily dose of exercise. The Ring-Con is able to hold the data of a crazy amount of input in between reconnecting it with the game. This way, you can keep track of your routines without having to turn on your Switch for it. Clearly, this is aimed at those who’re looking for a new way of working out but it’s great to see the game comes packed with such a serious feature. Since this one is aimed at those who are serious about their work-out, you’ll see the muscle groups that you’re targeting in each exercise, enabling you to narrow down on certain areas or allowing you to train your entire body. With the camera of the Joy-Con, you can even estimate your heart rate to see what the impact of your exercise is on your body. We couldn’t really test this a lot during this session but it’s something I’ll be doing a lot prior to the final review.
Early conclusion:
Ring Fit Adventure really offers a complete work-out combined with a fun game. While playing, you won’t really notice how intense you’re training unless you calibrated the game to give you an extreme work-out. It enables every type of player to play it the way they are most comfortable with, ranging from easy warm-up routines to full body work-outs. This is far more than just another fitness game, it’s the first one that really manages to combine sports with the thrilling adventures found in games. I can’t wait to jump back in for more!
