You can still exercise with your friends online, even if you don't have any. The classes pair you with six virtual players who give each class a social feel. The leaderboard shows how you are doing in comparison to your (real and virtual) competitors during the workout. It displays the remaining time, your score, best streak, and current level. Your strikes and movements as you progress through the workout are what determines how points are awarded.
The beat of the music is a great indicator of when you should move. FitXR's music is energetic and lively. The songs serve as cues to when you should punch, duck or move. Although it took me a while to get the rhythm right, I was able to improve my scores, streaks and stoke levels.
The Quest 2 was an excellent way to get back into the VR world. You can do your workouts on rooftops, cliffs, or in a traditional gym. The music, graphics and tactile cues remind me of the X-Mens Danger Room.
This makes it a fun workout. I would often train hard in boxing, striving for high scores, and then I'd take off my headset to realize that I was sweating profusely. You and your teammates can chat, shout encouragement, and yell at one another during multiplayer sessions. If you're a petty person like me, you might try to distract or persuade the leader to miss a few reps to get on the leaderboard.
A headset can be used to access a virtual fitness studio. This is a great option for frequent travelers. It's much more fun to plug into a virtual world than to work out in a hotel gym. I have taken the Quest 2 headset with its controllers on numerous trips to fit in a FitXR workout while traveling. It's much easier and more enjoyable to do a quick workout in your boxers from the comfort of your hotel room, before you head out the door. Don't get too excited and you won't end up hitting the TV in your hotel rooms. It did not happen, but it is possible.
Oculus is a tie-in that allows for a cool perk. The ability to project what the user sees onto a second screen allows you to show it to others. My wife and me have done workouts together, with one of us shouting encouragement and the other laughing at missed targets.
Parry moves
FitXr's biggest obstacle is the need for a Quest headset. However, it is much cheaper than many home fitness systems and the Quest 2 is far more affordable. You will still need to have a Facebook account in order to log in, at least temporarily. If you are anti-social media types, then you will need to create a fake account.
The headset can get quite hot, but this could be changing with Meta's push to VR. Meta recently introduced Active Pack for Quest 2, which includes a set controller grips and a cushion that is made to get sweaty. That's due soon.
