Look, I hate working out.
I mean, I do it anyway because I know I should, but not because I want to.
It’s called a workout for a reason: it’s work, and I want out.
So anything that can make it feel less like a daily chore is right up my alley.
And while fitness-focused games like Wii Fit are nothing new, they either skimped on the
workout portion or the game portion, making for an unsatisfactory experience.
Enter Ring Fit Adventure, a fitness based game that aims to make exercising fun by combining
a diverse array of exercises with the trappings of an action RPG.
Wait...what?!
It’s a bonkers idea, but also a potentially revolutionary one.
And I’ve been fortunate enough to put it--and myself--through the paces for the past 3 weeks,
replacing my thrice weekly gym habit with a nearly daily dose of Ring Fit Adventure.
So does it work...out?
Let’s take a look.
I hope you’re right, Mr. Ring.
So first things first: everything in Ring Fit Adventure is controlled by way of the
two accessories included in the box that come to life after attaching a pair of Joy-Con:
a leg strap for tracking lower body movement, and a Ring, which acts as a piece of fitness
equipment, allowing you to squeeze or pull on it, while providing an impressive amount
of resistance too--though while the resistance can’t be adjusted itself, the degree to
which you need to press in or out can be, making it suitable for most any strength level.
The bulk of Ring Fit Adventure is spent running through lush worlds such as these, which are
essentially elaborate obstacle courses.
You travel along a pre-set path by jogging in place, breaking boxes and collecting power-ups
by squeezing or pulling the ring to create gusts of air, while dodging a variety of hazards
by performing different exercises, whether it’s high-stepping to get through mud, rowing
a paddleboard, or squatting to swing--among tons more.
It seems simple at first--how hard can running in place be, right?
But when combined with the various obstacles along the way, it quickly proves to be quite
the workout.
This is Ring Fit Adventure is at its absolute best, when it’s pushing you without you
even realizing it, like having you perform squats while rowing in order to sail beneath
low overhangs.
I was reacting without having to be told to do so.
Look, I’m not a fan of squats, and yet they seemed infinitely more doable when each one
was flinging me across the world!
The magic is in how the game rewards your physical movement with a sensational amount
of in-game progress--it really feels great--even if you’ll also be feeling it afterward.
There was a point where I let out an audible gasp when I saw the literal uphill battle
before me, but wanting to overcome the challenge is what kept pushing me through.
It’s moments like this that make Ring Fit Adventure something special.
But the most common type of obstacle you’ll encounter are groups of enemies that you’ll
face off with in an RPG-style turn-based battle.
And this is where the action slows down a bit to focus on more deliberately-paced exercises.
Appropriately called Fit Battles, you attack enemies with a variety of exercise-based moves
that each require a specific set of reps, and the better you execute them, the more
damage they’ll inflict--when your hair starts looking like Goku, you know you’re doing
it right.
Conversely, when the enemy goes on the attack, you’ll have to defend against them with
an Ab Guard by squeezing the Ring against your abdomen to put up a protective barrier.
The Ab Guard might seem easy at first try, but after a few attack turns, I was really
started to feel it.
There are over 40 attacks in total, with each one having a unique Attack Power and Range,
as in how many enemies it will target.
They’re also assigned a color based on whether they’re focused on arms, stomach, legs,
or yoga, with each one being most effective against enemies of the same color.
There’s a cooldown period too, which is a pretty ingenious way of ensuring each battle
offers a diverse workout.
Though the battles start simple, they grow increasingly complex as you work your way
through the adventure.
New enemy types and abilities are introduced on a regular basis, and you will have to use
some actual strategy for encounters after your first few sessions.
Watch out for the Mattarays that love to restore their allies health!
Since you can only bring a handful of attacks into each battle, the specifics of what you
want to focus on fitness-wise is largely left up to you.
However, you do unlock progressively stronger attacks throughout the adventure, which naturally
encourages you to switch things up and try different exercises in order to keep pace
with the enemies, while still having agency over your exact workout.
It’s really smart stuff.
Furthermore, you can also augment the strength of your attacks, defense, or recover health
by drinking smoothies during battle --either ones you’ve purchased or squeezed yourself
using ingredients you’ve collected along the way--and yes, you actually do squeeze
the ring to make the juice--clever.
While the Fitness Battles never approach the complexity of most actual RPGs, it’s probably
closer than you might expect, requiring you to think about which attacks to use against
which enemies, and in what order.
Oh, and you’ll even gain experience and level up after each battle--heck, there’s
even a skill tree too.
But luckily, the RPG mechanics aren’t complex enough to have it act as a barrier to entry
for those who have no experience with the genre at all
By their very nature Fit Battles feel a little more repetitive than the running portion of
the game, and are where Ring Fit Adventure feels most like a normal workout, for better
or worse.
And while it is a blast to see your enemies getting helplessly knocked around through
the power of fitness, it definitely feels a little more tiring as you count down how
many reps you have left.
But when combined with the running portion of the game, they form a pretty strong symbiotic
relationship that results in a better workout without any one element of the game wearing
out its welcome.
Even if I do wish there were an option to sometimes go on a run without having to worry
about battles--although the game did seem to tease a way to skip battles later on, though
I haven’t encountered that myself yet.
Between levels, a World Map lets you choose where to go next, often offering multiple
paths, various challenges such as minigames, and even some secrets too.
You can also stop by a town store to purchase clothing to up your offense or defense, pick
up some smoothies for your inventory, or even talk to villagers for side quests or story
beats.
Oh yeah, there’s an actual story here.
Don’t expect anything super deep, but there actually are some plot twists and light character
arcs to be found that revolve around Dragaux and his unhealthy obsession with fitness.
There’s a battle with him waiting at the end of each world, and they’re almost always
a good time, even if they can be pretty intense.
Though his hilarious without breaks between attacks helped relieve my primal aggravation.
The amount of ways in which Ring Fit Adventure makes use of the Ring-con and leg strap is
astonishing, as the game relishes in throwing curveballs, introducing new elements on a
regular basis to keep you on your toes--like this first-person shooting segment here.
I’ve found the adventure to be pretty addictive so far and I’m looking forward to seeing
more as the rest unfolds.
The story and RPG elements really go a long way in helping to keep you motivated and coming
back for more.
But they do come at a slight cost: efficiency.
Because for every hour I spent in the game, only about 30-40 minutes were spent actually
moving, as based on the in-game tracker--with the rest being spent either on the World Map,
talking to villagers or visiting the shop, selecting attacks, or just taking a quick
break between reps in an exercise that was otherwise killing me.
So it’s something to keep in mind when gauging how much time you’ll have to invest in order
to get in a decent workout.
Although it should be noted that it generally had me sweating within just minutes.
Of course, an essential component of any workout is proper posture and form, and the game does
a decent, but not stellar job of making sure you follow suit.
For each exercise, a faceless helper named Tipp will demonstrate proper technique, and
most of the time this works pretty well, showing the movements slowly and deliberately enough
to follow--Tipp will even match your pace to ensure you can keep up.
However, there were a few exercises where the angle on Tipp didn’t make it entirely
clear how to position my body and having an alternative viewpoint would have really helped.
Furthermore, Ring--as in the in-game Ring with a weird Genie face, will also provide
some tips for each exercise as well as words of encouragement.
But given that there’s only so much the game can tell about your form from a single
leg strap and the Ring-con, it’s mostly left up to you to ensure you’re maintaining
proper form--and this can be a but difficult during some of the harder exercises where
you might start to drift without even realizing it.
I know from having worked with a personal trainer before that there were times that
my posture was all wrong and I’d have been none the wiser had he not pointed it out.
In a grander sense though, Ring Fit Adventure is pretty attentive about your health and
fitness, walking you through a dynamic and static stretching before and after every workout,
while frequently reminding you to drink some water or take a break.
I also quite like how Tipp will check in before and after every workout, making sure it wasn’t
too easy or tough, while offering feedback based on the day’s exercise.
It lends the game a terrific sense of continuity, and feels like Tipp really has your back--I
love that little guy.
Ring Fit Adventure also provides a few accessibility options for those who struggle with certain
aspects, allowing you to bypass specific actions with a button press or even having your character
run automatically by themselves.
I didn’t use these options, but it’s nice that they’re there.
Unfortunately, the game doesn’t offer any help if you find yourself engaged in a Fit
Battle exercise that you can’t finish yourself,, short of quitting the stage altogether.
It’s a little disappointing that the game can’t recognize when you’re struggling
and offer some assistance--or at least a way out.
The game also might be a little too aggressive with its take-a-break recommendations, sometimes
suggesting it after only a few minutes.
It’s easy enough to ignore and push on, but I do wish there was a way to input a target
amount of exercise so that the game could help push you toward your goal.
At least it’s easy enough to track yourself by using either the on-screen calorie counter,
which is estimated based on your age, gender, weight and heart rate, or the in-game timer,
which smartly tracks the amount of time you’ve spent moving, rather than the time spent playing
the game.
Ring Fit Adventure’s presentation is pretty much perfect across the board.
It has a wonderfully welcoming vibe from the very start, with a catchy song that actually
always makes me look forward to getting started.
The worlds are pleasant to look at, with some wonderful details like different types of
wildlife to encounter along the way.
The music also perfectly fits each setting, whether it’s a more relaxed feel for running
outdoors or a proper fight song for battles--Dragaux’s battle theme is wonderfully intense.
Although it is a little odd that Dragaux’s lines aren’t verbally spoken, even though
Ring’s are--weird.
Also, I love the cheering that gets added to the music when performing some exercises
well, like climbing stairs or trudging through mud
The Adventure mode, is undoubtedly the main hook of Ring Fit Adventure, but there are
a few other options available, including Quick Play, which lets you engage in simple workout
sessions without all the RPG fluff, or you can design your own workout routine in Custom
mode.
Finally, Multitask mode is just a fancy way of saying that you can squeeze the ring without
needing to be near the Switch at all, which you can then can download to your profile
later to earn some experience points.
I didn’t find these offerings especially compelling, but it’s nice that they’re
there.
Now this brings us to back the ultimate question: Does Ring Fit Adventure actually work?
Well, if the amount of sweat that was dripping off me after almost every session is any indication..yes!
Ring Fit seems to be the real deal!
Now obviously I’m not a fitness expert--I’m just a guy, so I can only speak for myself.
But I found Ring Fit Adventure offered a surprisingly well-rounded workout that left me feeling
exhausted--in a good way.
Yeah, you probably won’t get ripped by squeezing the ring, but I wouldn’t be surprised if
it can tone you up, while improving your stamina and general fitness.
And most impressively, Ring Fit Adventure makes that process fun and rewarding.
By crafting an RPG-like experience around fitness, you’re rewarded constantly with
gains--both virtually in the form of XP and story progress, but also, in reality.
Now it should be noted that while I had Ring Fit Adventure for 3 weeks, I didn’t actually
lose any weight by the time of this review--but I didn’t gain any either.
And that’s important considering I dropped my normal gym routine entirely for the duration
of this experiment, in which my weightloss had already long since flatlined.
Which means that my time with Ring Fit Adventure seemed to be making up for the difference/.
Now to be fair, I was playing Ring Fit Adventure a fair amount more time than I would normally
spend at the gym, but the difference is that A) I didn’t notice and B)
I didn’t hate my life for every second of that time.
Point is, while RIng Fit Adventure may not be the most efficient workout method in terms
of time spent, it’s the only one I’ve found that is this fun, and I think that’s
a worthwhile trade-off.
Now I obviously haven’t finished the Adventure mode yet, so whether or not that will hold
up in the coming months is impossible to say at this time, but I’ll be sure to follow-up
at some point in the future with my progress.
But for right now, Ring Fit Adventure is bold, brilliant, and sometimes brutal even if it
isn’t quite perfect, and I like it a lot.
If you’re looking to get moving more--or even start moving at all, Ring Fit Adventure
might just be for you.
Thanks for watching and make sure to subscribe to GameXplain for more on Ring Fit Adventure
and everything else Nintendo too.
We’ll catch you later!