BOXVR

Seemingly long overdue, PSVR has finally gotten its killer exercise app in BoxVR, a frankly hellacious workout that turns your living room into a gym bootcamp. It doesn't get much more intense, or sweatier, than this.

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BoxVR is a single-player sport game that offers a fun and engaging way to exercise through boxing-inspired workouts. With over 20 hours of choreographed routines set to a variety of music genres, players can track their progress and burn calories in a virtual fitness studio. However, it's worth noting that the game has some bugs that may affect gameplay.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

78%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,022 reviews

music162 positive mentions

stability21 negative mentions

Great workout that effectively combines boxing movements with rhythm gameplay.
Ability to add custom music enhances the experience and keeps workouts fresh.
Engaging routines that cater to different fitness levels, making it accessible for beginners and challenging for advanced users.

Hit detection can be inconsistent, particularly with uppercuts and hooks, leading to frustration during workouts.
Limited variety in pre-made workouts and environments, which can lead to repetitiveness over time.
Recent updates have removed some content and features, causing disappointment among long-time players.

music
711 mentions
23 % positive mentions
70 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The music aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the ability to add their own music and create custom playlists, which enhances the workout experience. However, the default soundtrack is often criticized for being repetitive and uninspiring, leading some users to prefer their own selections. Additionally, issues with audio synchronization and the clunky process of importing custom songs have been noted, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- “I love that you can add your own music too.”
- “The music will keep your heart pumping.”
- “Great music and a lot of fun.”
- “It proved impossible to get the audio synced to the animations correctly, so punches are always way out of sync with the music, and it only gets worse as songs go on.”
- “The music selection is so-so and the ability to add custom music is kind of annoying but a nice feature.”
- “The music is still repetitive but I found the game fun.”
gameplay
53 mentions
38 % positive mentions
53 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players enjoying the simple and addictive mechanics that provide a solid workout experience, while others criticize it for being clunky, lacking variety, and having issues with hit registration. Many users appreciate the integration of music and rhythm, but feel that the core gameplay loop can become dull and repetitive, suggesting a need for more innovative elements and smoother mechanics. Overall, while the game offers a unique fitness experience, improvements in gameplay variety and responsiveness are highly desired.
- “The gameplay is absolutely sublime; balls of different colors will come at you at varying speeds, coordinated with music.”
- “It has simple but addictive mechanics: punches are simple to understand, and the combo system gets you hooked (one miss doesn't reset your combo multiplier to 0... so if you make a mistake, just brush it off and get right back into it!) Most music seems good, and while some isn't quite my style, there's probably something for everyone.”
- “The gameplay is simple but compelling, and works the whole body.”
- “The gameplay is clunky and a lot of the hits were difficult to register and didn't feel good when they did.”
- “The core gameplay loop of punching, blocking, and squatting just isn't very fun to me.”
- “There are a few serious problems that break the whole gameplay and demotivate you to keep playing.”
graphics
52 mentions
37 % positive mentions
56 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some users praising the vibrant and functional visuals that complement the gameplay, while others criticize them as lacking polish and detail. Many players note that the graphics are adequate for a workout-focused game, emphasizing that performance and accuracy take precedence over visual fidelity. Overall, while there are improvements in the art style and environment design, some users feel that further enhancements are needed to elevate the graphical experience.
- “First of all, the game is brightly colored and has excellent graphics that fit the aesthetic and give you a sense of life and vitality that our real world gyms with their stagnant colors and ugly designs cannot give you.”
- “Great workout for sedentary folk like myself, clear and colorful graphics make sure you're not battling the headset to see what you're hitting, controllers track excellently in game, beat detection is the best I've encountered in VR and among the best in rhythm games period.”
- “Graphically, the game is fabulous and the soundtrack is really cool and upbeat; you can train with your own music too.”
- “Graphics are woefully lacking.”
- “Environment and objects seem to be done to accommodate the lowest of graphics spec.”
- “It takes the longest to load of any of my VR apps, even though the graphics are probably the worst, and it will occasionally crash while loading.”
story
21 mentions
14 % positive mentions
71 % neutral mentions
14 % negative mentions
The reviews indicate that "BoxVR" lacks a narrative or story element, with users expressing frustration over the game's development focus shifting primarily to the Quest version, leaving other platforms unsupported. Players note that while the game serves as a decent workout tool, the absence of a compelling story detracts from the overall experience.
- “So I have a bit of a story with this game... I went on Reddit looking for suggestions of a good VR workout game that's more intense than Beat Saber.”
- “This is because I never had the Index until recently; if you were able to look at the hours I have played this on the Oculus Quest, it's a different story.”
- “I personally tend to use it to supplement my cardio workouts along with Virzoom (Oculus Go/Quest exclusive).”
- “☑ no story”
- “This game itself is okay-ish but the team decided to only support the quest version anymore and leave steam, oculus, and psvr unfinished.”
- “Fitvr has released a subscription app for quest and pico and no longer appear to support this app at all.”
stability
21 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is frequently criticized, with users reporting persistent lags, glitches, and unresponsiveness that disrupt gameplay and frustrate users. While some players have managed to enjoy the game despite its bugs, many express disappointment over the lack of fixes and the presence of ongoing issues, particularly with features like music integration and tracking. Overall, the game is described as engaging but plagued by significant stability problems that detract from the experience.
- “Lags and glitches out every couple of minutes, ruining streaks and causing you to miss targets.”
- “Sadly, I spent over 2 hours troubleshooting the game, which disqualified me from getting a refund, so I'm stuck with it.”
- “The game is good, but it's extremely buggy.”
optimization
17 mentions
18 % positive mentions
59 % neutral mentions
24 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews; while some high-end users report smooth performance without slowdowns, others have experienced significant issues such as stuttering, poor hit detection, and degraded performance over time. Despite some improvements noted in updates, many players still encounter bugs and inconsistencies that hinder the overall experience, leading to frustration. Overall, the game's optimization appears to be inconsistent, with a notable divide between user experiences.
- “Good variety of movements, (mostly) enjoyable music, highly optimized, bug-free.”
- “After using Box VR for a while, I decided to change my review to a positive one since there were some performance improvements that really make it significantly better.”
- “Never had one issue with performance.”
- “Optimization is some of the worst I've seen in VR games.”
- “The game was not professionally optimized by the developers.”
- “This was a fantastic game to work out with when I first bought it, but performance has steadily degraded over time to the point that now it's impossible for me to hit a left jab after a duck for some reason.”
humor
7 mentions
86 % positive mentions
-29 % neutral mentions
43 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as quirky and often nonsensical, particularly in relation to hit detection, which adds to its comedic charm. Players find enjoyment in the absurdity of the gameplay, with some noting that even unexpected participants, like a 65-year-old mother, can find it entertaining. Overall, the humor is seen as a lighthearted aspect that enhances the gaming experience.
- “The funny part is that my 65-year-old mother gave it a go and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.”
- “Pretty funny, and you can feel the burn in your muscles.”
- “More funny is that they don't seem to try to make it work anymore, and oh what's that?”
- “That's not funny.”
- “The jokes fell flat and felt forced.”
- “I expected more clever humor, but it was mostly cringeworthy.”
monetization
7 mentions
0 % positive mentions
29 % neutral mentions
71 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has drawn criticism for prioritizing ads and downloadable content (DLC) over gameplay quality, with users labeling it a cash grab due to the removal of environments and lack of developer support for existing issues. Additionally, the reliance on intrusive advertising and microtransactions has left players feeling frustrated and misled.
- “In a recent update, the developers removed three out of six environments, perhaps to make room for ads about downloadable content for which they now charge extra.”
- “The dev team has been completely silent for over 12 hours on fixing the issue or acknowledging it, not a good look when trying to cash grab DLC money.”
- “Company doesn't care about bugs or doesn't have developers anymore, which qualifies this title as a cash grab.”
grinding
4 mentions
0 % positive mentions
25 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and repetitive, often requiring significant time investment for minimal rewards. While some appreciate the transformation of workouts into a more enjoyable experience, the overall sentiment leans towards grinding being a boring chore.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Super repetitive, gets boring and tedious fast!”
- “Creating your own playlists will be tedious and take hours just for a short one.”
replayability
4 mentions
50 % positive mentions
-25 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while custom songs and new classes significantly enhance replay value, some users find the core workouts too easy and limited in variety, leading to a less engaging experience over time. The inclusion of multiple arenas offers some additional replayability, but opinions vary on its overall effectiveness.
- “Great workouts, custom songs make the replayability huge.”
- “A choice of 3 arenas for some extra replayability.”
- “The workout is fairly easy compared to some games like Beat Saber, and the replayability is a bit of a joke.”
- “There is a choice of 3 arenas for some extra replayability.”
- “With all of the custom songs and new classes, there is a lot more replayability.”
emotional
4 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is mixed; while some players appreciate the soothing music that complements their experience, others express frustration with gameplay mechanics that hinder their ability to channel their emotions effectively, leading to feelings of disappointment and misalignment with their expectations for a boxing game.
- “Want to work through your suppressed emotional anger issues and sadness by punching things?”
- “It made me feel like I'm always aiming for the stomach rather than head level.”
- “If you like listening to soft emotional music while squatting up and down, then this game is for you.”