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

68%

Audience ScoreBased on 956 reviews

music149 positive mentions

stability19 negative mentions

Provides a fun and engaging workout experience that can lead to significant weight loss.
Allows users to import their own music, creating personalized workout routines.
Offers a variety of workouts with different intensities, making it suitable for various fitness levels.

Hit detection can be inconsistent, leading to frustration during workouts.
The calorie counter is often inaccurate, which can mislead users about their workout effectiveness.
Recent updates have removed some content and features, leading to dissatisfaction among players.

music
644 mentions
23 % positive mentions
69 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The music aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the ability to create custom playlists from their own music, which can enhance the workout experience. However, issues with audio synchronization and the quality of the in-game soundtrack have been frequently criticized, with some users finding the default music uninspiring and repetitive. Overall, while the option to use personal music is a significant plus, the execution of the music integration and the variety of available tracks could be improved.
- “The music is great, the variety of moves and punches is just perfect and the different exercises are really nice.”
- “You can load-up your own music straight into the game and it'll use it to custom-tailor a workout to the beats of your own music.”
- “The built-in workouts are great but the real magic happens when you use the training mode set to your own music.”
- “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 sucks big time, it is highly de-motivational and annoying.”
- “The biggest reason I'm not recommending it is because if I try to add a custom song it will be an empty track.”
graphics
46 mentions
33 % positive mentions
59 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are generally considered adequate, with many users appreciating the vibrant aesthetic and improved art style compared to earlier versions. While some players note that the visuals could benefit from further polish and higher resolution options, the graphics effectively complement the gameplay experience, particularly in a workout context. Overall, the visuals are functional and contribute positively to the immersive environment, despite some criticisms regarding performance and detail.
- “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.”
- “The graphics are clean and ran smoothly.”
- “Hit boxes and visuals could use a bit more polish.”
- “Environment and objects seem to be done to accommodate the lowest of graphics spec.”
- “Graphics are woefully lacking.”
gameplay
45 mentions
36 % positive mentions
53 % neutral mentions
11 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players enjoying the simple and addictive mechanics that provide a solid workout, while others criticize it for being clunky, lacking variety, and having issues with hit registration. Many users noted that the core gameplay loop feels unengaging and repetitive, despite the potential for fun when synced with music. Overall, while the game offers a full-body workout and some enjoyable elements, significant improvements in mechanics and variety are needed to enhance the overall experience.
- “Gameplay is fun, implements plenty of variation and workouts.”
- “The gameplay is simple but compelling, and works the whole body.”
- “The music importing can be a little finicky at times, but overall the gameplay is exciting, challenging, and syncs nicely to the music to make you almost forget you're working out!”
- “More content and more innovative gameplay elements are required; more variation!”
- “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.”
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 developers' focus on the Quest version at the expense of other platforms. Many players feel abandoned by the developers, as the game has not received adequate support or updates on Steam and other VR systems, leading to a perception of neglect for those who initially supported the game. Overall, the absence of a story and the uneven support across platforms have contributed to a negative experience for some users.
- “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 game itself is okay-ish but the team decided to only support the Quest version anymore and leave Steam, Oculus, and PSVR unfinished.”
- “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.”
- “Then the devs were like 'hey screw you pcvr people who supported us we ain't even porting over the quest stuff haha suckers'”
stability
19 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 the experience. While some players have managed to enjoy the game despite its bugs, many express disappointment over the frequent technical 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 its potential.
- “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
Overall, user reviews on optimization are mixed. While some players with high-end machines report smooth performance without slowdowns, others experience significant issues such as stuttering, poor hit detection, and degraded performance over time. Additionally, there are mentions of ongoing bugs and a lack of professional optimization, leading to frustration for some users.
- “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.”
- “Years later, there are still bugs and performance issues, plus less content than we started with.”
humor
6 mentions
83 % positive mentions
-33 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as inconsistent and often nonsensical, particularly regarding hit detection, which some players find amusing. While some users appreciate the comedic elements of the gameplay, others feel that the humor falls flat or is overshadowed by better alternatives like Creed or Beat Saber. Overall, the humor is hit-or-miss, with mixed reactions from players.
- “Hit detection is funny and doesn't make sense.”
- “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
6 mentions
0 % positive mentions
17 % neutral mentions
83 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a blatant cash grab, with recent updates removing content to promote paid downloadable content, and a lack of developer support for existing issues. Players feel that the focus on monetization detracts from the overall experience, especially for those seeking genuine gameplay rather than a series of ads and upsells.
- “Finally, it just feels like a cash grab; a polished cash grab, but a cash grab nevertheless.”
- “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.”
emotional
4 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is polarizing; while some players appreciate the soothing music that complements their experience, others feel frustrated by the gameplay mechanics that hinder their ability to express emotional release through boxing. This disconnect between the intended emotional engagement and the execution leaves some players feeling unfulfilled.
- “It made me feel like I'm always aiming for the stomach rather than head level.”
- “Want to work through your suppressed emotional anger issues and sadness by punching things?”
grinding
3 mentions
0 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
67 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively time-consuming, with some suggesting it requires a significant investment of time akin to having a "second life." While creating playlists can be tedious and lengthy, the overall experience of working out has been transformed into something enjoyable.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Creating your own playlists will be tedious and take hours just for a short one.”
replayability
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Users find the replayability of the game lacking, noting that it is relatively easy compared to others like Beat Saber, which diminishes the incentive to play again.
- “The workout is fairly easy compared to some games like Beat Saber, and the replayability is a bit of a joke.”