This might be one of my favorite boxing games I’ve ever played, and it was only about $10. Virtual Reality is perfect for an authentic boxing experience, and The Thrill of the Fight has no shortage of authenticity. Plus, it is a really good workout. The game is so much fun and so immersive that you don’t even realize you are working out until you get exhausted. And you will get exhausted.
The Game
For those who haven’t tried a VR headset, the technology fits boxing perfectly. The VR uses a roomscale guardian that allows you to designate a floorspace as a ring. Open the game, start a fight, and you are in that ring. You land punches by punching the opponent in front of you. Dodge punches by moving your head and your body. Block punches with your gloves. Stick and move.
Whether you’re in a small boxing gym or a huge arena, there’s a virtual crowd watching when you fight. There are 13 opponents if you include the sparring partner and the halloween monsters. You can win the fight either by landing more powerful punches while going the distance, or with a knockout. Damage is cumulative. The game keeps statistics, so you can see the percentage of punches you landed versus missed. It also, keeps track of how many punches your opponent lands.
The nine main fighters are all distinctly realistic. Each has a slightly different fight style and speed. New fighters are unlocked by winning. Once you’ve beaten a fighter you can customize the fight settings. You can decide the opponents punch rate for jabs, hooks, crosses and body shots. Don’t want to knock him out too early? Give him more chin. Think you can go 12 rounds? It’s an option.
In addition, there is a kind of halloween mode with three extra opponents; a ghost, a zombie and a headless horseman. Each has their own special power that requires a particular ring skill to overcome. There is a special dungeon venue as well.
Want to just train? There’s also a speed bag, a heavy bag and a punch dummy that lights up when you hit it in the right spots.
The Workout
For the workout, it’s primarily cardiovascular, getting your heart rate up near those peak zones. You’ll also do some work on your arms, your core and your legs, depending on how you fight. If you throw a lot of punches your arms will get more tone. Bob and weave and it’ll train your core. Dodge by squatting and ducking and that’ll work your legs.
It matches with the HIIT style of training very well. Each round is a three minute interval. In between, you have the option to take a one minute rest period. The length of the round and the rest period are also customizable.
Wishlist for Thrill of the Fight 2
The developer of the game, Ian Fitz, has said Thrill of the Fight 2 is in development. Here’s a list of things I would love to see in the sequel.
- CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS!!
- The trainer gives you advise and encouragement instead of just standing there. If you don’t want to listen you can skip it, but it would be nice to hear a salty Burgess Meredith type telling me I’m gonna “eat lightning and crap thunder” in between rounds.
- More stats. The per fight stats are great. I’d love to see cumulative stats for all fights though. For instance, the total number of rounds fought or the total number of knockouts.
- Weight classes
- Real life venues, i.e. Madison Square Garden
- Create a fighter with customization options
- Real life pro fighters. I know this one is hard because of all the different promotions, licenses and politics of the boxing world. Unlike pro-wrestling or MMA, there are countless major boxing promotions, but if Thrill of the Fight 2 could partner with Top Rank or PBC I bet they could get a pretty decent roster.
- Online player vs. player