About The Game
Thrill of The Fight is a perfectly bare bones VR boxing game. In this game, you are a small time boxer fighting your way up to bigger and more challenging opponents. Along with fighting computer opponents, you can practice your striking technique and speed on gym equipment like a punching bag, speed bag, and even a Century Bob. This game is currently a single player game. So should you get it?
Disclaimer: These are all exclusively my opinions and, if you haven’t already, checkout the the blog post “What Is Future Fruit?” to read more about the biases I have and the blog as a whole. There, you can also find a more in-depth summary about what these categories mean
As always, I will include a TL;DR at the bottom of the page for your convenience.
Immersion
Thoughts
Thrill of the Fight covers most of the basic mechanics that all VR Boxing games should have. Blocking, Dodging, and Punching. What Thrill of the Fight does really well is the punching response information. Whereas landing a weaker jab highlights the point of contact with your opponent with a light blue ring, landing a strong, well timed hook highlights the point of contact with a red ring. These visual queues do a great job at letting you know just how effective your strike was.
On top of the response rings, the opponent character models also show visible damage overtime. Focusing on body blows, for example, will lead to visible bruising on your opponents body and landing clean shots to the head will lead to visible cuts around the eyes! While this mechanic is cool, you can quickly see the limited variations of injuries for each model as you progress through the game.
Thrill of the Fight also has two arenas that you can fight in: A small time gym to fight small time opponents and a big time arena to fight big time opponents. Both locations do a pretty good job of feeling like you’re actually there.
Finally, Thrill of The Fight makes an interesting choice to limit player movement to only real world movement. This means that there is no in game locomotion via joy stick or any other walking mechanic and you can only move within the space of your guardian. On one hand, this can make your experience with the game very immersive given the proper space but, on the other hand, it can really hinder your experience with the game given limited space.
Score
Because the game covers the most basic VR boxing mechanics, does a good job at making you feel like you’re in the appropriate atmosphere, but lack varying injuries and limits player movement, I give
Thrill of the Fight a 7 in Immersion.
Playability
Thoughts
Thrill of the Fight has a total of 9 opponents to beat the main campaign. The easiest opponents are first. They can be easy to knock out and the rounds don’t last very long. The farther you go, however, your opponents get harder and the rounds get longer. This makes beating all 9 opponents not only pretty challenging but also very tiring! Unless you are a boxer and have some great stamina, it will be incredibly hard to beat this game in one day. For this reason, Thrill of the Fight makes for a great workout application! I highly suggest the Bobo VR Extension for your Quest 2 that comes with a faux leather mask piece to make sweat easy to wipe off AND an air circulator that keeps your face cool while gaming.
Another reason I keep coming back to Thrill of the Fight is the varying difficulties and effects you can add to the opponents you’ve already beaten. On top of making them easier or more difficult, you can also adjust attributes like how often they strike, how often they block, and, my personal favorite, how fast they are. There is something very satisfying about dodging a slow-mo punch and landing a clean one in return.
Score
Because of the appropriate challenge the game has and the customizable opponents, I give
Thrill of the Fight an 8 in Playability.
Value
Thoughts
Thrill of the Fight is $10. This price is perfect for the bare bones VR boxing game that Thrill of the Fight is. At the time of writing this, Creed Rise to Glory is the other boxing option for the Oculus Quest and is available for $25. Check back on thefuturefruit.com to read about my comparison of the two and which one I think you should get.
Score
Because of its cheap price point and how it encapsulates all the basics of VR Boxing, I give
Thrill of the Fight a 9 in Value.
Overall
Thoughts
Thrill of the Fight is not only the cheapest option for a VR Boxing game but it is also one of the best. Because of this, I give
Thrill of the Fight an 8 Overall
If you’re looking for a great workout app and want to try boxing in VR, Thrill of the Fight would be your best option.
TL;DR
Immersion: 7 Because the game covers the most basic VR boxing mechanics, does a good job at making you feel like you’re in the appropriate atmosphere, but lack varying injuries and limits player movement
Playability: 8 Because of the appropriate challenge the game has and the customizable opponents
Value: 9 Because of its cheap price point and how it encapsulates all the basics of VR Boxing
Overall: 8 If you’re looking for a great workout app and want to try boxing in VR, Thrill of the Fight would be your best option.
Thank you for reading! If you like this style of review, let me know and check out more of the reviews on this page! Stay tuned for my take on How To Improve: Thrill of the Fight and Thrill of the Fight vs. Creed: Rise to Glory.
My Setup
Headset
Oculus Quest 2 Head strap – Oculus Official Case and Charging Strap; Amazon Link
Bobo VR – Air Circulation Mask with Leather Interface; Amazon Link
Future Fruit 