If you just ignore the nightmare people hosting the presentation, the reveal of Ring Fit Adventure left us pretty intrigued. Nintendo took some of the “exercise as video game” concepts it toyed with in the massively successful Wii Fit and promised to expand them out into a full light role-playing game on the Nintendo Switch. And to do this they rolled out a wacky new Pilates-esque peripheral called the Ring-Con along with a leg strap for the other Joy-Con.
We recently got to use our whole bodies in a playable demo of Ring Fit Adventure, and while its actual exercise benefit won’t be apparent until regular use, right away we believe Nintendo when they say this is a “game first.”
We didn’t have time to go deep into the menus but already we saw options for crafting and consumables and other granular RPG mechanics that honestly might scare off non-gamers. Fortunately, it’s presented with cute metaphors like leveling up your character by squeezing fruit into smoothies. The story also nicely splits the difference between JRPG nonsense and approachable fitness game. The level I played was called “A Shining Jewel From The Heavens.” Your main antagonist is a buff dragon who embodies everything toxic about vain, bro, body-shaming judgmental gym culture. That’s a nice, progressive, LazyTown-esque touch.
After strapping the Joy-Con to my leg and holding the Ring-Con in the proper upright position, I jogged in place to jaunt across the landscape. Graphics were clean and pleasant, especially the way your character’s hair ignites when you run faster, but nothing to write home about. They should’ve put the Wii Fit Trainer in this. Along with simply running faster I could push and pull the Ring-Con to shoot gusts of air to break boxes or suck items in towards me. Pointing it down and pushing also lets you jump across gaps.
The accessory itself felt sturdy yet comfortable while I played. I’m not swole by any means but there’s an assuring, adjustable resistance to it. And Nintendo said they stress tested it with their strongest employees, stronger than Reggie even. Without looking at the screen you can also use the ring to count reps, so it’s worthwhile even if all you own is the portable-only Nintendo Switch Lite.
Eventually I encountered a group of giant enemy crabs and battled them with exercise moves that targeted their weaknesses. Like in Paper Mario your attacks do more damage with better timing. But since you’re working out, maintaining your form also matters. So I did good but not great because my squats weren’t as deep as they could’ve been and I could’ve rotated my torso more vigorously. Outside of the adventure mode players can enjoy more one-off minigames or dive deeper into stat-tracking by monitoring calories and heart rate.
As a kid I never cared about Wii Fit, but as an adult I, uh, definitely see the appeal of integrating more fun forms of exercise into my everyday life. Ring Fit Adventure might fill that slot nicely but like most video game workout stuff we suspect it’ll be a fun supplement at best rather than any kind of real gym replacement. We’ll have to wait until October 18 to know for sure.
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