Most of the world is staying home these days due to the pandemic situation, and either working from home or just outright losing their mind and going stir crazy (or both). One of the consequences of these stay at home orders is the fact that we can't leave the house except for essential businesses, such as getting food, supplies, medical attention, or if you're an essential worker. So no entertainment, recreation, school, and even no gyms and fitness centers. So how is one supposed to get their daily exercise and physical activity in?
Well, if you have a Nintendo Switch, then you should definitely pick up Ring Fit Adventure (if you can find a copy). It's the perfect workout game while you're stuck at home, or even if you just don't want to sign up for a gym membership in the first place. And as much as I love VR games like Beat Saber, Ring Fit Adventure is a better option if you are actually looking for a game that makes you do actual exercise routines and works out all muscles, rather than just your arms.
Who needs the gym?
Defeat baddies by doing actual exercise sets! And if you don't like the story part, you can make your own exercise sets and play mini-games or even bust a move in the new rhythm mode.
Ring Fit Adventure makes exercise fun and motivates me to play
Look, I'm not exactly in the best shape of my life right now. I was also diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes a few years ago, so I'm in need of some physical activity every day, along with eating right (this is the harder part, honestly). But I never felt motivated to go to the gym because as silly as it sounds, I am a bit self-conscious about how I look (especially when wearing workout clothes), and don't want other people to see me. I would also consider myself a bit lazy, because I honestly would rather sit on the couch and play some games or watch television instead of doing exercise.
But Ring Fit Adventure is different. It's a video game, which I love, and it makes me put in the work each time I play. With Ring Fit Adventure, you have the Adventure mode, which has a story (though it's pretty corny), enemies to battle, and you need to run-in-place to navigate through the stage and do things like squats, pilates ring pulls and squeezes, and more to get through all of the obstacles. This is the mode that I play the most when I fire up Ring Fit Adventure, and honestly, it has made exercise so much more fun for me.
The levels are always challenging (I'm up to World 11 right now) and strenuous, because I often have to jog-in-place for a good while to get through the level, which gets my heart rate up. And when levels require you to do consecutive squats to jump from platform to platform, get ready to feel the burn in your legs. It definitely burns, but I always feel a sense of accomplishment once I make it through, and let me tell you — it feels good.
But the best part is when you encounter enemies. Having your unnamed protagonist run into a monster begins a turn-based battle, like many RPG games. Except to attack them and deal damage, you must do a set of exercises, which are your "Fit Skills," which you set as you see fit. The game has a ton of different exercise sets, though in Adventure you'll have to unlock them through story progression. But once you begin to have a bunch of different skills available in your arsenal, you can customize the ones you take with you as you play.
I'm not sure what it is, but seeing my exercise routine translate into attacking cute monsters and tough bosses with progressively higher damage output as I level up just everything more fun and enjoyable. And I always feel proud and accomplished after beating a level, which means I just put in a fair amount of work exercising to do so, helping motivate me to stay active, even if I am stuck at home.
But you can make Ring Fit Adventure your own
While I always go straight for the Adventure mode, it's not the only way to play and enjoy the game. In fact, there are several different ways to play Ring Fit Adventure. You could hop into quick exercise sessions by doing sets of specific exercises at your own pace. Or you could make a custom session by adding your favorite exercises and do that every day. There are even mini-games that you can play and compete with friends for the best score.
And with Multitasking Mode, you can actually use the Ring-Con separately, even while you're not actually playing the game. All you need to do is put the right Joy-Con into the Ring-Con, and then push the joystick down to enable "Multitask mode." The Ring-Con then records all of your pushes, pulls, and other motion on the ring (which is like a pilates ring), and gives you credit for them the next time you log in.
Ring Fit Adventure also has different difficulty levels that you can adjust for your own skill level. Usually, the game will ask you in the beginning what level you want it, depending on your answers to a few questions. As you play, the game checks in with you to see if you want to increase the difficulty or lighten up a bit. Just pick whatever works best for your needs — either way, you're going to be working out!
The point is that you can make Ring Fit Adventure part of your own daily exercise regimen, from the comfort of your own home, and play it however you like. There isn't one "correct" way to play — just exercise with it at your own leisure. Either way, you are still exercising and, hopefully, having fun at the same time.
It has high replay value
Recently, Nintendo pushed out a content update to Ring Fit Adventure, which was a welcome surprise to the community. This update included a brand new rhythm mode, so you could do some exercise to the music of other popular Nintendo series, like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Splatoon, Super Mario Odyssey, and more. I finally tried this mode last night, and it's much harder than you think! It's like Beat Saber, but with a pilates ring instead.
I'm also not sure how many worlds and levels there are in the Adventure mode, but I believe that the game does have something like a New Game+ if you do beat the main story. So if Adventure mode is your jam, then by all means, keep playing it, because there's no reason that the fun will end.
Even before the update, the replay value was high. That's because there's a lot of good content here — you have mini-games, custom sets, quick play, Adventure, multitasking, and more. Plus, some modes let you compete with friends and others for best scores and rankings, so as you "get swole," you can always try again for the perfect high score.
Ring Fit Adventure is fun and helps you stay active at home
I bought Ring Fit Adventure when it launched on October 18, 2019 and have not regretted my decision. I'll admit that lately I've been getting my daily physical activity by walking my husky instead of playing Ring Fit Adventure because I need some fresh air after being cooped up all day, but I play Ring Fit Adventure whenever I'm able to. I find the Adventure mode to be the most fun for me, and even though I'm exercising, it doesn't feel like I am because I'm just having fun playing the game. And if the Adventure mode story isn't your thing, there are plenty of other ways to play and get your daily exercise in, no gym membership required.
Please note that Ring Fit Adventure is out of stock pretty much everywhere at the moment, but you can continue to check Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart for any available stock and sign up for e-mail alerts.
