If you're a child of the 1990s or later, there's a good chance you have a complicated relationship with video games and maybe even a little dopamine addiction. It's the downside of growing up alongside World of Warcraft. (And, by the way, the 82nd Airborne Division command sergeant major graduated high school in 1996, and so was, technically, a ’90s kid. ’90s kids are now the old guard.)
The one good thing about being a Millennial (take your vitamins, friends), Gen Z-er or even younger is that your dopamine addiction makes it easy to do things if you can gamify them. And that's what these games do for your physical fitness. You do some workouts, take some steps, throw some imaginary balls, and the game gives you a quick burst of dopamine to keep you hooked and burning calories.
But obvious disclaimer: While these games can help you burn a few calories and squeeze in an extra light workout every day, potentially boosting your PT score a few points, these are light workouts. None of these games will help you bench-press twice your body weight. That still takes, sigh, hours in the gym and careful diet and nutrition.
Read Next: 5 Video Games Worth Using as ‘Hip-Pocket Training’
Nintendo Switch Sports
The spiritual successor to Wii Sports, Nintendo Switch Sports features eight sports to choose to play on TV, and you just do the movements necessary to complete the challenges. Some, like soccer, call mostly on your lower body, but the chambara option is essentially samurai swordfighting and works the upper body. You could level up by adding some weights to your ankles and wrists, but be aware that some fitness experts warn against ankle weights for certain activities.
Boxing (BoxVR, Arms, Punch-Out!! 2009)
Of course, one of the most popular sports in all the movement games is boxing. It's competitive -- even if it's just against a computer -- it's simple, and it incorporates both upper- and lower-body work.
Gamers are sort of spoiled for choice in this genre, with many virtual reality headsets and even console games having their own boxing clones. If you're a true ’90s kid, Punch-Out!! was re-released in 2009 for Wii and tickles that nostalgia itch. For a more modern take, BoxVR (now known as FitXR) came out in 2019 and looks much better, but you’re hitting targets instead of opponents. The most fun can probably be found in Arms for Nintendo Switch, and your friends can play Arms with you with standard button controls if they're not into swinging in a barracks room.
VR Combat (Superhot VR, Doom VFR)
While technically not fitness games, some virtual reality games are fast-paced enough that you can reach a fat-burning heart rate or even light cardio heart rate simply by playing. I first discovered this while reviewing Doom VFR, where you slaughter demons to heavy metal music. Racing around is fun in any Doom game, but when you're moving your whole body to control the character, running around quickly becomes hard on your core and makes it just a bit stronger.
This only works with very fast-paced games such as Superhot VR or Arizona Sunshine. As much as I love Borderlands 2 VR and Resident Evil VII, I've never had to grab a towel and wipe my sweat off while playing them.
Jump Rope Challenge
This game is probably the simplest on the list. Released during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jump Rope Challenge calls on players to jump rope … in a challenging way, sure. But it's really just jumping rope alongside an onscreen avatar. It's a Nintendo Switch exclusive. But actual jump ropes are also cheap and can be used anywhere.
Dancing (Zumba Fitness: World Party, Beat Saber, Just Dance, Dance Dance Revolution)
Like boxing, these games encourage upper- and lower-body cardio. They feed you a bunch of easy dance steps, and you copy the steps as best as you can. Zumba Fitness: World Party is pretty much a fitness video turned into a game. Beat Saber is on the opposite end of the spectrum, in that it's a game where simple dancing is necessary to win.
There are plenty of options. Dance Dance Revolution popularized the rhythm and dance genre of video games. And Just Dance got so popular that it now has multiple remakes and spinoffs, including phone apps so it no longer requires a computer or game console.
Augmented Reality Games (Pokemon Go, Monster Hunter Now, MythWalker)
The fitness benefit of these games is clear: They require that you get out and walk around in the physical world in order to play. Huge bonus points if you throw a few weights in an assault pack or CamelBak and make it like a mini-ruck march.
Pokemon Go is the king of the augmented reality genre even now, nine years after its release. Players walk around to trap pokemon and to compete in gyms. There are other great options, though, if you prefer a different fictional layer on your walks. Monster Hunter Now came from the same studio as Pokemon Go and is great, and I'm planning to try out MythWalker, a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) that is relatively new to the genre. Fitness-wise, it really doesn't matter which story and skin you choose. Just use the games to spruce up your walks, like previous generations did by playing golf.
Honorable Mentions
Nintendo Ring Fit Adventure
This Nintendo Switch game remains my personal favorite, with strength, cardio and even yoga moves that you weave together to defeat little monsters and to flex on one huge dragon. I've played for hundreds of hours and usually finish with sore abs and a decent pool of sweat underneath me.
The reason it ‘s an honorable mention and not a true entry is because you can now only get it used. And since the game relies on a ring, which slowly breaks as you use it, its days are numbered. You can find it on eBay right now, but be careful with the ring controller if you go that route. It'll be irreplaceable soon.
WalkScape
This is in the honorable mentions because it’s still in closed beta, but WalkScape has all the classic RPG dopamine triggers -- loot, new places to explore, levels, powers, etc. But all experience and travel in the game comes from walking in the real world. Want to go to the dungeon? Go for a walk. Want to level up? Go for a walk. Want new weapons and armor? You guessed it, go for a walk.
Obviously, like with Pokemon Go and similar games, throwing some weights on your back will help you get faster results.
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