I'm honoured to be the first to review this product on Amazon (assuming no one beats me to it while I'm typing this). This marks two unusualities (yes I'm aware that's not a word) for me in two days. The latter being writing a review on Amazon (or writing reviews in general), which I hardly if ever do. The first was yesterday when I exercised for the first time in approximately 2-3 years playing Ring Fit Adventure. That's not to say I've been completely sedentary for the last 2 years (for example, I spent two months in Europe this summer, did a fair amount of walking) but truly *working out* yeah, it's been a hot minute.
Some quick background info, I'm a 29-year-old female law student. I spend approx 93% of my time studying. The other 7% is split between eating and sleeping, so there isn't a whole lot of time for me to suit up and head to a gym. Sure, there's a gym in my apartment's basement, as well as on my school's campus (also in the basement) but what would I do? hit the treadmill for 35mins? Sure, I could do that and probably to my benefit. Would be good cardio. But I don't do that either. Why? I just don't wanna. /shrug.
I played Ring Fit Adventure for about an hour yesterday (probably closer to 40 mins of total gameplay) and let me just say - I'm SORE today. My arms and shoulders FEEL like they had a good workout. And the crazy bit is... I can't wait to do it again!! Literally about to pop on my leggings right now and go for round two (though I'll probably try to focus a bit more on my core and legs) but what's nice is I *CAN* do that! The variety in this game is nuts. I never played Wii Fit (or owned a Wii) but I heard it was just "ok" and didn't *really* give you a workout. Mostly yoga poses and maybe some core work. Here, you have TONS of options to choose from, and what's great is each exercise tells you exactly what part of your body it's targeting, and gives you proper form and posture. It's up to you to do the moves correctly, but honestly, if you're trying your best to match Tipp (your posture guide - how cute!) you're probably gonna be fine.
Before you even start playing, the game guides you through a really clear set-up and calibration process. The calibration is key because it, along with inputting your weight and fitness level, will help the game adjust to your needs. But don't worry about messing up because you can recalibrate whenever you want. It's honestly pretty cool. The game starts you off with only a handful of moves, expanding as you level up (and each move has a "recharge" time so you can't just keep spamming the ones that you like/are good at). But you can access ANY of the moves by going into "quick play" or "custom" if you just want a quick workout and don't want to go into the game. Every set you start (whether it's a level or world in the game or your own selection) will tell you how long (approximately) it should take, and the calories you should expect to burn. Every time you complete a workout you can hold your thumb over the IR sensor in the right joycon and it will take a measure of your heart rate, letting you know if you're in the right zone for fitness. I checked this reading against my Apple Watch, and it seemed fairly accurate.
You don't actually even need to turn on the game to get in a bit of a workout. If your Switch is in sleep mode and you click in the joystick, the game will register every time you flex the RingCon. So you can be passively pacing around your house, squeezing the RingCon (with /really/ satisfying auditory feedback, might I add) and be racking up points in the game! I'm not sure I've ever called a game or game accessory "genius" but holy cow... it's genius.
The RingCon is STURDY and well-made, and feels GREAT in the hand. The grips are made of this beautiful sweat soaking material (so you never feel like your palms are gross and sweaty) that you can remove and wash, and the ring itself is made out of a really nice soft, velvety feeling plastic. And honestly, the resistance is perfect. Yes, I'm an out-of-shape law student, but really, do enough reps and you're going to be feeling it too. They started me at level 10 based on the calibration and information I gave them. That doesn't necessarily mean 10 reps for every move though, and I haven't quite figured out the difficulty leveling system yet (is 10 just the maximum they'll give me? still playing around with that) but I've seen video reviews online of pretty fit men playing the game and it set them at say, level 30. This isn't your in-game level, just your personal difficulty level. You'll always start the game at level 1.
Now, who is this game for? Well, as I said, I'm an almost-30-year-old-law-student, and I'm loving it. However, someone with more /refined/ or /mature/ tastes may find the game a little cringey/cutesy (I'm referring only to "Adventure" mode). I've seen reviews that say the game isn't sure if it's targeting kids or adults, but IMHO, anybody can play this game and feel like it's "for" them. Some people may find Ring's voice annoying but I find it motivating, so you'll have to decide that for yourself. What I will say is, if you already own a Switch, and game on it, you'll probably be fine with it. Adventure mode is cute and endearing, and the villain Drageaux is hilarious.
Bottom Line:
This review has gone on far too long at this point, so congratulations if you've read this far. But if you're like me, and have zero motivation to exercise, but WANT to make a lifestyle change, I feel like this might be it. Will I be able to keep this up on a regular or semi-regular basis? I don't know. I hope so! Will I get bored of it? I really hope not. But for now, all I know is I really enjoyed my time with it yesterday, and am ready to get back into it today. 5/5 Stars.
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