Platform reviewed: Meta Quest 2
Also on: Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 3s, Meta Quest Pro
Price: $19.99
I don’t like to exercise—it's boring, and it feels like a chore. But when I heard about Exercise Your Demons, an augmented reality workout game from Vyersoft, I was intrigued. As someone who avoids traditional workouts, the promise of dodging and punching demons in my living room sounded like a fun way to break a sweat. And while I knew what I was getting into from a physical standpoint, as I played the demo at PAX West, what I wasn’t expecting was the humor that the narrative brings.
I’m handed a book that I need to sign, apparently for some legal reason. As I grab the animated pen, the book opens for a place for me to sign. After signing my name (humorously written as “Human”), the book quickly shuts and turns demonic, cackling away as I’m informed by the book that I just sold my soul and opened a portal to hell. But the joke was on the book: thousands of years had passed since the book was created, and the portal has now turned into a gym—much to the book’s annoyance. Three demon gym instructors welcome me to the new gym, but before they can explain the membership fees, the book summons his minions to come through the portal. And this is where I come in, my job is to punch these monsters back to where they came from.
The setup is unconventional, and it made me laugh. What surprised me even more was the fully voice-acted story, which adds charm to the experience. The game encourages me to build relationships with the two demon trainers, each offering unique “power-ups” during my runs. The third demon oversees the gym’s store, where I can purchase cosmetic upgrades for my gloves or candy bars to give to the trainers, which unlocks new dialogue and storylines. It’s a clever way to make a workout game feel like an evolving, interactive story.
The workout does its job —it’s enough to make me break a sweat without feeling overexerted. By the end of each session, I found myself breathing harder than expected. The gameplay mechanics are intuitive and engaging: enemies charge through portals, each with small orbs hovering near them. A shrinking circle around the orbs indicates the perfect timing for a punch, while arrows signal which way to dodge when an enemy attacks. Thanks to a visual cue (the arrow lighting green) and a confirmation sound, I knew I successfully dodged the attack. I really appreciated this sound feature, especially since I wasn’t always watching the arrows closely while ducking to avoid getting hit.
One feature I truly appreciate is the decision to use AR instead of full VR. Watching the colorful and well designed animated enemies come through the portal into my living room added to the immersive experience. Even more importantly though, AR allowed me to stay aware of my surroundings. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve accidentally bloodied my knuckles punching a wall in VR. I certainly would like to avoid that in a game that primarily has my punching enemies.
The developers added plenty of features to keep me coming back for more. Daily and weekly tasks, along with leaderboards, offer consistent challenges to tackle. And there are coins that I collect in warp zones between levels. These coins can be spent on cosmetic upgrades or candy bars to deepen relationships with the trainers. It’s an interesting reward system that adds to the game’s replayability and accents the game’s uniqueness; adding narrative elements in a workout game.
Final Grade: B+
I appreciate how Exercise Your Demons injects fun and storytelling into a workout game, offering a fresh twist on the genre. While it primarily focuses on punching and dodging—great for breaking a sweat—it doesn’t target as many muscle groups as games like Ring Fit Adventure. That said, the polished animation and the smart choice to use AR instead of VR make it a standout. AR not only enhances the experience but also keeps my surroundings in view, sparing me from unfortunate encounters with household objects, walls, and people. With daily and weekly challenges and leaderboards, there’s plenty to keep me coming back. I’m curious to see if the developers introduce holiday updates to deepen the story-driven elements. If you’re like me and find traditional workouts dull, Exercise Your Demons might be exactly what you’re looking for.
Review copy provided by Stride PR
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