Make space in your living room: Sprint Vector releases for PS VR today

Sprint Vector could finally be the holy grail I have been seeking for years: a game that is fun to play and will also provide some form of exercise. Let’s face it: being told “You’re obese!” by the Wii Fit just didn’t quite trigger the dopamine release we were all looking for.

Sprint Vector, developed by Survios (the team behind Raw Data) is an 8-player online roller-blading (known in-game as “vector blading”) racer. But that description doesn’t really do the game justice. It also contains Mario-Kart style power-ups that players whip at each other as they whiz through 26 wildly unique environments, with color commentary chirping away in the background the entire time.

Now for the exercise part: locomotion is tied to players moving their arms back and forth as though they are running. The reason is two-fold: to provide speed and to prevent nausea.  According to a recent post on the PlayStation Blog, Surivos found through research that “your arm movements are enough to trick your brain into processing it as locomotion, allowing for a completely comfortable experience.” Survios named this “running in place” dynamic Fluid Locomotion, and they liked that term so much that they trademarked it. It seems to me that a game that forces this sort of movement but is still fun to play could be the recipe for some moderate aerobic exercise, which I could sorely use this time of year.

I haven’t had a chance to try Sprint Vector yet, but I do feel like VR shines brightest in multiplayer situation, so I’m pretty jazzed to try it out. While it can be difficult for a game to find a steady community, I find hope in my heart for every new multiplayer VR title released that it will be the one to break through to a wider audience. And hey, if all else fails, I can always just buy a bunch of copies for friends and make my own community. I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again.

Sprint Vector is available today from the PlayStation Store, and is on sale for PS Plus members for $20.99 for a limited time.