As much as I love the idea of fitness games, I feel like there’s always a hurdle to actually starting them. Most of them are either on the Switch (Knockout Home Fitness, Ring Fit Adventure), which is like, totally fine if you have a good docked setup but, alas, I do not. Of course, there’s the reason why any of us bought a VR headset, Beat Saber, but honestly it’s kinda frustrating how many times the game updates break mods… like I literally purchased the entire setup to play Bass Hunter’s Dota ffs. Naturally nothing beats the king that is DDR, but, again, annoying home console situation. If only there was a workout game on PC — maybe THEN I would be able to stick to a regular home workout… if only…
Oh wait, there is — Burnit Quest, a 2D platforming workout game that uses your phone in tandem with your PC. Developed and published by Wompa, Burnit Questchallenges players to “blast baddies and burn calories” by “using the power of exercise to defeat the evil Somno and save your island from the curse of eversleep.” Whether you workout by yourself or with a friend, Burnit Questaccommodates with multiple modes featuring a slew of different exercises. Will you fight off the evil curse and get fit at the same time?
First up, you’re gonna need a phone for Burnit Quest — I assume you could also use a tablet, but the idea is to download the accompanying Fit Controller app and hold the device in one hand, so if your tablet is on the chonky side it might not be well-suited for this game. After downloading the app, make sure it’s on the same network as the PC playing Burnit Quest,and you’re good to go! If you’ve played Ring Fit Adventure, you may already know what you’re getting into, as there’s a story mode all about fighting off evil via running and platforming. A natural place to start, it’s highly recommended to just get out of bed and get on with the adventure at hand.
After some warm-up stretches, a brief tutorial showcases the most major controls (exercises): walking in place, running in place, squats for jumping, and punching for… punching. Later levels feature other mechanics, such as jumping jacks for swimming and sit-ups to utilize a giant slingshot, but that comes reasonably far down the road. For now, your main focus will be gunning it through a (literally) sleepy village, jumping on various platforms, and punching crates and baddies wherever possible. Interactive fitness indeed!
Unfortunately, the controls either need a bit more fine-tuning or better explanations. Walking and running worked well enough, but jumping was a bit touch-and-go and punching a literal exercise in frustration. I didn’t mind trying to register the jumping over and over again because — hey, squats — but the punching made the cardio come to a standstill. In early levels, the baddies take only a few hits before they’re down for the count, and they also don’t really attack you, which is nice considering you’ll be standing right in front of them trying to figure out how to punch them for a full minute. If that doesn’t sound like a long time, try getting your heartrate up by running in place for a few minutes uninterrupted, then stand and punch the air. It was really annoying to break up the workout like that, and I found myself wishing for a mode free of any enemies…
…which, I’m happy to report, does exist! In the eternal mode, you can opt to remove coins, enemies, and crates and just run and jump your way through the levels. With different difficulty settings capped at whatever calorie limit you prefer, Burnit Quest’s eternal mode is honestly what saved the entire game for me, as I was able to just get up out of my desk chair and run for 100 or so calories at a time in-between real-life work tasks. And did I mention there’s a little hamster that cheers you on every step of the way? That’s fun, I like that lil guy.
If you’ve ever wondered “what’s the absolute bare minimum exercise I can do in a video game” Burnit Questmight be the answer you’re looking for. This is probably the best video game for people who have all the excuses in the world not to workout but should really just get up and move for a few minutes throughout the day (AKA, me). Although I do wish the controls were less clunky when it comes to punching and jumping, I feel like I got what I came for, which is some decent cardio in-between my real-life work meetings. If you’re looking for an exercise video game to jumpstart your fitness in a seriously undemanding way, Burnit Questwill help you pick up the pace.
Final Verdict: 3/5
Available on: PC with Mobile Counterpart (Reviewed); Publisher: Wompa; Developer: Wompa; Players: 1 – 2; Released: April 1, 2022; MSRP: $14.99
Full disclosure: This review is based on a copy of Burnit Quest provided by the publisher.
