Happy Run to run in virtual reality on Oculus Quest 2 and 1

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October 18, 2021

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Happy Run to run with or without a treadmill in virtual reality for free (eraly access) on Oculus Quest 2 and 1.

Happy Run to run (for free) in VR on Oculus Quest 2 and 1

A new free rhythm and fitness game on the SideQuest platform dedicated to Oculus Quest 1 and 2 headphones. To enjoy these games, do not hesitate to consult our tutorial usable with PC or Mac and USB C cable.

VR racing principle with Happy Run

Some fitness games are designed to be played without equipment, this is the case with the excellent one. FitXR or the famous Beat Saber.

Others can be used with your equipment like a bicycle or rower). This is the case of Holofit or VZFit (free to Review and after subscription).

Today, a new game has appeared and allows you to enjoy your treadmill in VR. But, it is also possible to run in place in real life to simulate the race.

Gameplay and immersion

Essentially, Happy Run puts you in the middle of a beautiful world that simulates the experience of running outdoors.

The game is filled with gorgeous views, forests, and a handful of paths to walk. I find the graphics particularly successful and immersive. The immersion is real with a view of 300 to 1.5 km depending on the topography of the land.

The gameplay is also very well rendered. You will have to really run on the spot in real life to advance. It is enough to physically change direction to reorientate its course.

A little lacking however, if the trees and other rocks are well modeled, it is quite possible to cross them.

But, while beauty is a major aspect of Happy Run, the game also emphasizes music. The developer created the soundtrack to synchronize with the average number of steps per minute of most runners. The music starts at a quiet level when you start to run, and then the rhythm of the music increases as your pace increases.

When you start to run faster, other instruments are introduced to adapt to the rate at which your body is moving.

Running in VR on a treadmill

The most interesting aspect of Happy Run is that it can work with your treadmill (prices start at $ 299).

For ease of use, Run represents the area of your treadmill in the game so that you don’t lose track of where you are in real life. This way, you can be sure that you don’t deviate from your path and that you don’t hurt yourself when getting off the mat.

Another practical aspect, taking into account your movements is not generated by the controllers, but those of your head. You can therefore remove the levers to run on your mat and possibly keep your hands on the side rails.

If you want to Review the game while running on the spot without a treadmill, I advise you to put a round or square mat under your feet to delimit

touch your area of use.

Note: to select the treadmill mode, click on the menu button on the left stalk.

Motivation and statistics in Happy Run

You can follow your movements in the game and see :

the number of steps per minute,
the distance traveled in meters,
the number of beats per minute of music broadcast (by yours).
Your daily goal.

But, the most motivating thing is that you don’t run alone. A young woman accompanies you and in my case, she stays in front of a few strides. If I stop, she turns around and gestures to resume the race. Seems basic, but worked great on me. I started running again.

Personally, I always advise you to put a smart health connected activity tracking bracelet to measure the expenditure of your calories, even if the Quest now integrates the Move app.

The PlayToWinGames personal studio

Created by developer PlayToWinGames, Happy Run is a new running game that contains rhythmic elements. The project came about after the developer designed a first-person shooter called Wildzone and an associated locomotion system called Deep Locomotion. The movement system itself worked well, but Wildzone’s range turned out to be a bit too much. That’s why a smaller game was born, Happy Run. The good news is that the motion system works flawlessly without any VR harm.

Pricing and availability

We always love to tell you why some of the games we are talking about here at VR Fitness Insider may be worth a fitness point of view,

For now, Happy Run is only available on SideQuest, which means you’ll need to load it onto your own Oculus Quest device. The game is slated to be officially available on the Oculus Store, but no specific date has been set at this time. The same goes for Valve’s Steam Marketplace.

In the meantime, to download the game right now, you can head over to the SideQuest store page, here.

Happy Run review

For now, Happy Run is still in its early stages of development, but it’s a lot of fun to try, especially since it’s free.

The developer plans to continue improving it. An update scheduled for February 2021. V0.3 will add a exercise bike mode which seems much less risky to me.

In addition, you will be able to customize music. Other additions planned for the future also include an exploration mode, larger worlds to run in, and optimized support for the Oculus Quest 2.