A Trip Beyond Reality: A Supernatural VR Review
Alex McRae- 6 Min To Read
- 22 Nov, 2023
Today, we will be looking at the Meta Questfitness App Supernatural. Our latest VR fitness review will show you how the workouts work and what I think of the overall program.
Review video for Supernatural VR
Supernatural is a great choice.
I have played with many VR games over the past five years. However, until I got an Oculus Quest recently, I never thought of trying a fitness-focused program. While I’ve played a lot of VR games, none of them were designed to help me get fit.
My previous headsets were heavy and had a lot of cords. This is why I didn’t consider fitness in VR. The Quest’s lighter, more flexible, and cordless design allows for an active experience.
Supernatural’s flagship category, Flow
Flow is the primary type of workout that has the most content. Flow has two batons. You use them to hit the targets for each bat’s corresponding colour. All of this is done to the beat. You may have played VR rhythm game Beat Saber. Supernatural is similar, but with one important difference. Supernatural was designed to get you moving faster and in a wider range.
Instead of everything being compact and tight, you will see targets that are higher up than others, or even triangular barriers, which require you to squat in order to keep within their boundaries. After each session, an instructor will help you to warm up and cool off. Flow offers longer workouts, lasting between 10 and 30 minutes.
I found Flow workouts more enjoyable the more I did them. The first few times you do Flow workouts you think about how to move and which arm to use to hit the targets. You spend a lot of time trying to keep up. As you get more comfortable with the system, you can actually enter a flow state. This is when your body responds to the cues, and you can get lost in the music.
This was the moment I found my groove and I was able take on Supernatural’s more difficult workouts. I started to really enjoy it. Each workout is unique and features great music. The instructors’ voices were a great addition, especially for longer and more difficult workouts.
Flow was a great workout. However, I don’t think it requires enough from me to be considered a complete workout. Although it would occasionally raise my heart rate a bit, it is not as intense as a non-VR workout. These Flow sessions were great for warming up for other workouts.
Boxing is the newest Supernatural category
Boxing was a different experience. These workouts are very similar to Flow. However, there are no batons. You are doing a lot of punches and dodging. These were much harder and more effective than Flow. You need to be cautious when you throw those uppercuts as you could end up launching your headset. I won’t lie, I did it more than once.
Three things I dislike about Supernatural Boxing are: The first is that there is very little instruction in form for throwing punches. As someone new to shadow boxing instruction, it is very helpful to see or follow along with an instructor. Supernatural should also be able use the Oculus controller-free handheld tracking mode. It is not how I want to take a class in boxing.
It is available, but I wish they could use it. Finally, there are very few boxing workouts available. This category is newer and therefore less well-known. There aren’t many new workouts every day like Flow. The boxing library is expanding at a slow pace.
Meditate and stretch
There is also the Meditate category. Although I am not a big meditation fan, I like the offerings here. These environments are less distracting, which makes it easier for me to concentrate on the spoken instructions. VR is a great fit for guided meditation. It transports you to a place that is calm and peaceful. Although I don’t believe Meditate is an incentive to use the app, it is a nice addition.
The Stretch category is last. The classes were great and, like Meditate, it was very helpful to not have any distractions while I stretched. Supernatural’s selections in this area are quite limited, with only a dozen classes available and many of them being very short. This is a missed opportunity. If Supernatural was extended to daily sessions, I’d be more inclined to jump into them.
Is Supernatural missing something?
You can view your workout scores, stats, and heart rate information after you have completed it. I found this to be very well-organized. The leaderboard is the biggest problem for me. The scoring system is one of the motivators and drives me to these workouts. However, if I can’t compare my scores with others, it becomes nearly meaningless.
Supernatural decided not to be viewed as a competitive game app and removed everyone who isn’t your friend from the leaderboard. Supernatural is not available worldwide, it’s still very niche, and I don’t have any friends who use it. This is a major mistake that I think would demotivate me from returning to Supernatural.
Gamification is another big oversight. It’s crazy to say that, as Supernatural appears to be all about gamifying your fitness. They do very little of this in reality.
There are no weekly, daily, or monthly challenges, and there is nothing to earn or work towards. It would be silly to compare this to most fitness products. However, it is a game and there are simple things that make it so addictive.
Monthly challenges could be offered to earn items that you can keep in the room. You can choose from workouts, multiplayer options to compete head-tohead, rankings and a complete leaderboard. It doesn’t make sense and detracts from what could easily have been an attractive offer.
Cost
Supernatural’s price is the most problematic. Supernatural is $19 per month or $180 per year if paid upfront. Although this is a reasonable price for a complete program, Supernatural is not yet able to feel that way. It only offers a few boxing and Flow classes daily. These, to be honest, are very well done and I’m sure the production and music rights were quite expensive.
Supernatural would likely be used as an addition to other programs. $180 seems a bit steep. It’s not too expensive, but I think it’s worth it. Maybe with other types bodyweight strength classes, regular stretching sessions, and implementing the gamification functions that I mentioned earlier.
Who are Supernaturals for?
Supernatural is a great way to start your fitness journey if you’re just starting out and need something to keep you going. After a while, however, you might want to change to something more challenging once you have established a routine and reached your goals. You could also continue using Supernatural as an enjoyable supplement to your training. As long as you are able to afford the $19 per-month price, it is possible.
Final thoughts
Supernatural is constantly evolving and I will be returning to it every now and again. I will be eager to discover what’s new and improved. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the show so far. Supernatural is great fun. I hope to be able, at some point, to update you on Supernatural. It is an amazing deal, and I recommend it highly for all people. It’s just not there today.
