Racket NX is a game that mirrors real-life racquetball, which some virtual twists and changes. This game changes everything you thought you knew about racquetball, and turns it in into a digital game that gives you abilities and powers that you will never find inside of any real court, in or out of the Official USA Racquetball Association. Racket NX is going to change the way you play real sports with a racket.
In our in-depth game reviews, we hope to cover everything you need to know before you go out and try or buy one of the top virtual reality titles on the market today. From how well your real movement is mapped to your virtual movement to how accurate the racket is at putting the ball in corners, this game review is going to have everything you need to know. Racket NX is one of the top games on the market today, especially for sports simulations, and we are excited to review for you today.
Getting Up and Running
Racket NX can be found on the Oculus Store, the Steam Store, the Viveport Store, but not any PS VR stores. The price for this game across all platforms is going to be $19.99, but its often found in bundle deals across the Steam Store. If you are a part of the Viveport Infinity subscription, you are going to be able to get this game for no extra cost there, and it seems like it will be inside of Viveport for the time being.
This game is a small feel size, especially for the price you will be paying for it. Coming in at 500 MB, this game is going to be downloaded on your PC a lot quicker than most of the VR games you are going to find on the market today. Regardless of the internet connection you are connected to, the game will be downloaded and installed quickly. As for the tutorial, this one is a lot more important than most inside of VR. Pay attention, as it will prove vital throughout your gaming experience in Racket NX.
Type of Game
In the game Racket NX, you are going to be inside of a sports simulation with a twist. Plenty of virtual titles take sports game and make them much more futuristic and flashy than the regular sport. The sport Racket NX is emulating is racquetball. There are a lot of similarities, but there is a handful of parts that don’t make sense if you are basing the game off of the sport entirely. This is a sports action game that is going to take some learning before you are truly a natural at it.
There are a few different game modes in this game. From strategy to arcade all the way to multiplayer, you won’t get bored with the options you have in this game. Playing against other players is incredibly fun with the multiplayer option, but trying to beat your own scores gives yourself a challenge no matter where you are, especially if you buy this game on the Oculus Quest.
Player Perspective
You will be playing this game from the supposed first-person perspective, but you are never told that, and you never see your entire body. Depending on which hand you decide to have your racket in, you will only be seeing that. If you are left-handed, you will be able to change that in the settings. This game puts you at your supposed virtual height, so reaching for the ball is going to feel as natural as ever.
Theme and Story – Score: 6/10
There wasn’t any story in this game in the slightest, but the theme propelled this game out of the middle of the road, but it didn’t throw it far. If you are looking for a game that is going to introduce you to new characters and tug on your emotions, this isn’t for you. If you are looking for a sports simulation with almost no story, we have Racket NX for you.
Controls – Score: 8/10
There wasn’t a lot go controls introduced in this game, but what we had worked perfectly. It wasn’t too much but it let us interact with the virtual world around us. The most important part of the game was perfecting the spin you put on the ball, and that is considered a part of the controls as well. This was well represented in the virtual world and made us feel even more connected with our environment.
Music and Sound – Score: 8/10
The music and sound in this game is imperative. Because this is a 360° game that requires you to play on all angles, spatial audio had to be perfectly done. The developers clearly spent a lot of time not only on the directional sounds, but on the individual sounds of each hit as well. As many many people who play sports know, there is not a lot of repeating sounds in the real world. This is the same as the virtual world inside of Racket NX as well.
Player Movement – Score: 8/10
This game is best played with a wireless adapter or even on the Oculus Quest, but the player movement is going to stay the game. You will be turning the full 360° and will be standing still for the entirety of it. No room-scale needed, but your physical location will be mapped in this game. The game does a great job of that and you will notice how exact it measures your movements.
Kinetosis – Score: 9/10
Because this game does such a good job of representing your real movements inside of the virtual world, and you aren’t moving too much anyway, you won’t feel motion sickness at all in this game. With that being said, this game will be having you turn a lot. Even if this game was being played in the real world, that last 10% of motion sickness would still be there. This isn’t a knock on the technology, just the game idea. A 180° mode for this game would completely fix this problem.
Environment and Immersion – Score: 8/10
This game does a fantastic job of making an environment you want to spend your virtual time in. It isn’t the most complex or grabby game, but the bright colors, immersive sounds, and the fun gameplay makes this game immerse you very quickly. It isn’t anything like No Man’s Sky or Asgards Wrath, but it still puts in you in prime position to enjoy the game regardless of what your real environment is like.
Overall – Score: 7.8/10
We highly recommend this game for a lot of reasons. Its one of the best simulation sports games inside of VR, it puts a fun twist on racquetball, brings a crowd of new VR players in, and of course, gets your heart rate up while playing video games. This is a part of the Viveport Infinity subscription and will be for a while. Spending $20 on this game wouldn’t be a bad idea, but getting this game for free wouldn’t be a bad idea either. Racket NX is going to be one you come back to often.
