In April, Rezzil launched a major update for their VR sports platform which included the announcement of one of the biggest competition series’ ever for the VR community. Each month there will be $5000 cash and an assortment of other prizes, such Fitbits and jerseys, up for grabs for the highest performing players. The catch, however, is that Rezzil Player is not your average VR esports title – it is first and foremost an athletics training experience. Expect to pay in sweat for your prizes over the course of any month you want to top the leaderboard.
Andy Etches, co-founder of Rezzil, expressed that this tournament series was aimed at exposing more people to both virtual athletics and to experiences that occupy a space between games and training. Rezzil wants to provide an accessible medium where both sports enthusiasts and VR enthusiasts can find enjoyable and worthwhile experiences. One of the long-term ideas Andy conveyed was to connect professional athletes on their Rezzil Index platform and VR sports champions on their Rezzil Player platform and see who would come out on top in a head-to-head virtual athletics challenge.
The American football drill, named Field General, pairs a combination of moving target rings and defender dummies to create a dynamic virtual football field. The primary focus of this drill is initially to teach you proper throwing form and evolves to practicing vision and timing for when to make passes based on the moving layout of the field. Players familiar with the Madden Football mini camp QB drills should find this one familiar. The catch-and-release speed and power you will have to incorporate to chase the gold medals is sure to get your blood pumping. Field General is a persistent level in the monthly pentathlon challenge.
Hoops, the basketball experience, and the reaction trainer are both focus and coordination-based activities which double as excellent VR cardio options. Hoops is framed similarly to many rhythm games, requiring you to hold a basketball and place it precisely through the center of basketball hoop sized targets synchronized to energetic music. The targets will move around as they approach and sometimes even come in colored varieties, which you must match to a paired color silhouette appearing on either side of the arena as a test of your awareness and flexibility.
The soccer mode, Headers, is a beast of its own entirely, broken out into four separate types of activities – controlling the ball, shooting on goal, clearing the ball, and passing using your head. As Rezzil is heavily involved with professional soccer via their Rezzil Index product, there is a wealth of technique and training exercises for aspiring soccer players to dive into in this segment. Like the other sports, each headers mode takes a form-first approach to make sure you have sound fundamentals and then takes you on a journey to making pro-level plays with the ball. As proper form takes fully body involvement, a snug and sanitary headset cover is definitely recommended for long and inevitably sweaty sessions.
No matter what you’ve chosen to dig into within Rezzil Player first, you will likely find yourself leaving with calories burned and knowledge earned. All the modes provide a way for you to pursue some gamified cardio, and those brave enough to tackle the monthly pentathlon have will have a shot at substantial cash prizes for many months to come. Rezzil Player is available on the Oculus Quest store and welcomes you to join their discord to talk sports, esports, fitness, and more.