Let’s Get Fit really does want you to get fit.
And based on our time with the game, this may be one of the most comprehensive, versatile fitness games available on Switch. It doesn’t concern itself with adding adventure or narrative: it simply offers a great way to exercise, and tries to incentivise you to do it regularly.
On loading up Let’s Get Fit, you’ll be taken through a short set-up, where it asks you your gender, weight and fitness level. It’s all optional, of course – you don’t need to tell the game anything about yourself if you’d rather not share – but adding in the extra details will allow it to be more accurate when it comes to telling you how many calories you’ve burned, for instance.
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That initial set up takes less than a few minutes, and after that you’re free to hit the ground running. Three main workout options await you: Free, Program or Challenge. Free allows you to create your own custom workout, Program presents you with a list of pre-set exercise programs, and Challenge provides a new workout challenge each week. For example, the current challenge trains you to hold a two-minute plank over a 30-day program.
It’s perhaps in the Program section that most casual users of Let’s Get Fit will spend their time. The programs available to you at the start are determined by the fitness level you inputted during set-up. We’ve been deemed a beginner, so we have mostly Level 1 programs shown to us, with a few Level 2 (‘challenging’) thrown in, just in case we’re up for a challenge.
Each program targets a specific area of the body, or a specific type of workout. With four different virtual coaches available in the game, they all focus on different areas. Mike deals in strength and cardio, for example, and so one of his available workout programs focuses on building muscle in your arms and shoulders. Lucy prioritises balance, and so her Wellness Journey program focuses on gentle exercise and stretching.
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Each Program lasts 30 days, with each session being roughly 15 minutes in length. As the programs go on, the sessions will get a little more difficult, with the idea being that your strength and resilience builds up over time. We’ve obviously not completed a full 30-day program yet, since the game hasn’t been out that long, but providing you’ve got the discipline to jump into the game regularly, these workouts really do work.
If you’d rather fully customise your workout, heading into the ‘Free’ section of the main menu allows you to tailor just about every part of your exercise routine. You can choose what body parts to focus on, whether you want to prioritise strength, cardio, stretching or balance, how difficult you’d like it to be, and how long you’d like the workout to last. If you have any pain in your shoulders, back or knees, you can even let the game know so it will avoid some particular movements which may cause additional injury.
Let’s Get Fit is designed to be used with the Joy-Cons strapped to you; buy the game physically and you’ll get a leg strap and a wrist strap. If you buy the digital version, you can buy straps separately, or you can improvise; using pockets and wrist bands can keep your Joy-Cons in place just as well. There’s an option in-game to play without straps, but you’ll get a watered-down version of the activities, and the tracking won’t be quite so accurate.
Although, even with the Joy-Cons correctly in-place, they aren’t always so accurate. During a workout, you’re scored for how well you move. Match your instructor perfectly, and you’ll score better. Many times we felt we were perfectly in-sync, but the game was reporting us missing moves. It doesn’t matter so much – after all, the goal of Let’s Get Fit is to exercise. You’re still moving, even if it isn’t getting picked up correctly. It just means your score may not be as accurate as it should be.
It’s that scoring that will likely incentivise you to keep coming back to Let’s Get Fit. While it doesn’t go as far as gamifying exercise as, say, Ring Fit Adventure, it does provide leaderboards, achievements and trophies. Hit certain milestones, and you’ll be given achievements. Score well, and you can see how you rank on a global and friends-only leaderboard.
Let’s Get Fit will also record your statistics over time, letting you know how many times you’ve exercised and for how long, and how many calories you’ve burned off. If you’re numbers and results-oriented, seeing those stats climb upwards is likely an incentive to keep playing in itself.
There are plenty of exercise games available for Switch, but Let’s Get Fit might just be the best one yet. It lets you get straight into the action, tailoring workouts specifically for the parts of your body you want to target. Whether you want to tone your arms, strengthen your glutes, lose weight or simply improve your overall health, this is a great, low-cost way to get kick-start an exercise regime. As long as you’ve got the willpower to jump into it regularly, of course.
Let’s Get Fit Review – GameSpew’s Score
This review of Let’s Get Fit has been facilitated with a review code provided by the publisher. It’s available on Nintendo Switch.
