Boxing underdogs recently landed a knockout punch at Quest Store with an early access release. Read my impressions of AI opponents that will become higher and advanced character models, next level body tracking, and learn from your every move to differentiate this game from other competitors.
A humble beginning
Examples of corridors in vulnerable boxing people
Although a bit more detailed, we start by falling into a slightly devastated practice gym. Here you can see the leaderboard with a menu system, a jukebox loaded with some original tunes, and a realistic sparring dummy that will hone your skills and see how much power you put behind each punch. While your personal trainer gives you tips and encouragement during the fight. You can also customize characters in the game, purchase upgrades, and exchange Mixed Reality modes for the game. In the training environment, you can also change the time, but there is no customization option available now.
Learn to float like a butterfly, stab like a bee
What hit me from the first bell, past the gust of my fist, was how fluid and natural the movements of my avatars felt in-game. The monological game cast a spell here with the game’s IK (inverse kinematics) and tracking. Everything feels fast, responsive and quite accurate. From mimicking simple head and arm movements to squatting all over the body, Boxing Underdog shows a level of detail that is rarely seen throughout the entire quest game. Usually, looking at this amount of accuracy, it’s in the PC VR title, so it’s very impressive to experience such fidelity in both the graphics and physics of Quest 3.
Examples of inverse kinematics in weak boxing
Precision IK, which reflects my real world movements, adds a deeper level of immersion that I rarely feel anymore after playing the game in virtual reality. At this point I’m still sitting on the game menu.
To control the virtual fighter, Boxing Underdog offers either a controller or hand tracking. However, at the time of my testing, the hand tracking was broken. Monologic has issued a statement warning players about this issue, so it’s a controller until it can be internally tested for fixes. The possibility of hand tracking has intrigued me, but I’m worried that the camera in the quest is not fast enough to accurately predict the very rapid and diverse hand movements that occur at any time during gameplay. Once Monologic fixes this, it will be interesting to jump and test hand tracking support.
Single player fighting back
Boxing Underdog Single Player AI refuses to become another virtual punching bag. Even in the early rounds of my first battle, it already keeps my security. These NPC opponents feel like they start reading my mind in a way, knowing how to counter each jab and have an incredibly diverse block and sometimes even provoking them.
Single-player battles in a garage environment
These AI opponents make every single player match feel less scripted and more like a real sparring session with a real partner. Unlike other boxing games like Creed and The Thrill of the Fight series, these virtual opponents seem to take on their personality by almost repeating the pattern. This makes me pay close attention to the fight I am in. And it doesn’t just depend on learning the timing of each match to win. In Boxing Underdog, if you want to win a title belt, you will really get the ring skill.
Boxing Underdog offers both local and online multiplayer options, allowing you to take your friends to the ring or go for a few rounds with candidates from around the world. As someone who prefers a more lonely gaming experience, I have tried several multiplayer matches to test them. With my dedicated Wi-Fi 6E network, the performance is surprisingly good, but the FPS still has some notable dips. It won’t break the game. As I’m about to land Haymakers, and those dips bother me to misdeterminate my timing. There are also some odd IK issues with animations in other players, but I often find them as too close to hit. There are a few issues with multiplayer, but it’s still impressive to know that I’m boxing with real players somewhere in the world.
Punch graphics in Quest 3
The owner of Quest 3 is taking part in a visual treat with boxing underdogs. Monologic has announced a game that appears to be unsuppressed in Quest 3 and 3, despite being still available in Aging Quest 2, just like many other games available on both headsets. What you get here is crisp and clean graphics with minimal aliasing or motion blur between fast movements as you dance around the ring.
Examples of mixed reality support for vulnerable boxing
Mixed reality is also available. You lose an impressive, sophisticated sales environment, but you get the amazingly good looking digital human that appears in your play space. This mode feels unfinished and rough around the edges, but as an early access release, it’s not entirely surprising. The model appears to have been projected into my space, but the illusion was lost when the game didn’t want to map it very well into my scanned playspace. Sparring my life-size, highly detailed boxers in my spaces really hopefully keeps moving forward this mode.
Examples of graphics and real-time shadows for weak boxers
The real-time shadows that follow all the action taking place in the ring are also impressive. My eyes continued to track them, so detailed shadow mapping made me take some punches when I faced the first few opponents. The shadows were not distracting. I’m fascinated by how well they work. I’ve seen this good shadow in one other 3 quest titles. This is Batman: Arkham Shadow, the 2024 Game of the Year pick in the system.
Example of Gore set to level 3 in Boxing Underdog
Another impressive detail is the level of detail in the game’s Gore system. This may be that blood-sensitive players want to turn off, but for those who don’t, you’ll see the damage that can arise from the brutality of the fight. The cleft gets even faster when fighting in a naked knuckle match.
Please don’t get me wrong. Sniper rifles can be taken out other players below or in the population. One can actually provide satisfaction. That being said, it can be different to beat a very detailed model representing another person in bloody pulp with my own virtual naked knuckles. I saw the AI’s face shrinking in pain and realized I was regaining a second.
Countering the competition
Images of Battle 2 thrills captured by gamebixby in the previous article
Boxing underdogs outperform their weight classes in terms of strategy and immersion, while offering a very similar experience compared to the thrills of Combat 1 and 2. The collision system, character fidelity, and smarter AI keep things fresh in ways I don’t feel while doing the thrills of quest battles. Both games have a rough edge, but boxing underdogs have fluidity and for me it’s on top of competition.
However, currently, Boxing’s Underdog is an unfinished initial access title and there is no single-player campaign mode yet. The Strill of the Fight 2 is still early access, so the original thrill of Fight or Creed is where you want to land if you’re looking for a VR boxing game that’s currently completing the feature.
The last bell
Boxing underdogs present an attractive early access release and feel like the foundation of something much bigger that comes from a monological game. Tournament mode is currently in operation, but is already worth the ticket price. If you want a challenging and immersive virtual sparring partner, then you simply can’t stand in place and bend, single-player is the best. If you want to climb the leaderboard, there are many players waiting in the ring. For the future of quest’s VR boxing, boxing underdogs may be where it begins.
All early buyers are set up for release now in Quests 2, 3, 3S, and Pro early access. The PS VR2 and Steam ports are planned, but the latter uses the old name of the game, and the PC VR companion app is also coming. We’ll let you know when you hear the release date news for these platforms. Until then, raise the guard and tighten the jab firmly and do not get sucked into the dope.
