Where to get it

2019 · Action · Arcade

OhShape

PlayStation console exclusive

OhShape is a rhythm VR game where players have to move their full body to go through, punch or dodge walls following the beat of the music. It's an immersive game for all type of players inspired by the Japanese TV show Hole in the Wall.

Released: 15 August 2019
Platforms: Meta Quest PlayStation VR SteamVR Windows
Genres: Action Arcade Fighting Rhythm Simulation Sports
Developers: —
Publishers: —
Modes: Single-player
Themes: Action Kids
Age ratings: PEGI 12 ESRB T
Languages: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Spanish (Spain)
Time to beat: 1hmain story2hcompletionist

About

OhShape is a VR game developed by Odders Lab. This game fuses dance choreography with posing through carved out walls. The developers took inspiration from the TV show Hole in the Wall and mixed it with music. It could be classified as a VR rhythm game in the line of Beat Saber or Synth Riders, but with a different gameplay that requires the movement of the whole body.

The game was released as an Early Access on August 15, 2019 and the full release was on December 13, 2019. The game is available for most PCVR headsets such as HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Valve Index. On February 20, 2020 the game was released on Oculus Quest. The PSVR version of the game was released September 24, 2020.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The player has to move through carved out walls, dodge or break obstacles that come towards him following the beat of the music. Buttons are needed to navigate through the menu and pause/exit the game, but the game itself is played only by moving the each part of the body to the exact position. All the walls are semi-transparent so the player can see through enough to anticipate what is coming next. There are three types of walls:

Blue walls with different poses: the player has to put their head and their hands in the right spot. Poses range from single arms, to cross arms, to dabbing, lunges, squats, plus other choreography.

Story

Following the feedback collected along its Early Access stage, the developers of OhShape added some major updates to the game to make it more accessible for different types of players. These are some of the settings added by request of the community:

No fail mode: the life bar of the player doesn't suffer damage for each miss, so any player can finish any song no matter their skills. Final score is reduced.

Reception

During its Early Access stage the game received positive reviews and feedback to improve the player experience with more settings and new content. The game also got rebranded, as it was firstly known as OnShape, but Odders Lab decided to change the name because there is 3D software also called OnShape.

Although the game has not been specifically marketed as a fitness game, players and content creators have labeled the game as a medium-intense cardio exercise. This is what Juanita Leatham said: “My legs were like jello the day after and burning like I had done a hundred squats and side lunges – because I probably did after 30 minutes per play”. As a side note, Eric Switzer did a curious comparison between OhShape and The Enigma of Amigara Fault, a manga written by Junji Ito where “it's discovered that the Amigara Mountain is covered in human shaped holes. This leads to a pilgrimage of sorts as people from all over the world are inexplicably drawn to the mountain to find the hole they fit in; the hole that's made for them”.