Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013

Genre: Sports (Exercise)

Players: 1-4 Local

Game Company Bad Behavior Profile Page: UbiSoft

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Review:

Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013 is an Exercise game released on the Wii U in… well, 2013. At least nominally a sequel to Your Shape Featuring Jenny McCarthy on the Wii as well as the Xbox 360 games Your Shape: Fitness Evolved and Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012, the 2013 Wii U entry in this series would prove to be the final game in the franchise, at least as of this writing in 2022.

The presentation here is good but nothing extraordinary – you’ll be mostly looking at decent 3D character models of various trainers working out in front of abstract 3D backgrounds full of geometric shapes. At times, there’s a lot of motion going on in these backgrounds, which can be a bit distracting. Meanwhile, you’ll be listening to a combination of some licensed tunes as well as some generic synthesized workout music. Again, nothing impressive, but it largely works for… well, a workout game. And to instruct you, you’ll have a disembodied female voice that’s… well, honestly not as helpful as I’d like, and not directing you how to improve your movements in the various exercises like you might want.

That’s one of the big flaws in this game. Players will be holding on to the Wii remote in one hand while doing their exercises, and the motion of this Wii remote is the only feedback the game will be getting as you do full-body exercises. Honestly, I’m dubious that this game is effective at accurately judging your movements at all, but I suppose it does at least detect some movement, and can give a reasonable assessment of whether you’re at least trying, which is something.

Really, much of this game seems poorly thought-out. Players are given a bunch of menu options for different types of workout options early on, but there’s only a brief explanation for each and little direction which is the best way for you to be going. You have to actively look to find the recommended workouts for your specific goals… and for that matter, you have to look for the spot where you actually input your workout goals. In addition, the exercises themselves are poorly explained, and you’ll have to try to quickly adapt on the fly to mirror your instructor’s movements to figure out each new exercise as it’s happening. Also, while we’re talking about poorly thought-out elements, it bears mention that players must use the Wii U gamepad’s motion controls to select menu options, even though all of the workouts have you exclusively using the Wii remote. It’s just poor design, plain and simple.

However, while this game definitely has problems, that’s not to say that there hasn’t been a serious effort here to deliver an excellent workout experience. There is a huge variety of different types of exercises to engage in here, from various stretches to aerobic dance moves, and kickboxing moves as well. There’s a fitness tracker, and even recipe recommendations for those who want both their exercise and nutrition guidance coming from the same source, something I have to commend the game on. Players can even filter these recipes based on factors like cost, vegetarian, and gluten-free options (sadly though, there’s no keto-friendly option). Despite the problems this game has, it manages to be worthwhile nevertheless largely due to this huge amount of content and variety.

Unfortunately, there is one other complaint I can make here. Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013 makes the mistake that the overwhelming majority of Fitness games make – this is all fitness, and very little game. You never feel like you’re playing or doing anything fun here like you do in games like the more recent Nintendo Switch release Ring Fit Adventure. And while Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013 absolutely will give you an excellent workout, it does very little to ensure that workout will be fun.

Still, if your priority is burning calories, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013 will get the job done, and provide players with a wide enough variety of activities that they should remain engaged for a good long while, although I wouldn’t go as far as to say they’ll be entertained. If you want a varied workout on the Wii U, this game will satisfy that need.

tl;dr – Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013 is a Workout game that’s heavy on the “workout” and light on the “game”. Some of this game seems poorly thought-out, but it does get an “A” for effort, giving players a wide range of exercises to choose from, decent options and tracking features, and even dietary recommendations. It’s not likely to replace Ring Fit Adventure for those who have moved on to the Nintendo Switch, but it’s a solid way to exercise on the Wii U for those inclined to do so.

Grade: C+

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