Yoga Master

Genre: Sports (Exercise)

Players: 1

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Review:

Yoga Master is an Exercise game first released on PlayStation 4 in 2019, ported to Nintendo Switch in 2020, then ported to PC in 2022. As you might expect, this is a game that is focused specifically on doing yoga exercises.

Of course, any Exercise game released on Nintendo Switch after 2019 has to content with the elephant in the room: Ring Fit Adventure. Yoga Master carves out its niche in the market by really honing in on its specific focus – this is a game that is completely about yoga, not just the exercises, but the atmosphere and even a bit of the culture behind it… well, not much, but enough to set this apart.

Yoga Master has players watching a polygonal instructor perform various movements, and imitating those movements, much as you would do with a real instructor. Furthermore, the Joy-Con’s gyroscopic motion control measures your hand movements, allowing the game to judge how well you do… at least in theory.

Okay, a number of problems here. Firstly, unlike Ring Fit Adventure, this game doesn’t use a leg strap, meaning it has no idea what you’re doing with any part of your body other than your hand. Second, the instructor doesn’t demonstrate before you are meant to imitate them, they do it at the same time, something that makes it very difficult to follow their instructions when those instructions involve turning your head away from the screen.

And I strongly suspect that the Joy-Con sensor only senses relative to where your hand is positioned at the start of its detection, meaning that it would be detecting how steady you are, but not whether you’re holding the correct position. It also doesn’t help that the game doesn’t tell you how you’re meant to hold the Joy-Con, and most of the time seems to be instructing you as if you’re not holding the controller at all. I almost wonder if this was even meant to be an interactive game. And this isn’t even addressing that it doesn’t even attempt to gamify the exercise it has you doing.

On the bright side, this software does chart your progress on a calendar, and offers various different workouts based on your interest… though these interests are poorly-defined. What’s the difference between power and strength, again? Also, the game has you putting in your statistics without outlining what measurements it’s using. Weight… is that in pounds? Kilograms? Stone? And height is… inches? Centimeters? Bananas?

Just so much of this game seems poorly thought-out and nonsensical. Its saving grace is that the actual yoga here seems pretty good, as far as I can tell (not that I’m an expert). Also, the presentation is quite lovely. While absolutely not anything impressive by any means, players are given a decent selection of visuals and soundscapes to partake in while exercising, and all are suitably relaxing.

In so many ways, Yoga Master is an exercise app that has problems. Its menus seem confused and don’t properly instruct you what to do. Its simulated instructors don’t seem to understand that you can’t follow their movements if they ask you to look away from the TV, and don’t seem to know that you’re holding a controller. And this game doesn’t have any interest in even attempting to be a… well, a game. Yet despite this, it still holds some appeal for being a good way to introduce someone to yoga exercises, and for its calming and relaxed presentation. I still don’t think Yoga Master holds a candle to the likes of Ring Fit Adventure, but if you’re looking for a more soothing Exercise game, you may find Yoga Master appealing.

tl;dr – Yoga Master is an Exercise game that has players… well, doing yoga poses. The game is riddled with issues – confusing menus, poorly-explained options, instructors who want you to follow their movements while having you turn away from the screen, dubious motion control, a complete lack of actual game elements… yet despite these issues, this game still has some appeal as a calm, relaxed yoga-centric alternative to Ring Fit Adventure… albeit not one that holds a candle to that much better Exercise game.

Grade: C

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