It’s pinball. With rackets. In VR. And according to the Steam reviews rolling in, it works better than it has any right to.

Racket Pinball, from developer NiVision, launched today at #9 on Steam’s New Releases chart — and the 94% positive rating (17 of 18 reviews) suggests this genre mashup actually delivers. The pitch is straightforward: four themed arenas — Pirates, Space, Wild West, and Speed — where you smash targets using motion-controlled rackets instead of traditional flippers. It’s the kind of concept that sounds like a gimmick until you’re actually sweating.

And sweating you will be. Multiple reviews flag the cardio factor, with one player who’s logged over 8 hours calling it a “good workout” alongside being “lots of fun.” That tracks with what VR fitness advocates have been saying for years — an estimated 1 to 2 million people work out in VR monthly, according to a 2024 KPBS report. Games like this blur the line between arcade cabinet and exercise equipment.

Early adopters had one legitimate gripe: ball physics. One player complained about the ball clipping through rackets “way too [expletive] many” times for a game built around a single mechanic. But here’s the key detail — they updated their review after a patch dropped. The developer fixed it. That’s the difference between a cash-grab asset flip and something worth watching.

At $13.99 (30% off the $19.99 base price), this is a low-risk pickup for VR owners who want something arcadey that doubles as cardio. The game also supports Meta Quest 2, 3, 3S, and Pro, so hardware isn’t the bottleneck. NiVision is already teasing a new map.

Concurrent players sit at 2 right now. Translation: you’re early.

Sources