Nothing kills a virtual reality (VR) workout faster than a game over screen. Racket: Nx on Meta Quest headsets solves that problem with Zen mode, an endless way to play that keeps you swinging until you decide to stop.
Here’s why that matters and how the mode works.
Why game over screens ruin VR fun
Many VR games stop everything the moment you make one mistake.
You miss a beat in a rhythm game, or a zombie slips past you, and the game sends you back to try again.
That pause pulls you out of the world you were standing in. It also cools you down right when your heart rate was climbing.
Endless play is the fix. When a game never stops you, you stay immersed and you keep moving.
A racket, a ball and a giant glowing dome
Picture racquetball and the arcade classic Breakout played inside a giant pinball machine.
That is how One Hamsa, the developer, describes Racket: Nx. You stand inside a glass dome whose walls light up with targets, and you smash a glowing ball into them with one racket.
Hit the ball hard, and it rolls along the wall and bulldozes the targets in its path. A tractor beam on your racket pulls the ball back for your next shot.
The game arrived on Quest in July 2019. Its store page lists the Quest 2, Quest 3, Quest 3S and Quest Pro headsets.
The energy meter that ends most runs
Most of Racket: Nx plays like a classic arcade game.
The campaign and the Classic arcade mode give you an energy meter. Blue plus signs refill it, and skull targets drain it.
The YouTube reviewer BMFVR calls Classic “good endless fun” because the waves keep coming. But there’s a catch. The reviewer also notes that when your energy runs out, “the game is over.”
Zen mode keeps the game going
Zen mode removes the one thing that ends a run.
BMFVR says you hit the ball at the targets “with no worry about the energy bar or really anything.”
The creator behind the Resol VR channel calls it a continuous mode with “no end to it until you decide to quit.”
Here’s the best part. Targets you hit turn into lotus flowers, as Wagner’s TechTalk points out in a Quest review. When you finally step out, the game rewards you with a short Zen saying.
How to use Zen mode to stay active
Endless play turns a game into a workout you can stretch as long as you like.
Resol VR says the game “makes you put in a lot of energy swinging that racket,” and Zen mode lets you keep that effort going without restarts.
Start with a few Classic waves to warm up. Then switch to Zen mode for a long, steady session.
Clear plenty of space around you, because you will swing hard. The store page also says you can play your own music in the game, so a favorite playlist can set your pace.
Are you looking for more ways to enjoy your headset? Read our guide to movie and sports nights on Quest.
Watch: Racket: Nx and its Zen mode in action
BMFVR reviews the campaign, the Classic arcade mode and Zen mode on the original Quest.
Resol VR plays the campaign and Zen mode on a Quest 2, and the lotus flower image above comes from this video.
Wagner’s TechTalk shows Classic, Zen and multiplayer on the original Quest.
