Review by Jon Donnis
I've been interested to play Jacked Up ever since the first chaotic trailer dropped, and now that it's finally on my headset, I can say it's definitely a fun VR game, if not groundbreaking. The pitch sounds ridiculous on paper: you're a musclebound rabbit trying to climb a giant tower, live-streaming the whole ordeal to an in-game audience that cheers, heckles, and distracts you while you bounce from one block to the next.
The bouncing feels pretty decent. It's fast, simple, and addictive, I lost count of how many times I smacked into the same spinning bar thingy and tumbled right back to the bottom, only to instantly restart without hesitation. That's the magic here, the game doesn't frustrate too much, it teases you into having "just one more go."
What keeps it from getting stale are the gyms dotted through the tower. Every few hundred metres, you land in a checkpoint guarded by outrageously shredded animals. Ripped frogs, bulked-up chickens, dogs with more muscle than sense, all cheering you on. Make it to the fourth gym and you unlock a Gym Token, which means you don't always have to slog back through the very start again. It's a clever little system that makes progress feel rewarding while keeping the tension alive.
The optional challenges are where the game goes from silly to completely unhinged. One run I was trying to bounce while holding a motivational poster in front of my face, another time I downed a glowing protein shake that made my jumps unpredictable. These "Bro Lab" dares are interesting, especially when your in-game chat starts reacting in real time. That feature might sound like a gimmick, but it really adds to the atmosphere. Having fake viewers roast you mid-run makes the whole experience feel like part-game, part-comedy show.
It isn't all perfect. The visuals are extremely simple, almost bare-bones, and the environments don't change much as you climb. The core loop is strong, but it doesn't branch out into much variety yet. I'm banking on those promised mini-games in future updates to fill that gap. And a big word of warning: if you're even slightly prone to motion sickness, this one could mess you up. Looking down or up at the wrong time is an instant stomach churner.
Still, for the price (just under six quid), it's a brilliant little package. It doesn't overcomplicate itself, it makes the bouncing feel great, and it has enough personality to stand out from the usual crop of VR experiments.
Jacked Up won't win awards for originality or visuals, but it nails what it sets out to do. It's goofy, frustrating in the best way, and weirdly motivating. I'm giving it a solid 7 out of 10, with the feeling it could climb higher if those updates deliver.
