Synth Riders

Synth Riders
Information
VR/AR	Virtual Reality
Developer	Kluge Interactive
Publisher	Kluge Interactive
Platform	SteamVR, Meta Quest, PlayStation VR, PlayStation VR2, visionOS, Nintendo Switch
Device	Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 2, Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index, Windows Mixed Reality, Pico Neo 3, Pico 4, PlayStation VR, PlayStation VR2, Apple Vision Pro
Operating System	Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, visionOS
Type	Game
Genre	Rhythm, Dance, Fitness, Indie
Input Device	Tracked Motion Controllers (hand tracking on Apple Vision Pro)
Play Area	Standing, Room-scale
Game Mode	Single Player, cross-platform online Multiplayer (up to 10 players), local party play
Release Date	Early Access (Steam): July 12, 2018; Full release (Steam / Oculus): May 21, 2019; PlayStation VR: August 10, 2021; PlayStation VR2: February 22, 2023; Apple Vision Pro: February 2, 2024; Nintendo Switch: December 15, 2025
Price	US$24.99 (base game)
App Store	Steam, Meta Quest Store, PlayStation Store, Apple Arcade
Website	https://synthridersvr.com

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See also: VR Apps and VR Games

Synth Riders is a virtual reality rhythm and dance game developed and published by Kluge Interactive. Players catch spheres ("notes"), trace lines ("rails"), and dodge oncoming obstacles in time with music, with movement styled around freestyle dancing rather than precision timing. The game launched in Steam Early Access on July 12, 2018 and released in full for SteamVR and Oculus headsets on May 21, 2019.

Built in Unity, Synth Riders runs on most major VR platforms, including Meta Quest, PlayStation VR and PlayStation VR2, Apple Vision Pro, and PC VR systems such as the Valve Index, HTC Vive, and Oculus Rift. It is one of the longer-running titles in the VR rhythm genre alongside Beat Saber, and is supported by a large catalogue of officially licensed music packs from artists including Gorillaz, Muse, Lindsey Stirling, and Dua Lipa.

Gameplay

Synth Riders is played standing, with one tracked motion controller held in each hand (the Apple Vision Pro version uses hand tracking instead). Coloured notes travel toward the player along a note highway; the player touches each one with the matching hand. Sustained notes are presented as rails that the player follows by moving an arm through the path, an action one reviewer compared to skateboarding. Gold notes can be hit with either hand, while green notes must be taken with one hand for the duration of that section. Obstacles require the player to dodge or duck rather than block.

The game has two main control styles. Rhythm Mode tasks players with catching notes in flowing, dance-like motions, while Force Mode requires punching the notes, which makes for a more intense workout. Five difficulty levels are available per track. A range of modifiers changes how a run plays: Spin Mode, added in July 2020, gradually rotates the direction the notes approach from during a song, a feature one outlet likened to Beat Saber's 90-degree mode. Spiral Mode followed in October 2021, and a mixed reality mode for the Meta Quest 3 was added in October 2023.

Kluge Interactive promotes the game as both a rhythm title and a fitness activity. It supports the YUR fitness-tracking integration for estimating calories burned, and reviewers have repeatedly noted its value as exercise. Custom songs are supported through a free in-game level editor, and players can change the visual environment ("Stages") and the song-synced animations ("Experiences").

Development

Synth Riders was created by Kluge Interactive, a studio that also developed the VR experience Electronauts and, separately, the VR fighting game Final Fury. Development of Synth Riders began in 2016, with creative director Abraham Aguero leading the design and Jhean Ceballos on development. Aguero has described an iterative, community-driven process, saying the first two years were largely spent watching people play on Twitch to gather feedback.

After the Steam Early Access launch in 2018, Kluge added cross-platform online multiplayer, supporting up to 10 players, and used some gameplay modifiers as power-ups that increase difficulty for opponents. The studio continued shipping music packs and gameplay modes for several years after release, and ported the game to additional platforms over time.

The PlayStation VR version was originally scheduled for July 27, 2021, but slipped to August 10, 2021 because of a distribution issue. The PlayStation VR2 edition, released as Synth Riders Remastered, added visual upgrades, improved haptics, and tracking tuned for the PSVR2 Sense controllers.

In April 2026, Kluge CEO Arturo Perez confirmed that the studio had carried out layoffs in December 2025 and January 2026, cutting its team from a peak of about 100 to roughly 50, a reduction of about half. Perez attributed the cuts largely to Meta ending VR support for Horizon Worlds, for which Kluge had been contracted to build content, and said that "Synth Riders remains steady but not enough to support our full studio." The game itself continued to receive updates.

Release

Synth Riders has shipped on a wide range of platforms since its 2018 Early Access debut.

Platform	Release date	Notes
Steam (SteamVR)	July 12, 2018 (Early Access); May 21, 2019 (full)	Initial PC VR launch
Oculus (Oculus Rift / Oculus Quest)	May 21, 2019	Cross-buy on Oculus storefronts
PlayStation VR	August 10, 2021	Delayed from July 27, 2021
PlayStation VR2	February 22, 2023	Released as Synth Riders Remastered
Apple Vision Pro (visionOS)	February 2, 2024	Distributed via Apple Arcade; uses hand tracking
Nintendo Switch	December 15, 2025	Ported with DLC music packs

The game is also available on the Pico Neo 3 and Pico 4 standalone headsets and on Windows Mixed Reality hardware via SteamVR. The base game ships with a free song library (about 80 tracks by 2025), and dozens of additional songs are sold as paid DLC, including licensed packs from The Offspring (March 2021), Caravan Palace (July 2021), Lindsey Stirling (April 2022), K/DA from the League of Legends franchise (September 2022), Bruno Mars (December 2022), Gorillaz (February 2023), and Dua Lipa (April 2026).

Reception

Synth Riders has received generally favourable reviews. The aggregator Metacritic summarises critical reception as generally favourable.

The PlayStation VR2 release, Synth Riders Remastered, was scored 9 out of 10 by Push Square, which called it "a unique and wonderful rhythm title that's been improved in nearly every way" and praised its visual upgrade, tracking, and large soundtrack while noting awkward hand positioning on some combined-note sections. Forbes included the game in its list of "The Top 50 VR Games of 2019." The Guardian highlighted its fitness value, and the game placed among that paper's top-10 VR fitness apps in 2020.

The game was a finalist for VR Game of the Year at the XR Awards 2020 and was recognised by VR Fitness Insider in its 2020 awards. In 2024 it was a finalist in the spatial-computing category of the Apple Design Awards.