The Nex Playground arrives as a modern answer to motion-controlled gaming, aiming to revive active play without wands, wearables, or complicated setups. The movement-based approach to active-play gaming has always been a love-it-or-hate-it gimmick. The Wii kicked things off in 2006, and the Xbox 360 followed with the motion-sensing Kinect. From wands to full-body tracking, it has been nearly a decade since Microsoft discontinued the device, and the Wii’s core play style has largely been reduced to optional functionality on the Nintendo Switch.
With a surprisingly open market for movement-based gaming, the Nex Playground steps in as a successor to both devices. It offers an easy and responsive answer to motion gaming that aims to delight the whole family, even with a few flaws.
To say the Nex Playground is easy to set up would be an understatement. Straight out of the box, the entire console measures roughly three inches on each side and fits comfortably in your hand. It arrives with a power cord, complete with an attached lens cover for the privacy-conscious, an HDMI cable and a Roku-sized remote that matches the colour-blocked light blue and yellow cube console. The surface of the cube is matte and smooth, with a premium finish that resists scuffs and smudges.
“The Nex Playground arrives as a modern answer to motion-controlled gaming, aiming to revive active play without wands, wearables, or complicated setups.”
All it takes to set up the Nex Playground is a quick QR code entry form after plugging it in, and you are on your way. This is a serious boon for anyone who is not tech-savvy. You essentially plug and play the Nex, and it is so simple you are left wondering, “That’s it?” Four minutes after unboxing, I was already jumping into my first game. Before getting too far ahead, though, it is worth diving under the hood to explain how this small cube actually works.
Unlike the Microsoft Kinect, the Nex Playground does not map your entire room using infrared sensors. Unlike the Wii or Nintendo Switch, you do not need a wand or controller to jump into a game. The Nex Playground uses AI-powered camera tracking that focuses on 18 points on the human body and locks onto the active player in the room. There is nothing else to configure. You plug the device in, and it automatically locates the player or players.
The Nex Playground can track up to four bodies at once during play, so the whole family can jump in, provided there is enough space. Without a designated controller and with everything controlled by body movement, the low latency feels almost like wizardry. Movements are picked up quickly, and response times feel nearly instantaneous. For more tech-savvy adopters, the cube runs on an Amlogic A311D2-NOD CPU, a Mali-G52 MC4 GPU and 16 GB of LPDDR4X RAM. These specifications are supported by a 64 GB SSD, which is more than sufficient for what the compact console offers. But how does it play?
I am happy to report that the Nex Playground delivers exactly what it promises: fun, bite-sized experiences that get players moving. Five games are available right out of the box: a full-scale version of Fruit Ninja, Whack-a-Mole, Goal Keeper, a mini-game collection called Party Fowl and the rhythm-based, Dance Central-style title Starri.
To access additional titles, players must purchase a game pass in three- or 12-month increments. While it is disappointing not to permanently own the games on the console, the yearly price comes in under $100, $89 to be exact, and offers solid value for what is included. Compared with other subscription services, the cost is a fraction of what larger platforms charge.
Once the full library is unlocked, the Nex Playground removes restrictions and lets you explore its entire catalogue. Starri calls back to the Xbox Kinect’s Dance Central. While you move and hit targets with your hands, the game remains forgiving, much like the rest of the Nex Playground lineup.
Starri even features songs you will want to dance along to, including “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga and “Take On Me” by a-ha. During one session, my group of three was in tears watching our normally serious friend strike awkward, magical-girl-style poses in some of the more anime-inspired tracks. The exaggerated arm movements are laugh-out-loud funny with an audience and add to the overall fun.
While Starri may be the strongest title currently available on the Nex Playground, the licensed How to Train Your Dragon: Riders of the Skies may be the weakest. At times, arm movements failed to register, gameplay suffered from noticeable frame rate drops, and the visuals appeared muddy enough to discourage repeat attempts. Imagine Panzer Dragoon if the controls worked only half the time.
The Nex Playground also offers a library of roughly 40 games through its play pass, all of which use the system’s motion controls to varying degrees of success. Whack-a-Mole becomes challenging after level 10 and turns into a sweaty affair, both literally and figuratively, by level 30 and beyond. Moles begin popping out of the ceiling, and flames burst from the holes to catch players off guard.
The platform also includes a full-body take on Flappy Bird called Dragon Jumpers. Instead of dodging pipes and threading the needle with a pixelated bird, you control a chubby dragon trying to gobble up fruit using similar mechanics. When playing with my significant other, it occasionally turned into a playful contact sport, with each of us attempting to sabotage the other’s score. To jump, players must physically leave the ground, which can quickly turn the session into a genuine workout.
Sports fans are not left out. The spiritual successor to Wii Sports Bowling, Bowling Strike! closely mirrors the feel of the original but demands a bit more finesse. Twist your arm during the throw and the ball spins. Throw harder and it rockets down the lane with a rainbow trail. During two-player sessions, however, the Nex Playground occasionally lost hand tracking and forced an unwanted gutter ball, though at times the miss was entirely my own doing.
Baseball fans are represented on the Nex Playground as well, and you can step into the role of a baseball anime hero in Homerun Heroes: Starstrikers. This home run derby simulator lets you customize your own character before stepping up to the plate and teeing off on a stream of pitches.
“…the Nex Playground delivers fun, bite-sized experiences the whole family can enjoy, even if it means looking a little foolish along the way.”
The response time is solid. When you connect perfectly, a hilarious anime-style home run sequence plays, with your character slicing through the ball and sending it into the stands in flames. I hit four or five home runs of more than 1,500 feet in my first game. If you follow baseball, you know that is pure fantasy, the longest home run in recorded MLB history travelled 575 feet. The game is a blast with friends and, somewhat surprisingly, includes a ranked online mode for competitive play.
For all the fun the cube offers, the Nex Playground does have limitations. Most experiences feel surface level. While Homerun Heroes: Starstrikers includes modes and customization, the core gameplay revolves around swinging a bat and lacks the depth of a full console baseball title, or even Mario Super Sluggers on the Wii. Sword Slash Adventure feels like a simplified version of Fruit Ninja, trading timing for exaggerated arm movements. Meanwhile, several “guess the shape first” mini-games in Brain Inc. could easily have been combined into a single experience.
While other consoles offer sprawling titles with lasting depth, the Nex Playground focuses on accessible motion gameplay. Fans are not going to walk away from NHL Puck Rush with the same impression they would get from NHL 25. Some titles on the device are close to unplayable, with How to Train Your Dragon: Riders of the Skies standing out because of its poorly optimized frame rate.
Even with those issues, the Nex Playground delivers fun, bite-sized experiences the whole family can enjoy, even if it means looking a little foolish along the way. It is simply a great time. Whether you are letting the kids burn off energy on a rainy or snowy day, or hosting friends for a party night, all it takes is plugging in the small cube and getting started.
From its eye-catching presentation to reportedly outselling the Xbox and PS5 in November 2025, there is plenty of fun to be had with the Nex Playground. Just do not expect sprawling single-player epics like God of War. If you want to beat your significant other at simple trivia questions, however, this is one playground worth visiting.
