If you are familiar with the game Guitar Hero, if you love to rock to the rhythm in virtual reality, Beat Saber is the perfect game for you. Beat Saber is an immersive rhythm experience like no others. Beat Saber is a VR rhythm game where you slash the beats of adrenaline-pumping music as they fly towards you in small cubes, surrounded by a futuristic world.
Beat Saber Review: Best VR game for Exercising and Staying Fit
Enjoy the game’s handcrafted levels and swing your way through the pulsing rhythmic beats while being immersed in a futuristic world. Use your sabers to slash the beats as they fly towards you. Every beat is designed specifically with a particular saber, and you need to use in the direction you need to match. The concept is incredibly simple, but the idea is totally revolutionary.
There are five challenge levels from easy to expert. Play utilizes the VR motion controller for each arm, with the default left arm being red colored and right being blue colored. The 3D audio amplifies the experience by completely immersing you in the trippy surroundings.
The game features option of playing certain songs in immersive 360 VR, or 90 degree orientation where the rhythmic blocks approach from all around the player. The 360 degree feature was first introduced on December 14th 2019.
When the blocks are slashed through by the saber, the player is rewarded game points base on the angle of swing, and the accuracy of the slash.
Occasionally, there are mines that the player would try to avoid, and obstacles that appear to be wall-like that the player’s head should avoid hitting.
This has got to be one of our favorite VR games of all-time. The game design is fundamentally simple concept, and the developers made sure the game is an entertaining rhythmic game.
The game was first released as early access on Microsoft Window back in May 2018. Beat Saber was fully released for PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows on May 21st 2019. The game can be played on most mainstream VR headsets such as PSVR, Oculus Quest, and Windows Mixed Reality headset, made available on Steam and Oculus APIs.
Beat Saber comes with 10 songs, but is expandable with several content packs that contains more songs. Several of these songs includes IP licenses featuring musics from Imagine Dragons, Green Day, Linkin Park, and Panic!at the Disco.
For a complete list of songs, see here
The game is available on the Oculus, Steam, and PlayStation 4 for $29.99
The game was developed by Beat Games. While Facebook made acquisition of the game studios in November 2019 through Oculus Studios. Facebook promised that the acquisition will not affect third-party development by other VR platforms beyond Oculus.
Beat Games continues to operate independently as a game studio in Prague.
Oculus content direction Mike Verdu says the purpose of the acquisition is to help the studio with more expanded resources for future developments. The company is merely trying to help accelerate the development of VR.
MINIMUM:
OS: Windows 7/8.1/10 (64bit)
Processor: Intel Core i5 Sandy Bridge or equivalent
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 960 or equivalent
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 200 MB available space
RECOMMENDED:
OS: Windows 7/8.1/10 (64bit)
Processor: Intel Core i7 Skylake or equivalent
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 1060 or equivalent
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 200 MB available spacepo
Cute Female Youtubers Playing BEAT SABER in Action
At Virtual Reality Reporter, we are not shy to express our openness to sexuality. While gaming in VR seems like a thing for boys, we especially enjoy watching beautiful girls playing Beat Saber. It’s fun and entertaining to watching them swing their sabers while dancing rhythmically to the beats. For all you geeks out there, you know you like this stuff too. So please enjoy these clips we put together for you.
Madison Beer
Beat Saber Queen
LilqBunny
Skyren 22
Compilations
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I play Beat Saber?
Beat Saber was first released on Oculus and Steam on May 1st, 2018. The game is compatible with HTV Vive, Valve Index, Oculus Quest, PlayStation VR (PSVR), and Windows Mixed Reality on the PC.
Can I play Beat Saber in traditional 2D, not not wear VR headset?
Well, the game was specifically designed to work in VR, so there is no way to get around the game without being in virtual reality. What makes the game so fun and interesting is that is actually blends the rhythm and VR perfectly.
Is there a free version of Beat Saber?
Beat Saber is available on multiple platforms. The game is priced at $30, while certain demonstration tracks are free to game owners. There are optional music packs provided by 3rd party developers at additional cost.
Can I burn calories with Beat Saber?
This game is definitely a good cardio workout, as exercises come from the fast moving upper body movement needs to slice rhythm blocks. The game requires occasional side-to-side learning, and squat movements to avoid being hit by obstacles. However, the game does not require actual physical movement from side-to-side. This makes the game fairly playable in small space settings.
According to Virtual Reality Institute of Health and Exercise
, Beat Saber is a game that provides potential exercise impact on body according to the player’s skill level. Evaluator at Virtual Reality Institute noted that if he or she is able to be more skilled at the game, more energy expenditure will be increased from playing the game.
Yet, the game is a "very viable option for cardiovascular workout” if the players get to survive each challenge levels. However, if the player fails to perform well enough to make through the level, the game quits and the player must restart over. The kind of gameplay approach leads to more downtime for the player attempting on more difficult settings, which makes it difficult for the body to maintain a consistent heart rate.
The good thing is the the game offers the ability to turn off this function, but it also stops recording your score on the leaderboard. This mode provides a more consistent exercise, since it allows the player to play at more difficult levels, which tends to be fasters and without the needs to stop the game regularly. The game’s 360 mode is also a good form of exercise as it requires more body movements.
Virtual Reality Institute of Health and Exercise reported calorie burn of 6.55 kcal to 7.45 kcals per minute during test based on the assumption that the subject weighs 60kg.
Many users report that the more you move, equals the more fun you are having. But please remember you are here to have fun, not to workout. But the more you move, the more likely you will burn some calories at the same time.
User Generated Beat Maps
Beat Saber has gain a strong fan base since its original release. Many users have created many mods to enhance the game play. There are also a number of website where users distribute beat user generated Beat Maps, where some are available to be side loaded onto the Oculus Quest headset.
There are also a huge fellowship on Reddit, with over 70,000 members.
There are currently over 2 million copies sold, while fans have purchase more than 10 million songs as content packs.
New AI Tool Turns Any song into a Beat Saber Map
Earlier this year, a new tool Beat Sage, emerged that uses neural artificial intelligence and neural networks to change the custom map scene.
This new tool allows generation of custom Beat Saber Map out of any song found on YouTube, and when given the right type of songs, the result of the output works surprisingly well.
If you try to turn a slow rock song or a love song into a Beat Saber map, it will most likely be pretty boring.
However, if you selected the right track, the map works incredibly well, and is very fun to play with.
The AI tool actually learns what to create based on Beat Saber levels created by normal people, such as the official tracks.
"Beat Sage uses two neural networks to map an audio file into a plausible Beat Saber level. These neural networks were trained on Beat Saber levels created by humans. The first neural network listens to the audio and predicts at what points in time blocks should be placed. The second neural network looks at the predicted timings and maps each to a timestamp to a block type (e.g. red up, blue down, red up + blue down).”
These neural networks explains why Beat Sage works well, while capturing the essence of the Beat Saber’s game mappings.
The tool is currently free, yet the developer is accepting donation support though Patreon.
Multi-player function
At the 2020 Facebook Connect, the company revealed Beat saber will be getting a multi-player mode on October 13th 2020. We will surely see plenty of new actions with the arrival of this new multiplayer feature.
Players are able to pick avatars, join private parties, or random matches. The multi-player function supports up to five players at once.
Developer Beat Games says that the new music packs will help VR players learn new dance moves, and experience the group gaming together in multiplayer mode.
Best Beat Saber Alternatives
So you’ve played and mastered the most popular songs in Beat Saber and perhaps you are looking for something similar in your gaming catalog.
1.Synth Riders
While Beat Saber put your writing and arms in constant swiping motions, other dance titles focus on exercising or striking real dance moves. Synth Rider is one of those alternative games to try. The game requires solid hand-eye coordination to move player’s hands to match the fast moving choreography moves, but you are free to move your body however you like that feels the most natural. There are over 30 levels and even live-streaming VR workouts.
Cost: $20 on Oculus Store and Steam
2.Pistol Whip
This shooting fame requires you to flow forward as polygonal enemies attach from all directions. You must shoot them as you go forward, and create your own beat base on how you make your shots. The good players will be able to create a rhythm along with the kills. Pistol Whip requires you to squat and dodge your way as obstacles come flying your way. With none-stop bullets shooting at you, you will be sure to feel sore the following day from playing the game.
Cost: $25 on Oculus Store and Steam
3.Audio Trip
This game is very similar to Synth Riders, with music licenses from DeadMau5 and Lady Gaga. The fast moving targets provide a tough cardio workout, as the gaming requires much more active workout.
Cost: $20 on Steam
4.Audica
Most rhythm games places targets in the middle of the player’s vision. Audica challenges the player by placing colorful objects to appears all across the player’s parapherial vision, with special targets that move across the entire screen.
5.Dance Colliders
This is another game similar to Synth Riders. Dance Collider is about dance battles with the competitors. The opponent will challenger you to hit various kinds of choreography moves. There are over 45 songs available, making this game much more affordable for the value it provides.
Cost: $13 on GMG
