When it seemed that music games could no longer offer us anything original, the studio Hyperbolic Magnetism surprises us with the addictive and extremely fun Beat Saber, a virtual reality game where you use two lightsabers to cut cubes to the rhythm of the song.
A viral VR rhythm game
For a few weeks now, Oculus users have been enjoying Beat Saber, a virtual reality game with lightsabers that quickly went viral. At its core, Beat Saber is a classic music game, similar to Guitar Hero, where colorful cubes fly across the screen toward you, synchronized to the rhythm of the song.
But instead of pressing buttons on a plastic guitar or a controller, Beat Saber makes you cut the cubes with two glowing blades that look suspiciously like Star Wars lightsabers.
Gameplay mechanics
When it comes to playing it, Beat Saber is a delight for anyone who has ever imagined wielding a lightsaber and heading into battle, with the blades sparking and crackling in front of you. The blocks don't disappear when you cut them; instead, they separate into a shower of sparks and bounce around the level.
The cubes include an indication of the direction of the cut. This is essential because you earn more points by making more precise cuts, and there is the usual combo system that adds multipliers for hitting a consecutive series of blocks correctly. As an additional gameplay detail, you have to physically dodge giant, glowing walls to keep playing, forcing you to duck and dive through your virtual reality space.
These videos were recorded using LIV, a modular green screen designed to capture studio quality and experience mixed reality and virtual reality in all its splendor. And it's not for nothing, because somehow the music and rhythm combine with the cutting of the blades to make you feel like you really are a Jedi warrior. Sure, you may not be facing Darth Vader, but the constant barrage and shifting strikes that Beat Saber demands seems more like a guide to the skillful sword handling of a fencing master.
Modes and availability
There are three modes in Beat Saber and each has its strengths, like the mode without direction of the cut on the cubes and the single-blade mode that serves to warm up against the demanding Arcade mode, where you have to cut the blocks with the red and blue blades, following specific instructions you'll need to apply when cutting. Developed by Hyperbolic Magnetism, Beat Saber is available on Steam (as an Early Access game) and Oculus Store. For the moment, the full game doesn't have a concrete release date.
