To slice colored pink cubes flying towards you with laser swords pumping music while wearing VR-glasses? Sounds intriguing and it looks even better! Beat Saber is one of the Games of the Future 2024 disciplines to take place in Kazan. And as early as September the masters of virtual and musical fencing will check-out their skills at the Phygital Games to be held on September 21-23 in the capital of Tatarstan.
What is Beat Saber?
Beat Saber reminds of the Fruit Ninja game which back in the day was at the top of the game charts – the very game where you were supposed to slash fruits flying from nowhere. But at the same time there is something from Just Dance in Beat Saber as in order to be successful in the game a player has to literally dance, slashing the two-colored cubes with a sword of the respective color while fending off obstacles.
There are 5 levels in the game (Easy, Normal, Hard, Expert и Expert +) and more than 100 popular music hits. To stay alive on Expert + level, you must be a lightning-fast jedi with a good physical shape and a master of cube choreography who can memorize all the movements and the positions of the cubes after learning the musical tracks by heart till it gets automatic.
The popular American TV host and comedian Jimmy Fallon tried Beat Saber during his Evening Show to confirm that it is not just fun but also a good cardio. During one of the episodes of his night show he had a Beat Saber duel with the actress Brie Larson who starred as Captain Marvel and won the Best Actress Oscar for the drama ‘Room’. After the first round of Beat Saber the show host was breathing hard and jokingly asked the audience if someone had an oxygen mask.
Beat Saber. It is phygital-like!
It is a technological, bright and dynamic game but most importantly very phygital-like as it unites physical and digital activity. This corresponds to the Games of Future of 2024 concept. That is why this game became one of the disciplines in the category ‘technical challenge’.
Besides slashing the cubes with the swords precisely to the rhythm of the music, there are several more subtleties which have an impact on the score. The game takes into account the quality of the player’s movements. For example, you must slash the cubes under a 90-degree angle and the movements shall not be stopped abruptly, i.e. after cutting the figure it is essential to continue the movement with the controller. A player can score extra points for cutting the cubes right in the middle.
Beat Saber. Games of Future discipline introduction
Beat Saber. Games of Future discipline introduction
The players of Virtus.pro have mastered the phygital-discipline of the Games of Future
The Cube Community
The Beat Saber’s popularity is rapidly increasing winning over more fans worldwide. The game has already gleaned more than 10 different awards and its developers from the Czech Republic admit modestly that when they were conceiving it, they “did it just for fun and not for making any commercial profit”. Today there are several Beat Saber tournaments and championships held worldwide, there is even a Beat Saber league of its own. And before long this phygital game will be brought to a new level in Russian sports.
