The brief history of virtual reality has been very eventful and contentious. Cost and inaccessibility have prevented many gamers from giving the new hardware a try. Many VR games have also struggled to adapt to the limitations and challenges of the medium, specifically where player movement is concerned. Still, there have been some breakout hits in the VR medium.
Arguably the most prominent of these, and one of the most quintessential VR titles on the market, is Beat Saber. This simple but engaging rhythm game launched in early access in 2018, with a full release the following year. It was developed by two men, Ján Ilavský and Vladimír Hrinčár, and published by the aptly named Beat Games.
Beat Saber Premise
Beat Saber is a rhythm game that uses VR handsets to simulate glowing lightsabers which the player can dual wield. Using these sabers, you must strike floating blocks that approach you in time to the beat of whatever song is playing. Many of the blocks have specific directions printed on them, requiring you to strike them from a certain angle. Other obstacles like walls appear in time to the beat as well, which you must dodge with your head. Bombs also pass by, which you should avoid striking at all. You have an energy bar in each level which will decrease if you strike an obstacle, miss a note, or hit a block from an incorrect direction. Beat Saber includes both original songs and licensed tracks from major artists. The game has also received a steady flow of DLC content since its release.
Beat Saber Titles in the Series
While Beat Saber is a standalone game, it has a long history of DLC packs. Each expansion adds new songs from prominent musicians, as well as original tracks. The original game shipped with only ten songs, and since each expansion adds 5-12 new ones, each one is about the size of a new game in its own right. Beat Saber has shown no signs of slowing down on its distribution of content, as the most recent one came out earlier this month. At the time of this writing, here’s every DLC pack available for Beat Saber.
- Monstercat vol. 1 (2019, 10 songs)
- Rocket League x Monstercat (2019, 6 songs)
- Green Day (2019, 6 songs)
- Timbaland (2020, 5 songs)
- Linkin Park (2020, 11 songs)
- BTS (2020, 12 songs)
- Interscope Mixtape (2021, 7 songs)
- Skrillex (2021, 8 songs)
- Billie Eilish (2021, 10 songs)
- Lady Gaga (2021, 10 songs)
- Fall Out Boy (2022, 8 songs)
- Electronic Mixtape (2022, 10 songs)
- Lizzo (2022, 9 songs)
- The Weeknd (2022, 10 songs)
- Rock Mixtape (2022, 8 songs)
- Imagine Dragons (2023, 12 songs)
- Panic! At The Disco (2023, 10 songs)
- Queen (2023, 11 songs)
- Linkin Park x Mike Shinoda (2023, 8 songs)
Beat Saber Cheat Codes
Unfortunately, Beat Saber does not have any formal cheat codes. What it lacks in these, it makes up for in comprehensive difficulty settings. If you’re struggling with a song, you don’t need to input a secret code to get through it. You can lower the difficulty, adjust settings, or even turn on No Fail mode. True to form, this mode lets you keep playing the song even if you run out of energy. It’s a great way to practice difficult tracks before trying to go for a high score.
If you dig deep enough, you might be able to find a third-party cheat engine for the game if you’re desperate for codes, but this is a risky proposition. Downloading third-party software can endanger your PC. If your VR headset is connected, it could be at risk too. VR headsets aren’t cheap, so in order to avoid having to replace yours you should be careful when looking for external downloads.
Beat Saber Cheats FAQ
Does Beat Saber have adjustable difficulties? It does. In addition to the aforementioned No Fail mode, you can select from Easy, Normal, Hard, Expert, and Expert+ when choosing a song to play. These difficulties can be further tweaked by adjusting jump speed and spawn offset. Jump speed changes how swiftly the blocks approach you, and spawn offset changes how far away from you they first appear. By modifying these values you can make the game significantly easier for yourself or increase the difficulty for the ultimate challenge.
What is the difference between Solo Mode and Party Mode in Beat Saber? There are four modes in Beat Saber. Solo Mode and Party Mode are the two primary modes for players who are interested in playing a single song. Solo Mode is a single player online option that lets you try your hand at whatever song you like. It then uploads your score to an online leaderboard, letting you compete for top ranks with players around the world. Party Mode, by contrast, keeps things offline. You can establish a local leaderboard with names, and compete for top score with friends in the same room. This mode functions similarly to a real life arcade machine.