When color and simplicity try to attack you Beat the Beats VR You hit them back gladly. Sometimes with a certain elegance and other times a little desperate. You reduce them to splinters with direct hits, hooks and blocks following a musical pattern. Soaking up sensory stimuli through PlayStation VR2. An alternative to the popular Beat Saber or virtual boxing games? Both things at the same time, but with something more: the increasingly better defined “game-feel” of Parallel Circles always ends up making the difference.
The new game from the creators of Flat Heroes claims the genius of indies and the possibilities of virtual reality. It channels concepts from games born in arcades and brings them to PlayStation VR2, making its minimalist aesthetic envelop you. But, above all, make every combo you do fun. That you come up high when you chain blows and, two seconds later, you get down on your nerves while you try to dodge an obstacle just the slightest. You can almost, almost feel it on your side when you move.
Beat the Beats VR It’s that kind of genius that if you judge it by its screenshots or its trailers it could pass right under your nose almost on tiptoe. It’s all gameplay. What’s more, after the initial stages, and upon returning each day, you end up being grateful that everything is always so intuitive and direct to the player. So daringly simple and, at the same time, so entertaining.
Even when it is your first game you have the feeling that you know practically all the basic principles of Beat the Beats VR. Something that does not change or is lost later: you will always be clear about what is happening and if you screw up or lose the chain of combos it is not because they have come to catch you, but because you have gotten lost. Which, far from frustrating you, encourages you to continue. To go further. To improve your own records.
In fact, Beat the Beats VR It reduces the preambles and tutorials to a minimum and introduces new ingredients to its gameplay very little by little without ever feeling overwhelmed by what is -literally- coming at you. What’s more, you won’t need to know how to block until you’re far enough into the game.
Because the essential thing is not to memorize each theme or phase like Rhythm games, but to offer games in which there is much more room to react intuitively and energetically. Conquering each musical track with a double purpose: unlock the next album and continue having fun.
Simple and fun never goes out of style.
The dynamics of any game of Beat the Beats VR It hardly has any mysteries: when you put on the VR headset you enter a minimalist world that reacts to the song that is playing. From there, using both hands, you must hit targets based on the direction they come from. If they are pink with the right, if they are yellow or green with the left and if you are color blind (like me) you have an option in settings that will open the doors of heaven for you.
After the initial bars, things get just a little more complicated: you discover that the stage is reactive, that you can block and, at key moments, a kind of orange torpedoes will jump towards you that can only be avoided by moving away with your body. What’s more, that’s where the haptic technology of PlayStation VR2 comes into play and you notice that they pass by you. Giving more and better nuances to each session.
Don’t get me wrong: Beat the Beats VR It is simple and minimalist, but none of that makes it a simple game. And much less boring. Quite the opposite: instead of traditional worlds you have musical albums at your disposal that give each gaming experience its own identity. And although the influence of Beat Saber It’s there, it’s not the only one: the musical envelope draws on the legendary PSP Lumines. And that, added to VR technology, turns each game into an experience.
The way to progress Beat the Beats VR It doesn’t have much mystery either and everything is always at a glance: first you try to find out where the objects will come from and perform the broadest chain of combos. Afterwards, the music will take over the experience and you will stop worrying so much about your score and focus more on your health meter. In making good blocks and dodges while destroying everything that comes your way. And that’s amazing.
The way in which the experience surrounds you in an integral way makes it very easy for you to let yourself be carried away by everything or to trust yourself. And when you reach the end of a session and an album you have to open your prize: Beat the Beats VR puts before you a new album with its own character. One you unlock, by the way, by throwing punches. As it should be!
When it comes to content, and this is essential, we have six release albums and each of them has its own theme. Your own personality. There are some that are more vocal, more funk, more focused on dance… A last “world” that will truly test the lessons learned and, if that were not enough, all of the above, in addition to the more than 60 levels We have the B-sides. Don’t want to go around too much and just feel like playing for a while? Minimalism prevails and you have daily mixes. Of course, without losing perspective: Beat the Beats VR always tends ties to its arcade roots. Establishing that simple and fun never goes out of style.
iGamesNews’s opinion
As with one’s own Flat Heroes, judge Beat the Beats VR Due to its simplicity, it is a total mistake: the game, made primarily by two people, takes good ideas from rhythm and boxing games and manages to offer an engaging experience. That invites you to return. That always entertains and that, ultimately, makes you hum its songs when you turn off the console. A triumph no matter how you look at it.
Beat the Beats VR knows how to take advantage of the PlayStation VR2 possibilities through a resolution that suits its bright, minimalist and colorful environments wonderfully. Offering fluid and stable frame rates that immerse you deeper and better in the experience and an omnipresent rhythm that is a pleasure to dive into with punches. Being challenging enough when necessary, but without losing perspective: when you start the game you are not going to exercise, but rather have a genuinely good time.
Beat the Beats VR is that kind of genius that you should not judge by its captures, but by its gameplay sensations
There are aspects that, perhaps, would have rounded out the experience. As a multiplayer option or online modes. However, the new Parallel Circles has been developed by a small studio, but with very clear ideas. Developers who bet everything on playability, on “game-feel” and, as a result, without being a huge surprise, achieve something that today seems reserved only for the classics: hooking from the first game. From minute one.
Beat the Beats VR It keeps the player coming back, either to unlock new themes or because they have enjoyed the ones they already have. Promoting that if, in addition, we are one of those who use VR once a day, we go overboard even if it is to fight with the daily mix. Condensing the best of rhythm games, boxing and sensory experiences in a single virtual proposal. One that in the middle of 2024 claims minimalism and delicious arcade sensations on PS5. And it does well.
Precio de Beat the Beats VR
The price of Beat the Beats VR is set at 19,99 dollars in the PSN digital store for PlayStation VR2. Also, if you have another virtual reality system you will be interested to know that there is a free demo and Steam, although there is no release date, and Parallel Circles intends to release it on Meta Quest as well. On the other hand, no special editions or expansion packs or additional albums have been announced.
Beat the Beats VR Duration
Beat the Beats VR It’s designed for you to play every day, so there’s no set duration. Rather the complete opposite. If you have some rhythm and a good hook you can unlock the six albums in three or four afternoons, and if you want to do a marathon you are within your rights, but in the end you end up exhausted from exercise or from the use of glasses. Plus, you have the daily mixes and B-sides, so you’ll always have an excuse to stir up the air. In any case, the process is not difficult and you end up having a great time.
Beat the Beats VR
| Platforms | PlayStation VR2 |
|---|---|
| Multiplayer | No |
| Developer | Parallel Circles |
| Company | Parallel Circles |
| Launch | February 27, 2024 |
The best
- A minimalist and deliciously intuitive boxing game
- Their musical themes and albums are catchy and generate audiovisual experiences.
- Pure gameplay: its simple presentation contrasts with a fluid and fun rhythm
Worst
- Be careful when moving too much if you get carried away by the music and the combos: you can get scared
In iGamesNews | PlayStation VR2 one year later: how far Sony’s virtual reality generational leap has come
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