Skip to main content

‘Beat Saber’ becomes highest-rated Steam game on Star Wars Day

If You Want to ESCAPE with Me...Beat Saber

Although not officially affiliated with Star Wars, it feels oddly perfect that Beat Saber has become the highest-rated game on Steam on Star Wars day (via Road to VR). You know? May 4 — as in: May the fourth be with you.

Recommended Videos

When we say the highest rated game on Steam, we mean the highest rated game — of all time. Things could obviously, and probably will, change, but just a few days after launch, Beat Saber has overtaken Portal 2, Factorio, and other longstanding top of the list powers with a 99-percent positive score across more than 1,200 user reviews. That’s not exactly a small sample size. And the game is still in early access. And did we mention it’s a VR game?

Fittingly named, Beat Saber combines rhythm with lightsabers in a chaotic, engrossing experience that puts the magic of lightsabers to a different use than dismemberment. You can watch the game in action in the video above.

Players slash blocks as they funnel down the screen with red and blue lightsabers, controlled with either Oculus Touch controllers or HTC Vive controllers. It’s also available on Windows Mixed Reality headsets, which combine AR and VR. The video above showcasing gameplay is from mixed-reality company LIV.

As of now, Beat Saber has ten songs and four difficulty modes. Hyperbolic Magnetism, the studio behind the breakout VR hit, has been developing the game since 2016. The studio plans to add a single player campaign with challenges and possibly more modes, too. Additionally, the full version could potentially include an editor which would allow users to make their own songs and levels.

The current track list will also hopefully expand from ten songs for the full release. An exact date hasn’t been given, but Hyperbolic Magnetism is shooting to have Beat Saber out of early access by the end of the year.

Beat Saber is available for $20 on HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Windows Mixed Reality headsets.

To further celebrate Star Wars Day, enter our giveaway for a chance to win a $550 lightsaber from SaberForge. We also have a list of six untold Star Wars stories we think would make great films. As always: May the fourth be with you.

Steven Petite
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…
Pick up these 7 great PC games during Steam’s Women’s Day Sale
Call of the Sea gameplay.

A Women's Day Sale, spearheaded by indie game funding organization Wings Interactive, is currently taking place on Steam. Until March 10, a wealth of games starring and made by women are seeing some significant discounts. From mind-bending puzzle games to vibrant action titles, this sale is full of fantastic indies worth a look during Women's History Month. Here are seven highlights to check out if you're looking to grab some great games for cheap.
Call of the Sea

Call of the Sea is a fantastic first-person puzzle game set in the 1930s about a woman trying to find her husband on a remote Pacific island. This game from developer Out of the Blue is a vibrant adventure full of clever puzzles, and it's supported by a stunning central performance from Cissy Jones, who you may recognize as Andreja in Starfield. Call of the Sea is discounted by 60% for this Women's Day Sale. While it usually costs $20, you can snag it right now for $8. A deluxe edition bundle with its soundtrack and art book is also available for $9.25.
Tinykin

Read more
Star Wars: KOTOR remake developer reportedly sold by Embracer Group
A Sith lord in the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake trailer.

Saber Interactive, the game developer and publisher behind highly anticipated upcoming games like the remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, is reportedly being sold by its parent company, Embracer Group.

Bloomberg reports that Saber Interactive will be sold to private investors for "up to $500 million." Saber Interactive has several subsidiaries, including 3D Realms, 4A Games, Aspyr Media, New World Interactive, Tripwire Interactive, and Zen Studios, but it's unclear how many of those it will retain ownership of after being sold at this time as Embracer Group and Saber are declining to comment on the deal. Embracer Group originally acquired Saber in February 2020, and it served as one of the company's primary operating groups.

Read more
The best Star Wars games of all time
Cal fighting the Ninth Sister in Jedi Fallen Order.

Star Wars has been a cultural touchstone since the original film debuted in theaters more than 45 years ago. Today, the Star Wars brand is still led by the ongoing movie series. Each Star Wars movie release stirs frantic buzz across the world, and with Disney+, that even extends to television now with series like The Mandalorian.

It seeps into video games, too, and although there are a lot of bad Star Wars games, recent ones like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor prove they can be good. Let's take a look at the best Star Wars games, ranging from third-person shooters to full-blown role-playing games.

Read more