K-Pop sensations BTS, the South Korean all boy septet have found remarkable success over the past couple of years, especially in the United States and Europe, although their most rabid fanbase is apparently located in the Philippines. With a musical style inspired by hip hop, R&B, Pop, and EDM their catchy and tuneful songs are a natural fit for Beat Saber and so it’s great to see this TinyTAN DLC pack released today and available from 12 November at 6:00 am PT.
The pack comprises 12 of their most famous tracks, including the smash hit Dynamite, as well as Boy With Luv, and DNA, both of which smash 1 billion views on Youtube.
The full lineup is as follows;
- Blood Sweat & Tears
- Boy With Luv (Feat. Halsey)
- Burning Up (FIRE)
- Dionysus
- DNA
- DOPE
- Dynamite
- FAKE LOVE
- IDOL
- MIC Drop (Steve Aoki Remix)
- Not Today
- UGH!
The DLC also features the inclusion of the TinyTAN, the cute BTS animated characters inspired by the band members, who appear throughout the songs, and which according to Oculus ‘bring comfort and inspire appreciation of the little things in life.‘.
I was fortunate enough to get early access to the DLC on the Oculus Quest 2, to provide my impressions for VRFitness Insider.
Impressions – Fun, uplifting, and full of charm
It’s been a few months since I played Beat Saber, my exercise sessions in VR now mostly centered around using my Quest to connect to my stationary bike and Concept 2 rower. I have to say loading this up I immediately regretted that fact, as I was instantly reminded just how fun and immediately gratifying Beat Saber is.
Before I discuss the DLC, I must also mention how well the game runs and looks on the Quest 2. It’s smooth and sharp, and the tracking is highly responsive. I also feel the haptics are stronger than the Quest 1 controllers. One other point, even though I’ve had the headset since the October 13 launch date, I’m still using the included controller batteries. The life in these things is impressive! The audio is definitely a slight upgrade over the Quest 1, but not good enough to play Beat Saber without earphones. So I plugged some in for a more immersive experience, cramming them deep into my ears to get the best amount of bass.
I wasn’t overly familiar with BTS prior to playing the DLC, knowing only a couple of songs, but the music is instantly appealing, especially when you’re slicing blocks to the beat of the music.
I’m a fairly mediocre Beat Saber player, despite the large number of hours I’ve put into it, so I played through the songs on the hard level. One of the obvious reasons for Beat Sabers near-universal appeal is how easily it can be scaled to the user’s ability, whilst still making the player feel like a badass, rather than the writhing mass of uncoordinated flailing limbs that many of us actually are. We can’t all be Expert + superstars, able to ace every song without missing a block but Beat Saber scales perfectly so even if you can barely tell your left arm from your right, you’ll still be able to pick up and play Beat Saber immediately. Even my mum, now in her late sixties and never having played a video game in her life loved Beat Saber when she tried it.
I’ve recorded some footage of me playing below.
These were my first run-throughs, and whilst I missed several blocks I was able to complete all the levels successfully. I’d say the difficulty level on hard is about the same as hard on the Imagine Dragons DLC. I’ll happily spend a few weeks mastering it this level and getting perfect rounds before I try and step up to the ‘proper’ levels that I know most of you all play at.
The levels are quite literally pink and fluffy, you’re perched upon a platform above the clouds, and I personally liked the inclusion of the TinyTAN, these cute little figures pop up at various times and provide a bit of extra visual interest.
Although this isn’t the kind of music I’d ordinarily listen to, I think it’s a perfect choice for playing Beat Saber. The songs are uplifting and easily inspire positive emotions. It had me grinning at times at just how great it feels to play, and this BTS pack is definitely my favorite Beat Saber DLC since the excellent Imagine Dragons pack.
Some of the songs are quite a workout too, with lots of sidestepping and raising your arms high to slice multiple stacks of blocks. I was sweating quite profusely by the end of my hour or so of playing.
Verdict – Get It!
If you’re a fan of BTS, or just like cheerful, happy pop and dance music then this is an easy recommendation. The 12 tracks total around 46 minutes, and perfecting the songs on your chosen skill level will take many play-throughs so there’s a few hours of entertainment here for sure. For fifteen dollars or ten quid, this is a decent buy if you’re a fan of the musical genre.
BTS DLC for Beat Saber is out for the Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift prices at $14.99, £10.99 GBP, ¥1490, €14.99 for the pack / $1.99, $1.49 GBP, ¥190, €1.99 per track
You can also purchase the pack on Steam, and it’s available for PSVR too.
