Hand tracking has been floating around the VR space for quite some time now, but even still it seems woefully underutilised for something that can create so much immersion. It’s a super feeling to drop the controllers – as fun as they are – and actually use fingers and hands as the input. While the feature was firmly in the “experimental” phase in earlier editions of the Quest, it’s true to say now most of the obvious roughness has been polished over. That said, one of the issues facing those using that method is how to adequately provide that haptic feedback that is central to the immersion.
Step forward, then, XR Games, the developers of whom have incorporated hand tracking into the core mechanics of their rhythm-based Beat Saber alternative in the creation of Beatable, which left early access earlier this summer and provided a novel way to bring in physical feedback for the user. Instead of button pressing or hitting flying blocks, it’s all about tapping a real-world table (although also playable just tapping thin air for those operating more portably or for the sound-conscious), clicking fingers and clapping hands – all using the power of the Quest’s hand-tracking system.
Like its inspirations in the VR space, the beauty is in just how simple it is to pick up and play, and in terms of aesthetics it equally doesn’t stray too far from Beat Saber, with a futuristic and simplistic art style. Instead of smashing big blocks, though, Beatable sets down a table with four segments and notes fly towards each one. Think Guitar Hero but instead of pressing colours, the skill is in matching the beat of the song and hitting the right segment.
Alongside this, there are sections that include held notes, notes that bend and require the player’s hand to follow the trail, and finger clicking and hand clapping moments. In terms of bringing physical immersion into the playstyle, it nails it. Given Beat Saber has been around for practically as long as VR gaming has also been in the mainstream, it’s no surprise that Beatable has significantly less tracks available on release, with just 24 at present.
It’s a neat mix of genres, with tracks including the likes of J-Pop by Kudo Haruka all the way to metal singer Mikee Goodman of SikTh fame. However, it is a slight shame there is no standout mainstream hit included that really acts as the key selling point. While the ability to create custom tracks is naturally also included, it is still a bit early days in people creating and sharing a wide selection and the system of building one is likely too big a time commitment for the majority of people picking up Beatable.
Beyond all of that, though, the key question is: how does Beatable actually play and feel, and is it enough to join the likes of Beat Saber at the top of the VR rhythm genre? There is a bit of tweaking involved in order to adjust the latency between the music and the hand tracking, which might involve some trial and error, but the truth is that the system works surprisingly well and really demonstrates just how far hand tracking has come on Quest. The game is no doubt compensating some of the time to take the latency into account, but it never feels overbearing or that what the player’s hands are doing doesn’t mostly match what is happening on the screen.
