10 Shameless Video Game Rip-Offs (That Were Actually Great)

4. Beat Saber

Dantes inferno
Beat Games

VR rhythm game Beat Saber is effectively three unapologetic ripoffs for the price of one.

On one hand it owes a colossal debt to both Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution, as you're similarly tasked with hitting notes on a "highway" that's moving towards you, while performing physical actions to the beat.

And on the other it borrows aesthetically - and very unofficially - from Star Wars, given that you use two definitely-not-lightsabers to hit the aforementioned notes.

Yet once you get over the fact that the ever-litigious and IP-protective Disney never bothered pursuing legal action against developer Beat Games, Beat Saber is a ludicrously fun time.

A quite ingenious fusion of two iconic rhythm game franchises with Star Wars branding sort-of slapped on it, Beat Saber is both a compulsively addictive VR experience and one of the best home workouts you can ever put yourself through.

While hardly groundbreaking, the core gameplay loop is so simply effective that Beat Saber has basically become the default VR experience to onboard new players with.

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Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.