Review of ‘Skydance’s Behemoth’ – A Monumental Leap in VR Action-Adventure Gaming

Skydance’s latest venture, Behemoth, draws heavily from the lessons learned during their creation of The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners (2020), a VR classic. While Behemoth may tread familiar ground in its storyline, when placed in a VR context, it offers up a colossal experience that’s both rare and deeply rewarding.

Skydance’s Behemoth Details:

• Developer: Skydance Games
• Available On: Quest 2/3/Pro, PSVR 2 (coming to SteamVR)
• Reviewed On: Quest 3
• Release Date: December 5th, 2024
• Price: $40

Gameplay

Imagine stepping into the shoes of Wren, your average villager who’s been cursed—a fate drawn straight from the worlds of classics like Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke (1997). While the curse spells disaster, it also unlocks superhuman abilities, allowing you to move faster and hit harder in your mission to eradicate the evil that toppled a flourishing kingdom.

Picture yourself using this curse as you navigate through castle ruins and meandering paths, facing foes pledged to dark powers. The landscape is teeming with monstrous, Troll-like giants that add a thrilling challenge to your journey.

At its core, Behemoth is all about physics-based melee combat. Its strike-and-parry system is refreshingly straightforward, offering players the freedom to approach battles with creative strategies. Parrying requires you to simply hold your weapon in the path of an attack, leaving adversaries vulnerable to counterstrikes. However, go too wild, and you’ll quickly drain your stamina bar, an auto-recovering resource that’s crucial for dealing with each of the game’s mid-level baddies.

For those looking to tip the scales in their favor, the game’s superhuman strength mechanic is a game-changer. It lets you smash through defenses and take down multiple enemies in one go—though it’s not always available due to cooldown periods. As you level it up, you can execute faster movements and even chain together kills for an added edge.

As you progress to the latter stages of the game, you’ll find yourself facing heavily armored adversaries. Here, leveraging your strength becomes essential, along with mastering three legendary weapons: a two-handed sword, a regenerating-weapon bow, and an axe designed to shatter armor. These weapons can be upgraded at convenient forges scattered throughout the game world using Coloss Alloy, the game’s upgrade currency.

Weapon upgrades are a key aspect of gameplay, but they also highlight a missed opportunity. With numerous collectible—yet non-storable—medicinal plants sprinkled about, the game could have included a crafting element for potions. Instead, these plants provide minimal health benefits when consumed on the spot. However, the abundance of health potions from fallen enemies more than compensates for this gap.

In terms of progression, Behemoth features a modest upgrade tree for weapons and abilities. But alongside this, you’ll find yourself solving environmental puzzles and battling a range of mini-bosses. These encounters serve as appetizers to the main course: the coveted Behemoths.

Though I hoped for more, the four Behemoth battles included offer satisfying escalation in difficulty. These titanic foes test your skill set—everything from shooting and slicing to climbing and dashing—culminating in staggeringly epic, multi-stage encounters. And yes, taking down a creature akin to a skyscraper is as thrilling as it sounds.

Although your witch-like companion tends to map out Behemoth battles step-by-step, this doesn’t diminish the challenge. Each fight has you targeting weak spots across the beasts’ bodies, requiring you to navigate their gargantuan forms by climbing and grappling strategically. The Behemoths are indeed a highlight, leaving you eager for more.

While Behemoth includes various collectibles and lore-filled notes that add intrigue, the core mechanics—inventory management, leveraging holsters, etc.—are solid. The story doesn’t take center stage but rather follows familiar beats, which might feel a tad predictable but does not detract from the overall experience.

Even on its easiest difficulty setting, ‘Tenderfoot’, the game’s bosses demand a tactical approach, rewarding players who learn and adapt over multiple attempts. During my nine-hour journey through the campaign, the precision of the game design was apparent. Much of the world feels purposeful, whether it’s gathering Coloss Alloy for weapon upgrades or smashing urns for precious resources like health potions.

With Behemoth, repetition through recycled levels isn’t necessary. Its level design and fast travel options remain fresh, encouraging thorough exploration without relying on redundant content.

Immersion

The narrative voices of Wren and his witchy advisor suit the game well. They avoid unnecessarily interrupting puzzle-solving or combat with guidance, letting you navigate most gameplay autonomously. This approach avoids the common pitfall of overly-intrusive sidekicks in gaming, earning Behemoth points for respecting player agency.

That said, one of the main character voices occasionally tips towards the overly dramatic, clashing slightly with the game’s gritty aesthetic. Story-wise, while the plot doesn’t redefine the genre, it stands as a sufficient backdrop for the engaging action sequences and meticulously crafted game world.

Behemoth’s strengths lie in its visual and interactive elements. The mechanics, particularly the dynamic physics-based combat, shine brightly. Moreover, the game’s performance on Quest 3 is surprisingly robust, showcasing visuals that belie the hardware limitations one might expect from a VR setup.

While the narrative leans on familiar twists—like the climactic duel reminiscent of other games—the overall experience is enriched by the thrilling combat and inventive movement mechanics that keep players engaged.

Despite AI enemies sometimes feeling a bit predictable, Behemoth offers a consistently engaging experience. Arena battles follow expected patterns, but the game compensates with a wide array of challenges and visually captivating levels that artfully guide you through the campaign.

In summation, Behemoth is a testament to the advancements in VR technology, especially considering the improvements seen in mobile hardware over recent years.

Comfort

The game supports both standing and seated play, which means you can enjoy longer sessions without feeling worn out. Given the nature of the gameplay, ensure you have enough space to execute wide, powerful swings safely.

Options for movement and turning are comprehensive, accommodating both smooth and snap-turn preferences. The game’s visual cue system, a gentle snow-like particle effect, effectively aids in maintaining spatial awareness, providing a subtle yet effective navigational aid.

The game’s comfort levels are high, with only a single elevator ride causing minor unease. Beyond that, Behemoth delivers a comfortable and highly immersive experience for all players.

Skydance’s Behemoth Comfort Settings – December 5th, 2024

Turning

• Snap-turn: ✔
• Smooth-turn: ✔

Movement

• Dash-move: ✔
• Smooth-move: ✔
• Blinders: ✔

Posture

• Standing mode: ✔
• Seated mode: ✔

Accessibility

• Subtitles: ✔
• Adjustable difficulty: ✔

Behemoth is a benchmark for VR gaming comfort, ensuring players of all preferences can enjoy its action-packed world.