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

Skydance’s Behemoth carries forward the innovations we’ve seen in VR design, a progression largely attributed to the studio’s past success with The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners from 2020. Stepping into the realm of original IPs in the action-adventure genre, Behemoth veers towards a narrative path that might appear generic if not experienced in VR. Yet in the virtual space, it carves out a niche by delivering a colossal journey that feels immensely rewarding.

### Skydance’s Behemoth Details:
– Developer: Skydance Games
– Platforms: Quest 2/3/Pro, PSVR 2, Meta PC (with a cross-buy option for Quest users), and it’s set to release on SteamVR soon.
– Reviewed On: Quest 3
– Release Date: December 5th, 2024
– Price: $40

### Gameplay

Drawing parallels to Studio Ghibli’s classic Princess Mononoke, Behemoth places players in the shoes of Wren, a villager beset by a fast-advancing curse. This affliction is a double-edged sword: doom looms, yet it endows Wren with powers to move swiftly and fight fiercely. Your quest is to discover the evil plaguing a once-great kingdom, and halt its advance.

As you navigate decayed castles and serpentine paths, you’ll face various enemies under darkly twisted forces—among them, massive Troll-like creatures destabilizing the land. Behemoth shines with its focus on physics-based melee combat, granting players flexibility in how they tackle opponents. Defense tactics include parrying enemy strikes, which opens them up for counterattacks. This combat demands attention, as misusing your auto-regenerative stamina can make encounters with mid-tier foes quite challenging given their differing arsenals and styles.

There are tactics to ease these confrontations—like leveraging superhuman strength to shatter enemy armor and target multiple foes with a single blow. Though it’s absent from the clip here due to a cooldown, this move becomes more impactful as you progress, enabling chain attacks and swifter movements.

The game’s latter half ramps up the difficulty with armored foes, pushing you to rely on your strength and legendary arms like a two-handed sword, a regenerative arrow bow, and an armor-piercing axe—all upgradable at handy forges scattered throughout the world. The available upgrades rely on Coloss Alloy, the game’s primary upgrade currency, which you can collect from chests.

The crafting mechanics are minimal, primarily focusing on weapon upgrades. It’s a little disappointing given the abundance of collectible herbs that offer temporary health boosts, leaving one to wonder if a more robust potion-making mechanic was once planned but later dropped. Even so, health potions are readily looted from fallen enemies, so it never becomes a major setback.

As you progress, you’ll navigate between puzzles and mini-boss fights, all leading to encounters with the titular Behemoths. While I would have loved more of these encounters, the existing ones certainly demand all your honed skills in combat, climbing, and observation, making for intense battles that challenge your approach. These giant creatures test your capabilities—how does one, after all, take down something so monumental?

The game channels your progress with the aid of a mysterious companion, who suggests strategies while you’re tasked with executing them. Her presence doesn’t make the task any simpler; rather, it highlights strategic weak points on the titanic adversaries. Climbing their massive frames adds to the thrill, making each battle with these behemoths a memorable event—and yes, I do wish there were more!

### Immersion

The characters, including our protagonist Wren and his head-inhabiting companion, manage to build immersion without becoming obtrusive in puzzles or combat scenarios. Behemoth avoids the overdone trope of a verbose guide character, allowing players the space to solve puzzles independently. The presence of two voices in Wren’s head could easily disrupt, but the game balances their input well, keeping the experience focused.

Though the voice acting sometimes feels overly dramatic, breaking from the grim world the game effectively builds, the visual fidelity on Quest 3 goes a long way toward pulling players into its world. While the narrative threads can feel overly familiar, the game maintains interest through its bustling combat, clever environmental interactions, and well-executed physics-based systems.

### Comfort

Behemoth cleverly accommodates play styles, supporting both seated and standing gameplay, easing extended sessions without fatigue. Its combat demands wide swinging motions, which necessitates clear space, but also rewards your physical engagement.

With robust movement options, hardcore gamers can enjoy smooth or snap turns, and there’s a configurable vignette feature for comfort. Despite a single instance of motion discomfort during a wobbly elevator ride, the game generally maintains a comfortable experience throughout.

In summary, Skydance’s Behemoth demonstrates what’s achievable within VR’s unique capabilities, confirming the gaming landscape’s evolution even with the limitations of current mobile hardware. While certain narrative elements lag, the sheer fun and spectacle of combat ensures a captivating experience.