Skydance Interactive has established itself as one of the best VR game developers, having created the wonderful The Walking Dead: Saint & Sinners. The status of industry leaders and mind-blowing trailers of the new project have heated up gamers’ expectations to the limit. The parent company Skydance Media even decided to include the corporation’s brand in the game’s title, as if once again emphasizing its high ambitions. And, apparently, Behemoth is really capable of becoming one of the VR flagships, simultaneously giving impetus to the entire industry.
Chosen Again
In Skydance’s Behemoth, the player takes control of a hunter (or huntress, if you prefer) named Ren. The protagonist and his mother were struck by a supernatural disease that swept through their village and the entire kingdom of the Forsaken Lands. However, unlike the others who suffered, Ren also gained superhuman powers with the disease. The disease gave him immense physical strength and the ability to use magical weapons in combat. To put an end to the epidemic and save his mother, the chosen one must kill all the giant creatures living in the kingdom, called Behemoths.
The narrative is probably the weakest part of Skydance’s Behemoth. Yes, there is room for a couple of twists in the plot twists, and the lore is quite logical. But if you have watched, read or played at least a couple of iconic fantasy works, then the narrative is unlikely to surprise you with anything. The “unexpected” turn is easy to read in the first hours, and the ending is… let’s say, classic.
Fun Hardcore
Of course, the main reason to play Behemoth is the battles with giants. Already on the approach to each of the majestic creatures, you raise your head and are amazed at how insignificant the protagonist is against their background. The battles themselves are epic, matching the appearance of the opponents. The battles are staged in the spirit of Shadow of the Colossus – you need to find a special approach to each Monster in order to get to the vulnerable points on its body and hit them with a magic sword.
The giants will try to hit or crush the protagonist, throw him off or, for example, knock him out with a terrible scream. To fight the sound, you will have to literally cover your ears with your hands. Such simple but extremely immersive VR mechanics make battles and travel through the Abandoned Lands memorable. In addition, battles with giants are quite long, offer a serious challenge and require the player to use all the techniques he has learned. Multiply this by the features of VR controls, and you get a very hardcore experience: even on an easy difficulty level, you will have to sweat, and sometimes – in the literal sense of the word.
Unfortunately, there are only four battles with giants in the game. But you will not be bored between battles with bosses. Firstly, the protagonist will have to fight his way through countless hordes of enemies possessed by the disease. Opponents, armed with swords, axes, shields and bows, actively fight back and often attack in groups. Ren, in turn, is free to cover himself with a shield, parry attacks with a sword, shoot a bow and use throwing blades.
You can pick up weapons from the corpses of enemies and use them. In total, eight slots for storing the arsenal are opened during the game. However, you will probably use magic weapons the most: a special sword, bow and axe. The sword resembles Leviathan from God of War – it can also be thrown at enemies and pulled back. With the help of a bow, you can hit explosive barrels and temporarily neutralize enemies with a shot to the leg, and the axe is most effective for cutting through shields. Since the battles in the game are complex, you will have to combine the entire arsenal on the go, which can be quite difficult in VR. This is especially true for battles with mini-bosses, who are quite tenacious and attack aggressively.
The developers have provided for this, and if the magic weapon is lost, it automatically returns to the inventory slots. In general, the battles turned out to be hardcore and remind you of both Dark Souls and Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. As in the latter, the protagonist can occasionally use supernatural physical power and the environment. By activating the “ultimate”, Ren can literally cut opponents in half, cut off heads and limbs, and simply throw enemies.
As the story progresses, the protagonist gradually expands his arsenal of equipment and abilities. There is no level system in the game, but weapons can be modified using materials hidden in locations. What’s nice is that the process of upgrading weapons is nicely tailored to VR – in the forge, you need to manually add materials to the smelter, and then forge equipment with hammer blows.
Early Access to VR Beauties
Unfortunately, there were some technical problems. The game is actively being edited, but many bugs still remain. The controls aren’t always responsive – Ren keeps grabbing the wrong item, which adds confusion to the already difficult battles. Enemies sometimes fall into textures, preventing you from advancing through the story, since the exit from the location most often doesn’t open until you defeat all the possessed. Once or twice the game simply crashed.
But the graphics are pleasing. The picture is very detailed for a VR game. The designers have done a tremendous job to surprise with views of castles and mountains stretching into the distance, as well as pleasant weather effects. The best, of course, are the Monsters. Even just watching them slowly move, your mouth opens. Not to mention the moments when they come close to the hero.
The number and implementation of VR mechanics (including those exclusive to PS VR2) are also fine. When you hit a weapon with a hammer in the forge, you feel a very appropriate feedback from the controllers. When you hit enemies, you also get feedback, but in the form of helmet vibration. Adaptive triggers make archery more realistic. Even saving is implemented immersively – to make a save, you need to put your palms on the protrusions on a special totem. In addition to the classics of the genre, such as crushing objects and the already mentioned covering your ears, I will note covering your mouth and nose in poisoned areas. It is also very nice to interact with the inventory (which is also a quest log and a mini-map) in the form of an unfolding scroll.
New Reality?
In 2024, quite a few large-scale and high-quality VR games appeared. Among them are the incredibly atmospheric Metro Awakening, the technological Batman: Arkham Shadow and Behemoth itself. The extremely promising Alien: Roque Incursion is already released on December 19.
Even gambling platforms like BET365, known for their comprehensive sports betting and gaming options, have shown interest in fostering engaging online experiences. While Behemoth is not tied to such platforms, the growing convergence of interactive gaming and betting highlights new possibilities for players.
Why do only one and a half enthusiasts know about these projects? How did it happen that after the release of Half-Life: Alyx, almost nothing is heard in the information field about VR games?
Perhaps, the VR industry is simply not popular and profitable enough to be widely covered. Headsets are not yet very affordable. Their ease of use leaves much to be desired. Even to play on the newest devices, you need to set up the equipment, constantly charge the controllers and store all this jumble of gadgets and wires somewhere. In addition, it is unlikely that you will be able to play for a long time due to the fact that your eyes get tired pretty quickly in any headset. The least prepared may even experience headaches or nausea.
Such restrictions do not contribute to the growth of VR game sales and the development of the industry. Perhaps that is why many projects tailored for virtual reality are still tech demos and simple shooting galleries-attractions without a plot. Probably, when the devices become more convenient and accessible, and large corporations see mass demand, we will get more cool AAA games, and the industry will step forward. And Behemoth is one of those projects that can show that VR has left its infancy and has already become a fertile platform for full-fledged interactive hits.
