Skydance has solidified itself as one of the premiere VR game developers. The studio’sWalking Deadgames stand out as some of the best VR titles available, and so expectations have been appropriately high for Skydance’s latest VR game,Behemoth. A gritty action-adventure game set in the dark fantasy world of the Forsaken Lands,Behemothis yet another great virtual reality game from Skydance and is easily one of the better VR action-adventure games.
InBehemoth, players take on the role of Wren, a hunter from a small village who finds themselves afflicted with the same supernatural rot that has taken over the Forsaken Lands. Ending the affliction means killing gargantuan beasts, the titular behemoths, all while gathering gear, fighting human enemies, and solving puzzles.
The behemoths are the big selling point ofBehemoth, and they do not disappoint. The immense size of these creatures can not be understated, and battling them is absolutely thrilling.Behemothdelivers some of thebest and most memorable boss fightsin all of VR gaming through these jaw-dropping creatures, with each fight topping the one that came before in complexity, challenge, and scale. These fights would have looked incredible on a traditional flat TV or monitor, but seeing these monsters in the context of virtual reality is truly something else.
Behemoth’s Boss Fights Are Its Biggest Draw
The incredible behemoth fights are worth the price of admission alone, though there are a couple of issues that prevent these encounters from reaching their full potential. There’s a great deal of climbing inBehemoth, and usually, it works exactly as intended, but there were times when climbing simply did not work correctly when trying to scale these gigantic creatures. One of the more impressive behemoth fights was also ruined by audio cutting in and out, which was distracting and robbed the moment of its impact. But even with these hiccups,Behemoth’s boss fightsare ones to remember.
There are only a few behemoth fights in the game. In-between, players have to cut through countless hordes of human enemies armed with swords, axes, shields, and bows. Players are able to pick up and use any weapon they come across on their adventures, with the fghts benefiting greatly from the freedom allowed by VR. Players can smash through an enemy’s shield with an axe, stun them with a quick arrow shot to the foot, and then stab them through the head while their guard is down. Having so many weapons at one’s disposal may seem daunting, but players don’t have to worry about fumbling with their inventory in the heat of battle. The key weapons automatically return if tossed aside, and players can even throw their sword andmanually recall like it likeGod of War’s Leviathan Axeif they want.
Early on,Behemothgrants Wren with a special ability that vastly increases their strength for a short duration of time. If fights ever become too overwhelming, players can trigger this skill to literally cut their opponents in half, lop off their limbs, and even pick them up and throw them. As the game goes on, Wren’s arsenal grows, in turn increasing the options players have in any given combat encounter, ensuring that the fights inBehemothnever get old.
There’s plenty of fighting inBehemoth, but the game shines with its puzzle-solving. Fans ofZelda-style puzzleswill have a great time tackling the puzzles inBehemoth, and while many of them may be simplistic compared to traditional console games, being able to take a literal hands-on approach to everything helps them feel fresh. Puzzles help break up the combat encounters and ensureBehemothkeeps a great pace from the start of the game to its end credits. There’s nothing here that will have players pulling their hair out, but there is still enough challenge to the puzzles that players won’t be bored either.
My first playthrough of Behemoth took about 10 hours, but I can see it taking another 5 to 10 hours for 100%.
The final piece ofBehemoth’s core gameplayis its platforming.Behemothoutfits players with a grappling hook that they can use to zip to higher ledges, sometimes using their momentum to fling Wren across long distances to then grapple on to the next point and so on and so forth. Wren’s dash, usually used for dodging enemy attacks, can be used mid-air to zip across gaps, and players can also jump up walls and ledges that they’re physically climbing with their hands. Clever twists to the formula are sprinkled throughout and that, combined with the upgrades players get for Wren’s grappling hook that give it more utility, keeps things interesting.
Behemoth Gives You Bang for Your Buck
Everything in the game is so effective becauseBehemothdoes not overstay its welcome. It gradually gives players more tools, and then presents puzzles and combat encounters that utilize the tools. WhenBehemothruns out of ideas, the game ends. That doesn’t meanBehemothdoesn’t have a significant amount of content to journey through. My playthrough took about 10 hours, and I didn’t even come close to seeing everything. There are many places off the beaten path, often with more difficult puzzles and platforming challenges that grant helpful rewards.
Behemothhas collectibles for players to find, but the real exciting rewards are the metals that players use to upgrade their weapons. Keeping true toBehemoth’s VR immersion, upgrading weapons isn’t done by clicking through a menu. Players have to place their weapon on an anvil, melt down the necessary materials, and then hit the heated weapon with a hammer. Much like Skydance’s other VR games,Behemothdoes a great job of keeping players immersedby taking full advantage of VR’s unique capabilities. What would be a mundane task in any other game is instead made engaging and fun.
From a gameplay perspective, it’s hard to find fault withBehemothbeyond the wonky climbing during the behemoth boss fights. The game’s two biggest drawbacks are its story, which is bland and predictable, and its graphical mishaps, which are a little too common. Most of the time,Behemothlooks great, but other times it drops the ball with textures that fail to load and wonky-looking effects.
Behemoth has an Arena mode that’s currently in Beta testing, but we were unable to try it for this review.
It’s not perfect, but that doesn’t stopBehemothfrom being one of the best VR games to date. It’s an action-packed adventure that should greatly appeal to fans of games likeThe Legend of ZeldaandGod of War, with a healthy balance of gritty combat, satisfying puzzles, and immersive exploration. It’s thelatest must-have VR experienceand one of the best virtual reality games to release all year.
WHERE TO PLAY
Behemothis available now for PC, PlayStation VR2, and Meta Quest. Game Rant was provided with a Meta Quest code for this review.
