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

Skydance’s Behemoth brilliantly highlights the studio’s deep understanding of VR design, largely shaped by their work on the well-received VR game The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners released in 2020. Behemoth, while rooted in familiar action-adventure narratives, sets itself apart in the VR sphere by delivering an engaging experience that few can rival. Its impressive scale and satisfying gameplay ensure it holds its ground firmly.

### Gameplay

In Behemoth, you find yourself embodying Wren, a cursed villager whose fate mirrors themes found in classics like Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke. The curse, albeit dangerous, also bestows you with extraordinary abilities, allowing you to move swiftly and dismantle enemies with profound force. This empowered journey is motivated by the quest to uncover and eliminate the malicious source that decimated a once-great realm.

As you engage this world, your curse becomes an instrument of power, affording you thrilling combat encounters through ruined regions teeming with fell creatures loyal to dark entities. Among these are enormous Troll-like giants—truly a sight to behold.

### Combat and Strategy

In a game centered heavily on melee combat, Behemoth provides a refreshingly creative approach to battle tactics. The parry mechanism involves simply aligning your weapon against incoming attacks, creating opportunities to counter with increased damage. But don’t get too reckless; a well-managed stamina bar is crucial, as each foe brings unique challenges, requiring your utmost attention to detail and strategy.

Your heightened strength periodically lets loose a devastating blow capable of cutting down swathes of lesser adversaries. As a key strategic element, this power intensifies with upgrades, offering speed boosts and chaining potential.

Progressing into Behemoth introduces predominantly armored opponents, demanding reliance on both your strength and legendary weaponry. Throughout your journey, you’ll collect powerful tools—a two-handed sword, a bow with regenerating arrows, and an armor-breaking axe. These significantly enhance combat but require resources like Coloss Alloy, obtained from chests, to upgrade at conveniently placed forges scattered throughout your quest.

### Puzzle and Epic Battles

Interspersed with combat are several environmental puzzles and diverse mini-boss encounters, which ramp up the challenge. Yet, the true spectacles are the massive Behemoths—four formidable giants that each require careful, calculated assaults on their vulnerable points. Accompanied by a mysterious voice guiding (and sometimes instructing) you, these encounters test every skill you have honed: from shooting and slicing to climbing and grappling.

### Immersion and Story

The narrative, unfortunately, sticks a bit too closely to predictable gaming tropes. While the story might not shatter expectations, the immersive environments and well-crafted interactive moments hold much to appreciate. In terms of voice acting, while competent overall, the occasional disconnect arises between the world’s grim backdrop and certain character deliveries, which can feel slightly misplaced.

Graphically, Behemoth is a triumph on the Quest 3, exhibiting visuals that one might expect from a PC VR setup, complete with extravagant textures and fluid animations.

### The Challenges

With a stout difficulty curve, even on the easiest setting, Behemoth offers a tough ride through its nine-hour campaign. Each enemy encounter and upgrade bears significant purpose, keeping players engaged as they search for resources, battle through obstacles, and confront the Behemoths themselves.

### Comfort and Options

For those wary of VR’s physical demands, Behemoth accommodates both seated and standing play. Swinging and big movements do require space, but the game’s comfort settings, including smooth and snap-turn options, ensure that players can customize their experience. Subtle visual elements, like a snowy particle field, provide steady orientation and contribute to a comfortable experience throughout.

Overall, Behemoth may not revolutionize storytelling within VR, but it stands as an impressive and thrilling adventure, packed with satisfying combat and a promising display of VR potential, proving once again the growing capabilities of mobile VR hardware.