Behemoth Review – Shades of the Colossus

Behemoth Review

Behemoth from high profile developer Skydance carries some tall, tall expectations. Not only does it come in the wake of their success with the two Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners VR games, the Behemoth pre-launch trailer hinted at the second coming of the highly regarded Shadow of the Colossus(SOTC). So high has the hype been for the game that nothing short of a masterpiece would suffice.

Well, let me plant your feet back on the ground. This is no masterpiece but it is still an excellent game saddled with some unexpected issues. Oddly enough, most of those issues stem from game design decisions quite common when SOTC launched back in 2005. The game uses a checkpoint save system that causes frustration. It also features a stamina system that drains at different rates depending on the action. Fortunately the latest patch has balanced this out better. And most significantly, the game does not have a jump action.

One of the unintended, and maybe unforeseen expectations of the comparisons of Behemoth to SOTC is the number of colossi. In SOTC, there are twelve of them. In Behemoth there are four. Designing colossal creatures for a player to not only interact but combat within VR is no doubt a big undertaking.

From a presentation value point of view, Behemoth is on the AAA scale. The 90FPS gameplay on the PSVR 2 gives the presentation a crystal-clear look. No reprojection issues here. All the game assets are top-notch. The character models, the weapons, the environments, and, most importantly, the Behemoths. The color palette is excellent too, though the game does not give the best first impression with the opening level being a snow bound one.

Wren & The Forsaken Lands

The sound effects and score also receive the same treatment. A fully immersive 360-degree soundscape characterizes the Forsaken Lands. You’ll hear the wind whistling around you, the swoosh of arrows as they fly by, and the clang of clash of swords that match the precise location of their collision in your field of view. Finally, there is the deafening roars and subsonic presence of the Behemoths themselves. The subsonics are further amplified by the rumble of your PSVR 2 headset. Most effective.

You play as Wren, a lone hunter banished to the Forsaken Lands. The lands and you are under a curse. You suffer from the Rot, a disease that will transform you into a mindless minion. It is your mission is to find a cure for your disease by tackling not just the other afflicted, but also killing the Behemoths. To personalize the journey, the game allows some character customization. Wren can be male or female, which is reflected by not only appearance but by voice. There are also several skin tones to choose from.

You start the game in a blizzard and wind your way past a few solo enemies. You can either engage in combat, with swords or daggers, or you can stealth past them. The game’s combat system builds upon the real world physics based of the Walking Dead games, which successfully conveyed the weight and inertia of melee weapons. The real world physics alone would not prevent players from just flailing about and spamming enemies with attacks. To prevent that, Skydance continues the use of stamina and health attributes.

These attributes force strategy on the player. You must take a real world approach to combat or quickly lose encounters because of stamina or health depletion. Where Behemoth struggles is to find a good balance with stamina and how the action depletes it. Climbing uses up stamina at a faster rate than doing combat. Dashing forward depletes stamina and requires a cool-down period. However, you can run forever. This imbalance is a little off-putting.

Weapons And Curses

There are a variety of weapons at your disposal. This includes staples of melee weapons such as swords, throwing daggers, shields, and bows and arrows. Two other extra additions include the grappling hook and the curse. The grappling hook serves several functions. It allows you to move vertically, up or down. It also functions as an offensive tool. Upgrading it allows you to pull environmental objects such as tree trunks into enemies. The grappling hook also serves in puzzle solving when you have to remove a barrier to gain access to a new area.

Your curse, the Rot, gives you a strength boost. It is much like a Hulk out. It lasts only for a short time and can be used to either smash barriers or overpower enemies. The catch is, you must use it judiciously. Rely on it too much and the Rot will spread through your body at a sped up rate. It has an unfortunate game play side effect though because this strength boost does allow you to spam your way through battles with the minions and mini-bosses.

Another similarity to the Walking Dead games is how visceral the combat is. Blows land in enemies with meaty impacts. You can maim and dismember enemies to your hearts content. The satisfaction of doing so may be offset for some by the deliberateness of the combat. This is no fast paced action game if played on the default combat setting. This approach is more realistic but some may find this plodding game style not to their liking. In response to feedback, the combat option now has a more relaxed option where stamina is disabled. This makes the gameplay more arcade but also disables games achievements.
Another thing that could turn players off is the checkpoint system. It is not very generous and could force you to go quite a ways back. That can be frustrating enough but the game also requires the player to rewatch cut scenes or re-listen to dialog they have already heard. There is no skip option. Hopefully this is something that will be patched.

Battle a Behemoth

One combat mechanic of initial frustration, when you are at your weakest, is the throwing mechanic. At the start of the game, you have no way to judges throws.  This decision adds an unneeded barrier to early gameplay. Especially, since one of the earliest skill upgrades you can do, is to have thrown weapons automatically lock onto a target.

Where the game really shines is with the Behemoth encounters. The real world scale that only VR gives to games is used to its fullest extent. Looking up at a multi-story creature in VR is an awe, and fear, inspiring experience. Especially since you have to scale them to attack their weak points. It is in these encounters where the DNA of SOTC shines through.

 

Battling a behemoth is an exhilarating experience, as all of your combat skills will be called into play. To climb one while not exhausting your stamina is a juggling act. Hard enough to climb a static surface. Doubly so when you are on a moving surface that is actively trying to dislodge or attack you.

As you travel through the Forsaken lands, there are collectibles and crafting resources to be found. This also includes colossi weapons. The puzzle aspects are straight out of games like SOTC, Tomb Raider, and the Uncharted games. You will move crates to access out of reach areas or place them over pressure plates. Some collectibles will require the use of the grappling hook to reach them.

Unique Gaming Experience

Behemoth delivers on one of the most unique gaming experiences I’ve ever had the privilege to play. Thanks to VR and thanks to Skydance, you can now savor the fantasy of facing a multistory in height colossus and feeling like a badass when you defeat one. This game would be a masterpiece, with tighter game controls and fewer penalizing checkpoints. Instead, it ends up being very good.

***Behemoth PSVR 2 key provided by the publisher.***

***The version of the game reviewed here for the PSVR 2 is v1.003. Since release, Skydance has released several patches. Many of the issues identified in the pre-release version that was used for launch reviews have been addressed.***