Skydance Games is making a big return to the VR platform this year. Their next title release is called Behemoth. Within this fantasy game, we are stepping into the role of a warrior, having to battle the corrupted lands and slay massive beasts to rid a horrible curse. Recently, we spoke with Skydance Games’ Game Director, Brian Murphy, about what we can expect from this upcoming release. If Behemoth wasn’t already on your radar, maybe this interview might change that.
Gameranx: How would you describe the game for someone just coming across Behemoth for the first time?
Brian Murphy: Skydance’s BEHEMOTH is a wide-linear, narrative-driven experience packed into a 12-hour adventure. Our story takes place in the Forsaken Lands, a once proud and mighty kingdom torn asunder by monstrous beasts. Players embody Wren the Hunter, an outsider from beyond the Forsaken Lands whose only hope is to stop the spread of the curse by slaying the monstrous Behemoths.
Coming off the success of The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, this game is our team’s dream project and a genuine labor of love. We actually released a great graphic novel from the legendary Matt Forbeck and stellar comic artist and illustrator Daniele Serra, which fans can read – at no cost – on our website. It’s a great way to set up the adventure that’s coming on November 14.
Gameranx: When did development begin, and what were some of the key inspirations behind this project?
Brian Murphy: After completing The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, we wanted to do something completely different. What’s more opposite of Walkers than literal behemoths?
We like to think of our game as an epic, blood-soaked quest that pulls a little bit of magic from games like Shadows of the Colossus or God of War, except you get to experience what these creatures would feel like through a VR headset.
Gameranx: Can you tell us more about our protagonist, Wren the Hunter?
Brian Murphy: Wren the Hunter has come to this terrible place on a personal mission. The Behemoths’s rot has spread beyond the Forsaken Lands to Wren’s distant home. The curse has infected Wren’s mother and everyone they care about. They will soon die unless they rely on the old legend that the curse will lift if the Behemoths of the Forsaken Lands are slain. Wren’s mother has sent her only child on a fateful mission to do the impossible – kill the Behemoths to save their mother, their village, and hopefully themself before all hope is lost.
It’s also worth mentioning that as far as we’re concerned, Wren has no canonical gender or race. We adapted the customization options from the player characters in The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, where players can choose Wren’s voice, skin tone, and hands to better inhabit and identify with our protagonist.
Gameranx: I understand that this game is centered around an ancient curse. Could you elaborate on the nature of this curse and its impact on the world?
Brian Murphy: This curse has completely besieged the kingdom in which Skydance’s BEHEMOTH takes place, and Wren is on a perilous mission to end the rot curse running through their veins and plaguing everyone they know and love. The only cure for the curse is to slay unslayable gods, the towering Behemoths.
We have created a graphic novel, available on the Skydance’s BEHEMOTH website (https://www.behemothvr.com/), that details the backstory of Fox and her brother Rabbit, who join a ragtag band of hunters led by the Trapper to slay the mighty titans responsible for the Curse.
Gameranx: Does Behemoth share any DNA with your previous release, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners? Were there any elements or lessons learned that helped aid the development of Behemoth?
Brian Murphy: Our team set a precedent for gritty, physics-based combat in The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, and we’ve built upon that for Skydance’s BEHEMOTH, but where Walkers are naturally less apt for hand-to-hand combat, enemies in Skydance’s BEHEMOTH are responsive to a player’s movements and attacks.
On the mechanics side, we were able to utilize the existing physics-based combat system and tap into some of our team’s leadership experience on titles like Die by the Sword to reimage the doll-like severing system from The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners into a new dynamic severing system where players can cleave enemies in any direction by using the world and weapons around them. We can guarantee that no two kills will be the same.
Gameranx: Since Behemoth was unveiled, has player feedback helped influence the development process?
Brian Murphy: Oh, absolutely. Going back to The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, we saw that many players enjoyed the experience but did not complete the game. That feedback guided the team to build an experience that always keeps the player in action. Player progress is balanced with an eye on the average reported VR play session of 30-40 minutes. We focused on quality content over maximum content, with a shorter, more linear campaign that fit the action-adventure spirit of the game. The hope is we are unambiguously motivating the player forward and creating a sense of immersion and momentum all the way to the final battle.
Gameranx: Let’s talk about the biomes. There are four distinct biomes, correct? Will players be free to choose the order in which they tackle these areas, or would we see a more linear progression approach?
Brian Murphy: Yes, there are four biomes in Skydance’s BEHEMOTH. Given the wide-linear gameplay style, players will progress through these biomes in a specific order, following the narrative arc and progression of the Behemoth battles.
Gameranx: Continuing with the biomes, do these environments affect combat and exploration? Will players encounter unique challenges or advantages within each area?
Brian Murphy: The initial planning of the environments was very intentional, with the goal of creating varied areas that are genuinely different from each location in the game. For example, we are always thinking about player immersion and realism. They go hand in hand. When you’re in the Dreddstag swamps and encounter poisonous gas, you have to cover your mouth to keep safe. Each biome also teaches players new mechanics needed to defeat the Behemoths. You’re interacting in a way that you would interact in real life, so players feel present in the emotion of the journey.
Gameranx: What’s the average playtime players might expect from Behemoth?
Brian Murphy: Currently, the golden path for Skydance’s BEHEMOTH takes players an average of 10 to 12 hours to complete. However, for the players who like to explore and seek out more of the hidden lore in the game, we are seeing play times of upwards of 18 to 20 hours.
Gameranx: Do we know if there are any post-launch plans for Behemoth?
Brian Murphy: We can’t talk much about future plans for Skydance’s BEHEMOTH, but we are really stoked to gather even more player feedback post-launch to see how we can continue to refine the game and see how players respond to exploration of the Forsaken Lands. It is an extremely rich narrative-driven world, and we hope players want to see more of it once they beat the campaign.
Gameranx: Can you update us on where the team is at in terms of the development process?
Brian Murphy: The team is currently working on patches and bug fixes for the game. We have a complete, playable game from start to finish, so now it is entirely about refinement up until launch on November 14.
Again, players interested in picking up a copy of Behemoth can expect its release on November 14, 2024.
