Skydance's BEHEMOTH Review Summary

Epic boss fights, satisfying melee, fun gameplay, and excellent VR immersion are undermined by frequent crashes, launch failures, and VR detection issues.

Epic behemoth boss fights: Behemoth battles are repeatedly described as epic, spectacular, and a major highlight, conveying a massive sense of scale. In VR, these fights are among the most impressive and breathtaking experiences available.

Satisfying melee combat: Reviewers consistently praise the combat as smooth, satisfying, and fun, with many calling it the game's strongest selling point. It rewards learning the rhythm and becomes even more enjoyable once players understand the mechanics.

Solid overall fun gameplay: Many reviewers find the game overall fun, enjoyable, and interesting to play, with good design and many great aspects. It is frequently described as a blast and a lot of fun.

Excellent VR immersion: The game is widely regarded as one of the best VR titles, with immersive interactions and high-impact experiences throughout. Many reviewers list it among their favorite VR games ever played.

Beautiful graphics and visuals: Graphics are consistently praised as beautiful, excellent, and well-made, with gorgeous environments and backdrops. The game performs well even on ultra settings without bugs.

VR launch and headset detection failures: Multiple clusters report the game fails to launch from SteamVR, shows no headset detected errors, or only works via desktop shortcut across various headsets. This affects SteamVR, Steam Link, Quest 2/3, Vive XR Elite, and Pico 4 users.

Headset detection errors on specific devices: The game fails to recognize HTC Vive XR Elite, Quest 2, Quest 3, and Vive Pro 2, often requiring desktop shortcut launches to work.

Frequent crashes and launch failures: The game often fails to launch, crashes on startup, or crashes shortly after loading, including when launched through Steam or Steam Link.

Parrying frequently fails: Players consistently report that parrying does not work or only works half the time, even after patches, and is difficult with certain weapons.

Persistent bugs and janky gameplay: The game is described as extremely buggy with many issues including sound bugs and janky gameplay.

Weapon variety and combat depth: Players can use a variety of melee weapons, each with different uses and tactics, including one-handed and two-handed options. The combat system offers numerous actions and skills to learn.

Behemoth boss battles central: Players frequently highlight colossal Behemoth boss fights as a core feature, often describing them as the main highlight. These encounters are noted for their scale and distinct designs.

Parrying and blocking combat: Combat frequently includes parrying and blocking mechanics, often combined with dodging and melee weapons. Reviewers emphasize the defensive timing-based nature of fights.

Grappling hook traversal and combat: A grappling hook is used for both mobility and combat, allowing players to swing, climb, and throw enemies. Many reviews mention its integration into traversal and fighting mechanics.

VR melee combat experience: The game is a VR title with a strong focus on first-person melee combat, where players swing blades, parry, and dodge. VR immersion is repeatedly mentioned as a key aspect of the combat system.

SteamVR launch failures: Many players report the game fails to launch from SteamVR, often showing Unreal Engine errors or not starting as a VR game. The workaround is to launch from the desktop Steam app or a desktop shortcut.

Stuttering during gameplay: Stuttering occurs regardless of settings, and some users report severe jitter when using SteamVR OpenXR runtime. Workarounds like launching through OpenXR via Oculus Hub can help.

Good optimization on high-end: Many users with high-end hardware (RTX 4070 Ti, 3080, 4090, etc.) report smooth performance at high or ultra settings, often using Virtual Desktop. Frame rates are stable, sometimes reaching 90-120 FPS.

Frequent crashes on startup: Players experience frequent crashes upon loading or immediately after starting the game, often crashing to desktop. Launching via Steam or Steam Link can consistently trigger crashes.

Virtual Desktop works well: Many users successfully run the game using Virtual Desktop, with some minor stutters that do not occur during actual gameplay. Issues may be user-side but overall it's a viable workaround.

Mixed but overall positive reception: While many recommend the game, a substantial number cannot recommend it or have refunded it due to various issues. The overall sentiment is divided between enthusiastic praise and significant disappointment.

Must-have for VR enthusiasts: Many reviewers describe the game as essential for VR owners, especially those who enjoy action combat and giant boss fights. It is frequently called a must-buy or must-play for the platform.

Buy only on discount: Numerous reviewers consider the game overpriced at full price and advise waiting for a sale or purchasing in a bundle. Several explicitly state it is not worth the full asking price.

Poor performance on Quest: Multiple reviewers report that the game runs poorly on Quest 2 and Quest 3, recommending waiting for patches before purchasing for those platforms. Technical issues and bugs are also cited as reasons for not recommending.

Combat issues are dealbreaker: A recurring criticism is that the combat system, particularly blocking and parrying, is poorly implemented. Several players report stopping playing or refunding the game specifically because of frustrating combat mechanics.

Community fair range: $20.00 - $30.00.

Game completion: 10.0h.

Story completion: 9.0h.

Endgame: 3.0h.

Players often need to get past awkward grappling-hook and combat controls; once those systems click, satisfaction and fun rise. Reports of immediate enjoyment or persistent boredom exist, but they are less directly tied to the unlock moment.

Friction: Grappling hook feels clunky at first; Combat and controls have a steep learning curve; Throwing system remains unclear beyond the tutorial; Tutorial explains important systems poorly; Bugs disrupted the opening experience; Repetitive regular-enemy combat between bosses.

Unlock drivers: Practice with the grappling hook turns clunky use into satisfying swinging; Combat becomes satisfying once the parry and attack timing clicks; Getting used to the controls makes actions great fun; Learning the grappling hook's aim assist when dismounting.

Physics-Driven VR Combat Veteran: Compares weapon weight, hitboxes, and locomotion against other VR action games; seeks physics-heavy swordplay. Motivation: Testing and mastering physically simulated VR melee combat with responsive weapons and player-driven movement. Stance: sale.

Achievement Completionist: Runs hard-difficulty completionist playthroughs, hunts collectibles, upgrades all weapons, and tracks missable achievements. Motivation: Completing every optional objective, collectible, upgrade, and achievement across difficulty and NG+ runs. Stance: sale.

PC VR Performance Tinkerer: Tweaks OpenXR runtimes, Link or Virtual Desktop settings, supersampling, and frame rates while troubleshooting launch and stutter issues. Motivation: Achieving smooth, high-framerate PC VR performance with plug-and-play SteamVR and Meta compatibility. Stance: no buy.

Both Windows VRAM cohorts report positive technical performance, with the game running well overall and only isolated minor stutters in the 8-11GB VRAM cohort.

Windows 12-15GB VRAM: positive. Reviewers report that the game looks good, runs well, and plays well on this hardware cohort.

Windows 8-11GB VRAM: positive. Reviewers report strong optimization and smooth play, with only minor stutters that do not affect actual gameplay.

Combat compared to Blade & Sorcery: Many reviewers benchmark the melee combat against Blade & Sorcery, often noting it does not reach the same level. The comparisons cover pacing, weapon handling, and human-vs-human fights.

Shadow of the Colossus inspiration: The boss encounters and puzzle-boss structure are repeatedly likened to Shadow of the Colossus. Some reviewers say the game does not measure up to that classic.

Quest 3 with Virtual Desktop: Multiple players report running the game on a Quest 3 via Virtual Desktop without launch or gameplay issues. One even cites a high-end PC setup (9800X3D, RTX 5080).

Short campaign length: Playtime reports range from roughly 6 to 16 hours, with most citing around 8–10 hours to complete. The campaign is considered short by some reviewers.

Skydance developed and published: The game is developed and published by Skydance Games, the studio behind The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners. Reviewers note the shared pedigree.