Skydance's Behemoth: Here's how the Quest 3 and PSVR 2 version compare
Skydance's Behemoth is coming out today. MIXED gives you first impressions of the graphics on Meta Quest 3 and Playstation VR 2.
I played Behemoth on Meta Quest 3 for about an hour yesterday, and then right after that the same passages on PSVR 2.
I didn't notice any serious problems with either version, although Skydance Games did announce patches for Playstation VR 2 and Meta Quest just before release. The good news is that Behemoth runs, plays and feels great, at least in the early parts I played.
In the following article, I describe my first impressions and compare the graphics. A full review will follow at a later date, as Skydance Games only gave us access to the game two days before the launch.
First impressions: Engaging from the first minute
Given that and the patch announcements, I feared the worst about the game's launch. However, these fears turned out to be unfounded. Behemoth feels very polished.
From the first minute, I felt immersed in the game world, which is inhospitable, brutal, and beautiful at the same time. I noticed some missing textures here and there, but it was rare enough that it didn't detract from the experience. The harsh ice and winter landscapes you explore in the beginning brought back fond memories of Skyrim and fits perfectly into the current season.
Walking, running, crouching, climbing and interacting with objects: It all feels exactly as I would expect from a VR game, so much so that I literally got lost in the experience and almost forgot I was wearing a VR headset. Skydance Games is an experienced VR studio, and it shows.
Behemoth is not for the faint of heart: the melee combat feels weighty and archaic. Swords can get stuck in bodies while opponents fall to the ground with rolling eyes. You are killing humans here, not zombies as in The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners (Skydance's first VR game), which adds to the drastic nature of the violence.
What I really liked about the early parts was the level design and the environmental puzzles. I felt like I was exploring a handcrafted world full of hidden objects that rewards your curiosity. I hope Skydance can maintain this throughout the game and that the world opens up a bit later on, because what I've seen so far is pretty linear.
Without Quest 3 optimizations at launch
Let's move on to the visual comparison. The Quest 3 version runs at 72 frames per second and fortunately doesn't use Meta's reprojection technique, which can result in visual artifacts.
Graphically, this version left mixed feelings, mainly because it is not (yet) optimized for Quest 3(S) in any way. What you get is a Quest 2 game in the slightly higher standard resolution of Quest 3.
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While the outside world looks relatively good and offers some impressive vistas, the interiors fall a bit short visually. This is due to the low-resolution, low-detail textures that can make the interiors look flat and artificial. You can use the Quest Games Optimizer to significantly increase the resolution of the game and reduce the aliasing, but this does not change the textures.
Behemoth is by no means an ugly game on Quest 3, and those who are used to Quest 2 graphics will not be bothered by the visuals. But right now, the strengths of the Quest 3 version are definitely not in the graphics. I hope that Skydance Games will deliver a Quest 3 update down the line because there is a lot of potential lying dormant.
Playstation VR 2: A difference like night and day
While I didn't notice much of a difference between the Quest 3 and Playstation VR 2 versions of Metro Awakening, Behemoth is a different story: the two versions are actually worlds apart.
I strongly suspect that Behemoth, like The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, was developed primarily for more powerful VR platforms and then graphically downscaled for Meta Quest, and not the other way around. This will please graphics enthusiasts.
The VR game looks simply stunning on the Playstation VR 2, with vivid 3D models, detailed textures and lots of atmospheric effects. A crisp picture and a much smoother frame rate than the Quest version round out the overall positive impression. If you want to play Behemoth in all its glory, you'll have to pick up the PSVR 2 or PC VR version.
If you look at your own hands in the Quest 3 version, you will see dark stains in the palm of your hand that testify to the curse that has befallen the people of this land. In the PSVR 2 version, those spots are replaced by a rampant disease that has eaten holes of varying sizes into the tissue. This is just one example to illustrate the glaring differences between the two versions.
You can purchase Behemoth from today in the Horizon Store and the Playstation Store. The game is also coming to Meta's PC VR platform. A date for the Steam release will be announced soon.
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