The Behemoth has long been a multiplayer staple in my household. From Alien Hominid (and its companion, the very underrated PDA Games), to Castle Crashers, to Battleblock Theater, the studio has definitely helped me throw a sweet party or two. That’s why I was pretty excited when I found out I would get to lay my hands upon their latest mysterious game at PAX Prime this year, where it would be playable by the public for the very first time.
To the casual observer, (the tentatively titled) Game 4 probably looks a lot more convoluted than it actually is. While watching others playing the game I remarked that it looked almost certainly more complex than what I would normally expect from The Behemoth. Of course then I got a look at the somewhat minimalist custom built controller attached to each station at the booth.
What looks complex on screen feels very intuitive and simple once it’s in your hands.
The demo quickly made me feel right at home as the manic yet comforting sounds of Will Stamper’s narration played through the headphones. Stamper’s narration was an incredible high point in Battleblock Theater and fans will certainly be pleased by his new character.
The demo introduces us to our first of many heroes, Horatio, who is just getting ready to defend his family from a riotous bunch of child eating bandits. Characters do speak in the game, but their dialogue is Banjo-Kazooie-esque, in that they just have subtitles paired with some hilarious audible gibberish.
But you don’t want to hear about Horatio and his repulsion of the bandit assault. You probably want to know what the hell Game 4 actually is. The game plays like a tactical RPG, somehwat similar to titles like Fire Emblem or Advance Wars. The key difference, however, lies in the streamlined battle system. Whereas most RPGs rely heavily on you giving your units specific orders, Game 4 is more concerned with how you customize and manage your team. Combat itself is more about positioning your units strategically on the battlefield and letting them do the rest of the work for you.
After dealing with Horatio’s little bandit problem I made my way to the nearest city (rescuing a mace-wielding princess along the way). Once in town I found a plethora of new features including quests to take on, an arena to do battle in, and my very own house where I could customize and manage my acquired units accordingly.
Units will come in many shapes and sizes. Although I was only able to play as humans during the demo I was told I could eventually expect to control vampires, robots, and (like in any decent RPG) cupcakes. Human allies had a lot of room for customization, and that goes beyond just aesthetics. For example it’s no problem to take a swordsman and give them a bow to make them a full blown ranged soldier. You can customize their faces, add facial hair, helmets, etc, but they will always remain the same character. You might make Horatio look completely different from how he originally appeared, but the game will still always treat him as Horatio.
Game 4 does a terrific job of taking a genre that can often be very inaccessible and making it feel like the kind of thing anyone can pick up and play. The team has been working on the game for about a year so far and although it might feel a little late to not have an actual title yet, it’s kind of become something of a tradition for the company. Castle Crashers went by the name Ye Olde Sidescroller for at least two tradeshows while Battleblock Theater spent a fair amount of its pre-release lifespan as Game 3, so although it might not always be great marketing, you gotta admire the company’s respect for tradition.
Recruitable cupcakes could be spied through the game’s fog of war.
Of course this is The Behemoth that we’re talking about. Couch co-op is pretty much built into the company’s blood at this point so I’m sure you’re expecting some multiplayer built into your RPG. You can expect the game to support two players throughout its primary campaign although it’s very likely that it will also contain some extra modes that let even more players in on the action.
As of this moment we know that at the very least the game will be launching on Steam and Xbox One. Of course that doesn’t rule out other platforms, but maybe we should wait for dates on the first two before we go all crazy eh?
The Behemoth always treads a fine line with their absurdist comedy, but the demo I played hit every mark I could have asked for. If you’re a fan of the studio and tactical RPGs it’s only natural you’ll be picking this up. If tactics aren’t usually your thing, maybe this will be the game to change your mind.
