At the first day of RTX 2015, I had the opportunity to interview Ian from The Behemoth, asking him some intriguing questions about The Behemoth’s new game Pit People. Pit People, which was previously named Video Game 4 because it is the developers fourth game, was an absolute blast to play.
I sat down and played a 30-40 minute demo of the first segment of the game. I can only describe the game as tremendously funny and full of the kind of trademark fast-paced action that has become The Behemoth’s trademark. This still holds true, even though the game is a turn-based strategy game. When I asked Ian about the change to turn-based strategy, he replied that “At The Behemoth, we like to change things up. All of our games so far take aspects from different genres of games. From sidescroller beat ’em up to puzzle-based. As you have probably noticed, we don’t make sequels. With Pit People, we felt like we had the ability to bring aspects of the turn-based strategy genre to a casual gaming audience.”
While playing Pit People, I found out that everything Ian described was completely true. Right off the bat, the narrator scatters funny one-liners and jokes throughout the dialog. The combat, as he essentially described, resembles a traditional turn-based strategy game. When I asked Ian about what kind of games the minds at The Behemoth took inspiration from, he replied that “[he] could compare the turn-based combat to Fire Emblem or XCOM.” This was quite true, especially when it came to the game’s gameplay in relation to Fire Emblem. In my opinion, the game also drew from aspects of the Civilization series as both games use hexagonal tiles to navigate the map. The hexagonal tiles allow for a more unique navigation when compared to the strategy games that take place on a traditional grid.
Overall, I found the party combat and overall aesthetic of Pit People to be an absolute blast. The Behemoth once again has created a unique and fun game to play. Now all we have to do is wait to buy it on the PC.
The Behemoth – Pit People (Xbox One & PC) – Release TBA
