Behemoth: Rise of Shadow

En bref · fiche BoardGameGeek traduite

Behemoth: Rise of Shadow est un jeu d'aventure coopératif épique et immersif, mêlant des éléments de construction de deck, d'exploration et des mécanismes d'IA innovants qui s'adaptent aux actions des joueurs. Le jeu se déroule dans un futur fantastique : l’histoire commence en 2065, lorsque Nyx s’est réveillée de nulle part. Nous sommes désormais en 2265, et nous pensons qu’elle est une ancienne déesse de l’Ombre. Depuis son avènement, elle ne cesse de corrompre la Terre… transformant la vie et les éléments mêmes qui la composent en ombre. La civilisation humaine telle que nous la connaissons a été anéantie. Les humains survivants vivent sur le Behemoth, un rhinocéros magique gigantesque, en étroite relation avec des bêtes magiques. Un petit groupe d’humains et de bêtes joue un rôle crucial pour assurer la survie de la vie et représente le dernier espoir. Il s’agit des rangers et de leurs bêtes de compagnie, qui parcourent ces terres corrompues pour combattre l’Ombre, secourir d’autres bêtes et protéger le Behemoth dans son périple. —description du concepteur

Présentation de la campagne

Journey through Earth, rescue wild animals and protect the Behemoth from the silicon dust

 

Behemoth: Rise of Shadow is an immersive co-operative adventure game set in 2265.

It has an engaging gameplay thanks to intuitive AI mechanics that adapt to players actions.

 

The game creates a great sense of cooperation thanks to simultaneous actions, while giving space for individual players to have fun thanks to asymmetry in gameplay.

In year 2065, a deep excavation project cut through some thick layers of silicon stones. This released big quantities of silicon dust into the atmosphere, causing human technology to malfunction and fostering over time the growth of silicon hybrid organisms.

 

It started with Icelandic microbes, then shadow fungi proliferated in a network, creating a form of collective intelligence we call Nyx.

When ingested, these fungi makes animals stronger and smarter, thanks to the new ability to synthetise carbon-silicon bonds.

We are now in year 2265. Some humans live together with other animals on top of Behemoth, a majestic rhino carrying a castle on its top.

 

Behemoth wanders through the world, connecting some otherwise isolated cities and eating giant mushroom trees to get bigger and more resilient to silicon dust. Players take the role of rangers who are tasked with rescuing wild beasts and restoring remains of past civilization, while protecting the Behemoth.

 

The game has an engaging and strategic yet simple gameplay: you move across the world and activate abilities, using dice to face challenges and rescue animals.

While journeying through the map, you will travel across forests, lakes and deserts, discovering some real world breath-taking landmarks.

 

Prototypes for Map locations

At any point, hop on top of the Behemoth and bring to safety the rescued animals. As your ranger gains experience, you can welcome new animal citizens in your team and grow stronger.

 

 You can shape your luck when playing! Plan carefully for certain success when rolling dice or take your chances.

Strategies and NYX, the fungi collective intelligence

There are different strategies viable, with the tension of an AI that adapts to it. You can specialize your animal crew cards on one terrain, unlocking synergies which will make your party stronger at following certain strategies over others:

 

• Forest-aligned skills are focused on restoring nature and clearing shadow
• Water-focused skills are adaptable and quick to respond
• Sand-native skills are all about journeying and exploration

 

You will have to find the right balance while specializing, as Nyx tracks what you do and reacts accordingly!

The more you focus on one terrain, the more dice of that colour you will lose to Nyx bag. At night time, you will draw from the bag and  Nyx will use information from the colours drawn to drive her response (this mechanics is inspired by how real world AI algorithms work).

As of June 2025, the game is under development and testing (you can read  our designer diary if curious!).

The core mechanics are in place and work well. But there is still significant playtesting needed. Having an adaptive AI is cool and all, but to balance it means having to test way more combinations of scenarios than the average game.

 

Our current best release estimate is for late 2026 - 2027. We are giving ourselves a 6m lead-time to confirm details  (i.e.: at the moment, we know that we won't release in the next 6m).

 

Get involved

• Join the FB Group
• Join our Discord server
• Sign up for playtesting
• Follow the BGG Page
• Join our Newsletter

 

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Thank you so much for your interest in Behemoth, any comments or questions let me know!

 

Andrea