Beast of Reincarnation Reviews
Beast of Reincarnation might be Game Freak's first AAA game, but it still feels like an AA game in the best way possible. The narrative and its execution won't deliver on its full potential, but the exploration and action are top-notch. The final stretch is where everything comes together and shines its brightest, leaving a powerful lasting impression for those who stick with it.
Beast of Reincarnation is a solid and enjoyable ARPG, but it falls short of being exceptional. Its combat, movement, and art direction give the game a solid foundation, but predictable storytelling, repetitive audio structure, and limited combat challenges prevent the game from standing out.
Game Freak borrows liberally from the genre's biggest hits. And while its messy and muddled, it's salvaged by exhilarating combat and traversal, and a surprising amount of soul.
Mixing close-range action freneticism with a gorgeous, meditative atmosphere, Beast of Reincarnation is fun, admirable, gorgeous and flawed.
Beast of Reincarnation is an action RPG that has some great ideas blossoming here and there, but they can be hard to spot among the weeds.
The game surfs on waves of philosophy and existential questions.
The final act of Beast of Reincarnation, with its telegraphed revelations and color-by-numbers moments, left me feeling… nothing.
Beast of Reincarnation is an ambitious game that often overextends itself.
Beast of Reincarnation feels like the result of Game Freak’s designers having something to say (or at least wishing they did), but constantly struggling to find the right words. It eventually becomes a very fun action RPG to play, but stumbles many, many times on the path of getting there.
From the makers of Pokémon comes a familiar souls-like formula.
Beast of Reincarnation is a fantastic ARPG that helps push Game Freak out of Pokémon’s shadow.
A solid and mostly successful attempt at a new IP by Game Freak, with a Soulslike-esque action game that’s a little longer than it needs to be and held back by a dull story and cast.
Beast of Reincarnation tries too many things at once and, as expected in such cases, fails at most of them. An incredible combat system and some of my favorite boss fights of all time are overshadowed by inconsistencies in level design, difficulty, and storytelling, leaving Game Freak's foray into Soulslikes as Blighted as its protagonist, though there is still a lot here for people to enjoy.
Beast of Reincarnation is a fun action-adventure game, primarily thanks to a robust combat system that kept me experimenting throughout my playthrough. I was also quite charmed by Koo and his relationship with Emma; it’s an area where you can really see Game Freak’s Pokemon DNA shining through. The exploration elements don’t come together, but I plan on coming back to Beast of Reincarnation when I want to slash my way through robots and monsters.
Ultimately, Beast of Reincarnation is sustained by its atmosphere and story . I thoroughly enjoyed it precisely for that reason... and because the combination of Sekiro-esque gameplay with a Nier-like feel is the kind of pitch that seems tailor-made for me, but I'm aware that it's a game with numerous shortcomings.
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If anything, Beast of Reincarnation could be the perfect 7/10; it's a mass of systems, ideas and interesting design choices that so very nearly hang together. While there's jank, annoyances and performance issues, they don't diminish the fundamental enjoyment of the world Game Freak has created. For all the long shadow that Pokémon casts, I want to see more like Beast of Reincarnation find their way into the light.
Beast of Reincarnation is a game that ultimately begs for a sequel, but is definitely worth experiencing.
Beast of Reincarnation is what Game Freak can do when let loose from its traditional Pokémon shackles. It combines a good story and interesting setting with some excellent combat and a campaign to get your teeth into. But at launch, at least, there are some performance issues that need to be addressed.
From Pokémon dev Game Freak, Beast of Reincarnation is a parry-focused apocalyptic soulslike. Is this ambitious experiment worth your time?
Beast of Reincarnation is an intriguing detour for Pokemon developer Game Freak, but it sadly doesn't live up to expectations.