Tales of Berseria Reviews
Tales of Berseria takes the usually upbeat RPG franchise down a dark path that pays off thanks to a compelling story, interesting characters, and an updated combat system.
Tales of Berseria is a surprisingly strong showing for this long-running series. Its tragic story of broken people fighting on the wrong side of history makes it utterly compelling, and its well-tuned combat more than makes up for its lack of interesting environments. Simply put, this is a tale to heartbreaking to miss, or to forget.
A much more interesting story and lead character than usual for the series, but the weak script and aging combat system fail to make the most of it.
Berseria has some flaws and archaic design, but it’s one of the most interesting Tales games I’ve played
Thanks to its dark atmosphere and exciting combat, Tales of Berseria is a refreshing change of pace for the long-running RPG series.
Like most recent entries in the Tales series, Tales of Berseria is an epic adventure packed with stuff to do. There are mini-games to play, cosmetic items to collect, food to cook and treasures to uncover. Those goofy fun trappings are draped across a much more serious whole this time around, offering welcome respite from a tale that’s not afraid to take its memorable characters to some very dark places.
Tales of Berseria may not be the most ambitious or innovative game ever, but that's entirely okay. It may have a handful of issues, not least of which includes its forced backtracking, occasional reuse of dungeons and its uninspired puzzles. At the same time, its characters are often likeable and entertaining, its tale of revenge is intriguing, and its combat system is fast-paced and responsive. If you're already a fan of -- or are curious about getting into -- the Tales series, this is one to check out.
Tales of Berseria is one of the best japanese role games that PlayStation 4 has to offer. It features an amazing story with a duration of at least 60 hours. This is how this genre of games should always be.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Tales of Berseria feels like a Tales game made just for me. There’s so many games in the series now, and I’ll never play them all, but the characters and the narrative and the combat mechanics of Berseria just click with all of my tastes so well. For some, the lack of gameplay innovation might be a turn off, but for me, a classic Tales gameplay system combined with a unique narrative led to a fantastic experience. Fans both new and old would be doing a disservice to themselves if they didn’t check this game out.
One of the best "Tales of" to date. A charismatic main character lives an interesting story until the end.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Thanks to the distinctive story and a number of improvements to the overall combat, Tales of Berseria ends up being one of the better Tales games in a while.
Tales of Berseria is not just one of the best Tales games in a long time, but an essential for any JRPG fan. It’s a huge step up from Zestiria in almost every way.
Tales of Berseria isn't a reinvention of the series, but it delivers a more emotional story mixed with a great combat system to make this adventure worth taking.
While Tales of Berseria isn't quite as good as the series gets, once this game gets its daemonic claws into you, it's hard to put down.
The Tales series has always found a way to satisfy my itch for a story rich JRPG with deep character development and exciting combat. In that regard, Tales of Berseria does not disappoint. The story is gripping from the very beginning and keeps hold throughout the entire game. When it comes to the new battle system, I felt that Tales of Bersaria proved to be easily accessible to newcomers as well as offer extra benefits to those who’d like to master it. Even though the environments lacked any big steps forward for series, I felt myself constantly exploring and enjoying every moment. Berseria has quickly become not only one of my favorite games in the series, but also one of my favorite RPGs of all time.
Despite its flaws, Tales of Berseria has numerous interesting stories to tell. If the developers had cut the flab and focused almost exclusively on the cast of characters – with some combat thrown in – then I think this would have been a must-play. As it is, I think it’s still worth playing if you’re a fan of story-focused JRPGs, as long as you know you’re strapped in for the long haul.
One of the great things about the Tales of series is that you can jump in any of the games at any time and not be lost with either the story or combat. Tales of Berseria is a great launch point for newcomers, and of course a fabulous return point for veterans. JRPG fans who have never tried a Tales of game but always wanted to, this is a perfect place to start. Be sure to have the tissues close by.
Tales of Berseria is a direct response to all the fans of the series that felt disappointed with the lackluster Zestiria. With a much more interesting overarching story, a stellar cast of characters and many refinements to the gameplay, Tales of Berseria is easily the best Tales game since Vesperia.
Over-linearity and rubbish dungeon design bog it down a bit, but the combat, characters, and rather unusual plot still make Tales of Berseria a tale worth experiencing.