Berserk and The Band of the Hawk Reviews
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is a fantastic hack-and-slash for Berserk fans, and a good one for any other action fans.
Though you may do get bored from time to time with its unchallenging levels and repetitive gameplay, blasting through enemies and beating monsters’ asses are still fun experiences. You may also choose stay for its gripping and emotionally captivating story, as well as the intensity of the characters you get to control. I love it simply for its stunning manga-style yet realistic graphics, its story, and because I can still appreciate a Dynasty Warriors format. You may choose it for these reasons too, and especially if you are someone that enjoys a good hack-and-slash.
Overall, Berserk: Band of the Hawk is probably the best adaptation of the manga's story to date, and lives up to the chaos, havoc and authentic visual style of Berserk - Where it falls short, however, is when you start to compare it to other Musou titles, or if you try to jump in without ever seeing a single speck of the original story - My recommendation? Read the first 16-or-so chapters of the Berserk manga, to learn the underlying characters, story and premise, then move onto playing Band of the Hawk; that way the movie cutscenes and dialogue will fill in all blanks up until the end of the game, which stops short around an arc or two where the manga currently rests. If you've played Musou games in the past, this title may seem extremely simplistic and a bit watered down, but for newcomers to this subgenre of war game, there really isn't a better introduction, or a better time to get into them than right now.
A standard musou experience, graced by an impressive narrative universe that makes it unmissable for the fans... and rather boring for anyone else.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Although Band of the Hawk is incredibly faithful to Kentaro Miura´s manga, it becomes boring after playing several stages. We miss multiplayer modes in this musou.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is, as Musou games go, undeniably enjoyable and satisfying. The Berserk franchise fits the “Musou” style very well and the Berserk story gives a depth and a length that the genre generally lacks. Omega Force and Koei Tecmo’s decision to use established franchises for its recent Musou titles was a great move and Berserk was definitely a great choice for its latest collaboration. While the game isn’t breaking any new ground, fans of either the “Musou” series or the Berserk franchise will certainly enjoy Berserk and the Band of the Hawk.
A bloody romp, a fun time with no brainpower required. One good story followed by one not so good story and literally infinite side content. Fans of the Warriors series will get exactly what they expect, plus extra entrails. Fans of Berserk will likely get a kick out of sundering enemies in two as the black swordsman as well as the host of accompanying characters but may be disappointed that some story details fall by the wayside.
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk its one of the simpliest Musou games that Koei Tecmo has made. It is not a bad game by any means but it also doesn't offer anything different or new from what we have saw in any other titles from the genre and one that, sadly, doesn't fully capture the escence of the story that its based on. Simply put, is one game that fans from the original manga or anime will enjoy, but also one that other players will forget really quick.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
If you are at all interested in the world of Berserk, either as a long time fan or a complete newbie then this game is worth a look. If you are looking for an interesting game with varied as well as involved hack and slash gameplay, you might want to give this entry a miss and check out one of the mainline Dynasty Warriors games instead.
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk doesn't capitalize on the Dynasty Warriors formula as well as it could have, but its incredibly dark and engaging narrative makes it a unique experience. Dynasty Warriors fans will likely be satisfied with what it has to offer in the gameplay department, but if you're tired of that particular brand of hack 'n' slash then this will do little to change your mind.
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk, like its source material, isn’t for everyone, but underneath its many flaws lies a solid core combat system and a great campaign mode that does a good job adapting the long-running manga to fit the Dynasty Warriors structure.
I enjoyed my time with Berserk and the end game content offers hours and hours of replayability for fans who just can’t get enough. The gameplay would definitely stand toe-to-toe with other licensed musou games like One Piece: Pirate Warriors and Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, but maybe this game could have strayed further away from the typical musou formula like what fans saw with Attack on Titan. Instead, it seems Omega Force played it a little too safe.
Berserk and The Band of the Hawk is a button masher’s dream, but it doesn't bring much new to the Warriors template beyond putting players in Guts' shoes for action.
This title is a good entry point to first experience Berserk for any newcomers to the series. Longtime fans may be annoyed by the reuse of scenes from the Golden Age movies and wish other arcs past that point received more attention - I know I did. But the game's addictive and satisfying combat ensures Berserk and the Band of the Hawk will remain installed on my PS4 throughout 2017.
Dynasty Warriors-style slasher with characters and brutality from Berserk. There are some flaws, but fans should be satisfied.
Review in Polish | Read full review
This vision of Berserk loses a lot of its narrative potency because it cuts around it and provides only the most basic of skeletons for narrative context.
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is a strictly by-the-books Warriors-style game. There's enough value here for die-hard Berserk fans, if only for collecting Behelits, which unlock artwork and galleries, and they can enjoy the fun of mowing down tons of helpless foes. However, in comparison to most other recent Warriors titles, Berserk feels unambitious. As an anime adaptation, it's a darn sight better than something like Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage, but it seems to coast on its popular license rather than trying to do something special.
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk doesn't do much special compared to other Warriors games, but it's a fun romp for fans of the series or Koei Tecmo's Warriors titles.
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk offers an interesting story full of action but fails to deliver on the gameplay. It is a game for the fans of the series but it should also serve as an introduction to newcomers.
Simple, violent and rough around the edges, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is just like its protagonist, Guts, and equally just as endearing in small doses.