Berserk and The Band of the Hawk Reviews
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is great. The strong visuals and story are complemented well by the gameplay. It should be satisfying for both fans of the gameplay style and fans of the Berserk franchise, and still approachable enough for fans of neither to enjoy. The only downside is that Warriors games' signature gameplay can lead to fatigue in long play sessions. It's a solid and polished game that is definitely and easily recommended to all.
At the end of the day, it does what it says, it's a Warriors game, and it does it as well as most of the other games do. It's nothing spectacular, but it is good mindless fun.
Taking everything in to account, “Berserk and the Band of the Hawk” is a decent Dynasty Warriors spinoff and an excellent Berserk game the fans have been eagerly awaiting. There are a few nitpicks as well as some weird design choices that might hold some people back from enjoying the game to its fullest; but, if you can enjoy an extreme power trip with memorable characters and a shocking story, this is one game definitely worth checking out.
BERSERK is certainly not a perfect game, it suffers from confusing and struggling story-telling, repetitive gameplay and not working design concepts. Omega Force tried to squeeze the Berserk franchise in the Dynasty Warriors concept, removing a lot things that make it work and adding some new, not nearly as good things to it. However BERSERK nails one thing: Being Berserk. During the first ~6-7 hours BERSERK´s gameplay works well, due to unlockable combos, leading to a very enjoyable experience, combined with the brutal and fitting presentation. Honestly, I wouldn´t recommend BERSERK to someone who´s new to the franchise, it just can´t tell the story properly in order to understand what makes it so great and is just to “niche” to be enjoyable over its playtime. However, for Berserk fans like me this game fills a hole, the wish to finally play these amazing battles himself, to slaughter thousand of enemies himself and to experience this story himself.
Probably the biggest strike against Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is, paradoxically, that it got me into the Berserk franchise.
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is a nice game and the feeling of being part of Kentaro Miura's masterpiece is intense... for a few hours. Latter it's just a little mess with a bit of Berserk.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Berserk could have been great, but instead it’s an average, repetitive romp that would have benefited from a bit more thought put into what makes it special.
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk isn't a bad time, but it's not quite the Berserk Warriors I was hoping for. The story mode is great fun for a while but soon falls apart, character unlocks are tantalizing until you realize how thin on the ground they are, and generally nothing good the game does comes without at least some minor caveat.
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is just another musou, since Omega Force didn't apply to the base formula the changes that made both Attack on Titan and Dragon Quest Heroes better games. This is a more violent and slightly easier version of the latest installments in the Dynasty Warriors Franchise, so consider buying it only if you're a diehard fan of this type of game.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is a game made for fans; Musuo and Berserk. Berserk fans will pick at the intricacies, or lack thereof, in the story mode and Musuo fans will lament it for the lack of innovation and shallow offerings. It’s a hard sell for either market, but for what it is worth; I did enjoy seeing the characters come to life on screen and flying through levels in the berserker armour.
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is mindlessly repetitive, but its combat is still somehow addictive enough to be an enjoyable action game with a dark-fantasy story that stays true to its source, most suitable for fans of Berserk. It even left me craving to try out new characters in Endless Abyss Mode. But it desperately needs more challenge and variety to carry it through its campaign, especially considering you can't bring a friend with you.
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk's fate is to be branded as yet another not-so-great initial effort from Omega Force. While the release does get a decent amount right – the story mode is nicely done in places and the fundamental combat mechanics are super satisfying – it stumbles on several fronts. Again, we're left with a Warriors game that's begging for a much improved sequel. Fans of Berserk will enjoy bathing in the blood for a good few hours, but it's hard to ignore the cracks at this sword's core.
One of the longest running manga has its own Dynasty Warriors-style game, and hey - it actually works pretty well.
With a horrifically conflicting relationship between mechanics and narrative, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is a great example of two great tastes that don't taste great together.
Berserk and the Band of Hawk is a fun and beautiful experience, especially for those who read the Manga or watched the anime. The soundtrack and the fast paced gameplay give you intense moments that will make your experience even better. Unfortunately, after a couple of hours, the game start to feel repetitive, and the lack of additional modes gives you no reason to play the game again after finishing the main story.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is a guilty pleasure that is best digested in small doses. It's really entertaining to savagely murder dozens of enemies with such a large weapon in a single swing, but with such simplistic combat and generally unaggressive enemy forces, the novelty wears thin after a while. On one hand, it can be a great entry point for those who have been curious about the original manga and anime, but at the same time, this is also a fairly dumbed down telling of these stories and characters. Long-time berserk fans will be excited to hear that the story does go further than the "Golden Age" arc (an overly represented arc) and actually has extensive story that goes into the "Falcon of the Millennium Empire" arcs. Any Musou fan already knows if they are interested in Berserk and the Band of the Hawk, but this is not the grand Berserk game Guts deserved.
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is an average but frustrating game.
In the end, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk offers plenty of content for fans of the franchise in an impressively presented package.
Only big Berserk fans should try this one, and even then I'd say wait for a price cut.