Beast of Reincarnation Review – Finding Soul In The Unknown

Getting out of the comfort zone isn’t easy, especially for game developers in today’s gaming market. There are many factors to consider when taking the risk of creating a new franchise, and we’ve seen that when some of these factors don’t come together, projects can unfortunately fail. However, Game Freak decided to take the risk with Beast of Reincarnation, which stands out for its originality and for showcasing a team that decided to try something new after spending many years developing the same franchise.

Beast of Reincarnation marks a departure from the colorful monster-catching adventures the studio is famous for. You play as Emma, a stoic protagonist navigating a post-apocalyptic Japan. Many years before the events of the game, the world was devastated by a catastrophe known as the Blight. This force mutated the world’s flora and fauna into monsters. To protect themselves from this plague, some humans transferred their souls into robotic shells known as Golems, while others continued living in their natural bodies. Then there are people like Emma, who have been touched by the Blight but have yet to transform into monsters.

Emma’s connection to the Blight is what gives her both her powers and her mission: to stop the Beast of Reincarnation before it triggers another Blight event. On her journey, Emma is accompanied by Koo, a dog who has also been touched by the Blight. Together, the duo creates one of the best combat dynamics in gaming this year. While this is a new project from Game Freak and has nothing in common with the studio’s previous games, there are, of course, some inspirations from other franchises. The combat draws some aspects from Souls-like games, particularly Sekiro, while some elements of the game’s design reminded me of NieR: Automata. But the Game Freak team managed to introduce enough of its own ideas to make Beast of Reincarnation stand as an original work, especially in the combat gameplay.

The combat in Beast of Reincarnation features one of the best parrying systems, one that rewards you with more than just attack openings; every successful parry also fills both Emma and Koo’s power gauge. Emma’s powers let you create fluid combos that seamlessly blend sword attacks with special abilities and takedowns, many of which are derived from the mutated flora. Some abilities allow you to create plants around Emma while crouched for stealth, slow down time when using a bow or crossbow, or even weaponize the flora itself. You can unlock these abilities through a literal gigantic skill tree or by defeating the game’s story bosses. Each boss fight is dynamic and distinct, making every victory feel both rewarding and well-earned.

In addition to Emma’s arsenal, Koo brings an additional set of abilities that further expands the combat system. These include creating giant flowers that serve as platforms for Emma to attack from, throwing javelin-like projectiles to reach distant enemies, and deploying bombs, mines, and many other abilities that help create a dynamic duo. These abilities are complemented by a variety of mods and items that enhance their effectiveness, allowing for a wide range of builds and playstyles. The game also incorporates light survival elements, as keeping both Emma and Koo with a full stomach increases their stats and health regeneration.

These abilities are not only useful in combat but also in the traversal of the world. Emma can create branches that help her reach structures both horizontally and vertically. Levels are divided by zones, and each zone is structured with either multiple or large layers that will have you using these powers creatively to navigate all in a smooth way that keeps exploration engaging. These zones are open sandboxes, and these abilities allow you great freedom in exploring them, surprising you with the different paths you can take and reach. This great level design is accompanied by some beautiful art direction as well.

The blend of green moss, towering trees, and abandoned structures helps highlight the vibrant colors of the Blight flora that has overtaken the world. This vegetation also changes after defeating a boss and even throughout exploration, adding more visual variety as you progress. However, many of the zones share this same aesthetic, which can start to feel stale after spending several consecutive zones in the same environment. A new biome is introduced in the final chapters of the game, and I think the overall pacing would have benefited if more varied environments had been introduced earlier.

Pacing issues also affect the story to some extent. In addition to suffering from the Blight, Emma has lost both her memories and her emotions, making her, as mentioned earlier, a stoic protagonist. While she does undergo meaningful character development, it unfolds slowly over the course of her journey, which isn’t a problem in itself. After all, she’s on a journey that helps her find purpose. The issue is that the supporting characters don’t provide enough charisma or personality to balance Emma’s reserved behavior on such a long journey.

Besides Koo, Emma is also accompanied by Kagura, a child she rescues who assists at the mobile base, and Brad, an older man who essentially serves as the mission operator. Brad is stern, Kagura is often too afraid to express herself, and Koo is, well, a dog. There are certainly strong and memorable moments with these characters, and I’m not suggesting the game needed a comic relief. But a character similar to how 9S adds charm to the serious personality of 2B in NieR: Automata could have added a stronger emotional balance throughout the story. I’m not saying that these are bad characters, but either Brad or Kagura could’ve had a stronger presence to complement Emma’s unemotional beats. Thankfully, even though he doesn’t speak, Koo brings some wholesome bits that keep the gameplay as well as the story interesting and fun.

These pacing issues also feel minimal thanks to the overall narrative and gameplay structure, which gives you the freedom to explore deeper if you want. Still, addressing them for a future entry could help improve the experience. Even more so when the team already has the Japanese voice of 2B herself, Yui Ishikawa, voicing Emma. The English voice, Hanako Footman, brings a great performance of sounding emotionless but dropping that emotion when needed. And when that emotion drops, it hits thanks to the help of an incredible soundtrack, with the ending of the game as one of the most beautiful moments I’ve experienced in gaming recently.

It was impossible for me not to see Game Freak’s own situation reflected in this story. The studio has spent years focused on the same franchise, and I don’t mean that as a criticism; they have been tremendously successful with it. Trying something new and taking the leap into the unknown is the hard part, but they showed here that it is worth it. The team succeeded in what they wanted to express: in a world that continues to advance through machines and digital technologies, Game Freak reminds us of the importance of the human soul. And there is a great amount of soul in Beast of Reincarnation, with an emotional story and gameplay experience that I know will inspire many human creators in the future.

 Walter reviewed Beast of Reincarnation on PC with a provided review code. This review is based on the version of the game available at the time of writing and our score will not be changed.