Our verdict: 7.5/10 — a brilliant combat game trapped in an ordinary world. On the strength of its deflection-and-Koo fighting system, Beast of Reincarnation is one of the most distinctive souls-likes in years. But repetitive stages, over-long cutscenes, and shaky performance keep it from greatness. Critics broadly agree: it opens on OpenCritic at 76 ("Strong") with 68% of critics recommending across 41 reviews, while players stay divided. If you're on Game Pass, start it today; on PS5 at full price, temper expectations for everything outside the fights.
The verdict in one line
The combat is the best thing Game Freak has ever built, and the game around it is merely fine. Emma's Sekiro-style katana play feeding into her blighted dog Koo's time-slowing command menu is genuinely novel, and it stays satisfying across the 20-to-30-hour campaign. What drags is everything between the fights: recycled environments, flat side characters, and cutscenes that outstay their welcome. That gap — sensational combat, unremarkable world — is the story of nearly every launch review.
Beast of Reincarnation at a glance
| Detail | Confirmed at launch |
|---|---|
| Release date | August 4, 2026 — out now, worldwide |
| Platforms | PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (Steam and Microsoft Store). No PS4 and no Switch version. |
| Players | Single-player only — no co-op or multiplayer of any kind |
| Price | $59.99 standard / $69.99 Deluxe |
| Developer / Publisher | Game Freak / Fictions, Inc. — the studio's first AAA action RPG outside Pokémon |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 5 |
| Genre | Single-player souls-like action RPG with a parry/deflect core |
| Game Pass | Day one on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass. No subscription route on PS5. |
| Structure | Stage-based (not open world): roughly 13 chapters plus an epilogue, "Bearing Fruit" |
| Length | ~20 hrs fast, 25–28 typical, 30–35 completionist; true 100% needs NG+ (see how long to beat) |
| Endgame | Level cap 100, respec supported, New Game Plus required for full completion |
| Aggregates | Metacritic 72 (63 reviews) · user score 6.1 · OpenCritic 76 ("Strong", 68% recommend) · Steam "Mixed", 65% positive |
What the critics scored it
Reviews skew positive, with a long tail of dissent. The aggregate settles into "Strong" territory rather than must-play, and the spread below shows why — it runs from Famitsu's near-top marks all the way down to a handful of outright pans.
| Outlet | Score |
|---|---|
| Famitsu | 35/40 |
| PlayStation Universe (PSU) | 8.5/10 |
| DualShockers | 8/10 |
| PlayStation LifeStyle | 8/10 |
| GamingTrend | 85/100 |
| Xbox Achievements | 85/100 |
| IGN Italy | 7.5/10 |
| Push Square | 7/10 |
| TheSixthAxis | 7/10 |
| COGconnected | 75/100 |
| Game Informer | 6/10 |
| Game Rant | 5/10 |
| Giant Bomb | 3.5/5 |
Aggregates. The final tallies: Metacritic 72 from 63 critic reviews with a user score of 6.1, and OpenCritic's launch aggregate of 76 ("Strong") with 68% of critics recommending. Among the later-arriving reviews, Vice was the high outlier at 95 (calling the real-time/turn-based blend "a perfect blend") and RPG Site landed at 80. The score spread — a 40-point range — is the story: this is a game reviewers experienced very differently depending on what they weighed. Full aggregate breakdown on the Metacritic page.
The critical consensus
Read across all 41 reviews and the same two sentences keep surfacing. The combat is the highlight — the deflection loop, the elemental weapon options, and the multi-build skill trees are praised almost universally, even by the outlets that scored the game low. The world and story are the weak link — reviewers repeatedly flag repetitive environments, bloated cutscenes, and characters who never develop much past their introductions. The most common specific gripes are the boss-fight camera and PC/Steam Deck performance. In other words, the closer a review stays to the moment-to-moment fighting, the higher it scores; the more it weighs pacing and world-building, the lower it lands.
What players think
Player reception is more divided than the press, but it has warmed measurably since launch week. Steam opened around 54% positive from the first ~160 reviews; four weeks and three patches later it sits at 65% positive ("Mixed") from 1,993 reviews. The split still maps onto the critical read — combat-first players are enthusiastic, while performance and camera complaints drove the negatives — but patches 1.0.7 through 1.0.9 addressed exactly those two systems (camera and boss balance in 1.0.7; DLSS 4/FSR 4 and camera distance in 1.0.8; ultrawide, frame generation and skippable cutscenes in 1.0.9). The trendline matters as much as the number: see the patch notes.
How the combat holds up
This is where the game earns its scores. Deflection is the spine: perfect blocks beat dodging, and every clean parry refills FP, the resource that powers Koo's Bloom Arts. Defense literally feeds offense. Landing hits and parries also builds a Down Gauge that lets Emma execute smaller enemies and stagger bosses, while her seven-stage Entanglement Gauge charges toward Entanglement Overdrive, a slow-time burst unlocked through Strength and upgradable across five levels. Base saving and upgrades run through the Cleansing Walker, Spirit Stones slot into armor, and SP feeds a pair of skill trees.
Build variety is real, not cosmetic. There are three weapon classes — katana, bow, and crossbow — with arrows and bolts accepting up to three elemental slots across Fire (ignite and explode), Lightning (Shock), and Wet. Three attributes shape your character: Strength (attack and defense), Vitality (HP), and Florescence (HP and skill power). Those feed four broad playstyles — melee pressure, ranged elemental, stealth execution, and a Koo-focused parry build around Bloom Arts. The best advice from the opening hours is to concentrate your SP around whatever equipment effects you're leaning on rather than spreading it thin. The verified art names — the Sakura, Dokuzeri, Botan and Nobudou lines, unlocked boss by boss — are mapped on our boss guide, with build context in the builds guide.
Koo is the differentiator. Emma's blighted wolf-dog is semi-controlled: on PS5 you press △ to open a command menu that slows time (it doesn't fully pause — Emma still has to move and parry in real time). Media builds showed Bloom Arts that deal group acid damage with status ailments, bind enemies in giant roots, and rain seeds that stagger foes while healing Emma; treat those as examples rather than a complete official list. Koo also matters out of combat, barking to warn of ambushes, sniffing out hidden loot and rest points, digging up items, and pulling aggro, and a Rapport system rewards petting and interacting with him. The confirmed Nushi Skill names (Sakura Storm, Dokuzeri Shower, Chimeric Flow, Charging Botan, Acid Burst Nobudou) and the Rapport achievement funnel are documented in our Koo guide.
The bosses
Every region is anchored by a giant Malefact (some sources also call these Nushi) — a corrupted colossus that spawns the blighted forests you fight through. Beat one and Emma and Koo absorb its power, unlocking new Nushi Skills that reshape how you approach the next area. By first encounter the progression runs Rangifer → Lacerta → Shidou & Nue → Taurus → Corvus → Kunai & Kirin → the solo Crimson Malefact → Ursa → Erymanth → the Beast of Reincarnation itself. (An earlier version of this page carried a speculative pre-launch order; it has been corrected against the shipped game.)
The full roster is now documented: eleven unique story bosses, each with a confirmed elemental weakness (Rangifer to Flame, Lacerta to Lightning, Taurus and Ursa to Acid, Erymanth to Explosive — the final boss has none), fought across 13 chapters with several rematches at higher levels. The standout structural beat remains the Chapter 9 Crimson Malefact, fought solo without Koo. Weaknesses, chapter/level appearances, unlock rewards and Steam's completion-rate difficulty curve all live on our boss list.
Story, structure, and the ending
The campaign is stage-based rather than open world, running roughly 13 chapters into an epilogue titled "Bearing Fruit." It resolves into a single main storyline and ending followed by New Game Plus — now confirmed by post-launch testing: no branches, no choice-dependent finale, and NG+ does not alter the ending. The through-line is a tragic, tearjerker take on breaking a cycle of reincarnation, built around themes of bonds and letting go. Completion runs through the achievements The End of Reincarnation (beating the final boss, 24.0% of players), Life After the End (the ending) and Reincarnated (NG+, 3.0%). NG+ replays the same story with carried progression — it does not add an alternate ending.
Performance at launch
Technical stability is the game's most-cited weakness, and it's real. On PS5, Performance mode targets 60fps but drops frames in boss fights and ships with some noticeably low-quality textures. On PC, the requirements are steep: an SSD is mandatory, 16GB of RAM is the floor, DLSS/FSR upscaling is built in, and the install is around 45GB. On Steam Deck, the game was not Verified at launch — we'd lock it to 40fps on Low settings for a stable experience. Full tested breakdowns live on our console performance and PC requirements pages.
Price, editions, and the Game Pass factor
Value depends entirely on your platform. On Xbox Series X|S and PC, Beast of Reincarnation is on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass on day one, so subscribers can test Game Freak's swing at no extra cost. On PS5 there's no subscription route — it's the full $59.99 or nothing.
The $69.99 Deluxe edition adds a black-and-brown skin for Koo, Emma's "Oni's Hat," a sword called "Big Dipper," 100,000 Amber, and a set of crop seedlings. That $10 premium is entirely cosmetics, items, and in-game currency — none of it touches core progression or difficulty, so the standard edition is the right pick for most players. Our edition guide breaks it down platform by platform.
Is it worth $59.99?
On Game Pass, absolutely — start it today. There's no reason not to try one of the most inventive combat systems of the year at no marginal cost. At full price on PS5, it's a stronger buy for combat-first players than for those who want a gripping world to get lost in. If deflection-heavy action and deep build experimentation are what you're after, the fighting alone justifies the price. If you weigh story, pacing, and technical polish heavily, the launch scores — and our 7.5 — are telling you to go in with tempered expectations, or wait for patches to smooth out the performance.
Review FAQ
What did Beast of Reincarnation score?
Metacritic settled at 72 from 63 critic reviews (user score 6.1); OpenCritic's launch aggregate was 76 ("Strong") with 68% recommending. Individual scores range from Vice's 95 and Famitsu's 35/40 down to Giant Bomb's 3.5/5, with the bulk landing between 7 and 8.5.
Is the combat as good as people say?
Yes — it's the near-unanimous highlight. The parry-driven system, elemental weapon options, and multiple build paths are praised even in the lowest-scoring reviews. The criticism is aimed at the world, pacing, and performance, not the fighting.
Is Beast of Reincarnation on Xbox Game Pass?
Yes — it launched day one on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass. PS5 players have no subscription option and must buy it outright.
Is it multiplayer or co-op?
No. It's a single-player game only, with no co-op or multiplayer modes.
How long is it?
About 20 hours focused, 25–28 for a typical run, and 30–35 for a completionist route — plus a New Game Plus run if you want every achievement.
Does it have multiple endings?
Not as far as we can verify. At launch the game resolves into a single main ending followed by New Game Plus. We'll update if any branching is confirmed.
Is this a Pokémon game?
No. It's an original IP from Game Freak — a darker, parry-focused action RPG with no connection to Pokémon beyond the studio behind it.
Related
Sources
- Metacritic — Beast of Reincarnation (72, 63 reviews; read August 31, 2026)
- OpenCritic — critic review aggregate (76, "Strong", 41 reviews at launch)
- Beast of Reincarnation — official Steam store page (user reviews)
- Xbox Wire — Beast of Reincarnation: A One-Person, One-Dog Action RPG (Developer Direct)
- Game Rant — Beast of Reincarnation coverage
Last reviewed: August 31, 2026 · Game version checked: 1.0.9 · Moving figures state the date they were read