Game Freak’s Beast of Reincarnation splits critics despite thin story consensus
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Further reviews of Game Freak's Beast of Reincarnation have emerged, largely reinforcing an average critical consensus while surfacing one notable outlier. GamesRadar's Luke Kemp broke from the pack with a 4.5-star review praising unexpected depth and philosophical weight beneath the game's familiar apocalyptic-Japan setting, while Giant Bomb and Polygon's own review both echoed earlier criticism of a thin, "underwhelming" story, even as they praised the combat.
The Souls-inspired action game, developed by the Pokémon studio, launched 4 August on PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series X and now sits at 74 on Metacritic from 27 reviews. Polygon critic Giovanni Colantonio said the game "never earns its heart," calling it "an act of conformity" rather than reinvention, while Giant Bomb's Shawn McDowell found the story and characters "underwhelming at best" despite enjoying the combat. Across nearly all reviews, critics drew the same comparisons to Sekiro, Nier: Automata, Stellar Blade and Final Fantasy VII Remake, underscoring a shared view that the game leans heavily on its influences without fully distinguishing itself.
- New reviews mostly confirm average reception for Game Freak's non-Pokémon game
- GamesRadar bucked the trend with a rare 4.5-star, praising its depth
- Giant Bomb and Polygon both criticised its thin story despite solid combat
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Game Freak, the studio behind Pokémon, has branched out into a new genre with Beast of Reincarnation, an action game influenced by the "Soulslike" style popularised by titles such as Dark Souls and Sekiro. These games are known for tough, methodical combat and cryptic storytelling. Beast of Reincarnation is set in a bleak, futuristic version of Japan and launched on 4 August for PlayStation 5, PC and Xbox Series X.
Because it comes from a studio so closely tied to one of the world's biggest gaming franchises, the release has drawn attention as a test of whether Game Freak can succeed outside its usual territory. Reviews are judged partly on how the game measures up against well-established rivals in the same genre, including Sekiro, Nier: Automata and Stellar Blade, which have set the benchmark for what these games typically offer.
Aggregate review scores, such as those compiled by Metacritic, gather ratings from multiple critics into a single figure to give an early snapshot of how a game has been received. This matters because such scores can shape a game's commercial success and public perception in its crucial first days on sale, even though individual reviewers often disagree sharply on its merits.
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Originally published by Polygon as “Beast of Reincarnation review roundup: Pokémon team’s Soulslike can’t escape its inspirations”.