The Guardian reviews Beast of Reincarnation, a post-apocalyptic action RPG from Game Freak, the studio best known for developing the Pokémon series. Set in a decaying version of Japan, the game follows an outcast swordswoman named Emma and her loyal dog companion Koo as they attempt to defeat the titular beast, with the ruined world serving as a pointed metaphor for humanity's own cycles of environmental and social erosion. While it draws heavily on Soulslike influences such as Sekiro, Final Fantasy VII Remake and NieR: Automata, the developers have deliberately softened the difficulty to appeal to players who aren't typically drawn to punishing action games.

The reviewer, who spent 20 hours playing on normal difficulty, found the experience taxing and often repetitive, criticising the game's extensive hand-holding. Koo automatically detects enemies, materials and items before the player even sees them, undermining any sense of discovery, while systems like cooking and harvesting run automatically in the background during combat, and dying at campsites carries no real consequences. This heavy streamlining is framed as thematically consistent with Emma's character, an emotionless amnesiac who gradually learns about feeling from the "golems" she meets, robotic husks carrying trapped human souls, though the game offers her, and the player, little real alternative to the cycle.