Game Freak’s Beast of Reincarnation arrives as an action RPG that tries to make a harsh world easier to survive. Set in post-apocalyptic Japan, it sends Emma and Koo toward a taxing hunt for the titular beast, but it does so with so many safety nets that the journey can feel more guided than earned.
That choice matters because Game Freak is best known for Pokémon, not for punishing combat, and this project is now being watched as a test of how far the studio can push beyond that identity. Beast of Reincarnation is available on PC, Xbox and PlayStation 5, and it borrows ideas from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Final Fantasy VII Remake and NieR: Automata without being marketed as a Soulslike, a signal that the studio wants players to read it as approachable rather than severe.
Director Kota Furushima said the team wants the experience to be enjoyable for even those who are not good at action games, and the design backs that up at almost every turn. The game lets players choose a difficulty level, and on normal difficulty the reviewer spent 20 hours with a system that constantly stepped in to reduce friction. Koo sniffs out nearby enemies, valuable materials, chests and characters before they are visible, then fetches items from the ground before the player can even turn around. Emma and Koo both have robust skill trees, while cooking and harvesting happen in the background as combat continues.
That help makes the game easier to enter, but it also blunts the sense of struggle that usually gives action RPGs their edge. Returning to campsites after defeat carries no consequences, and the second half of the game largely recycles enemies and boss encounters, which turns assistance into something closer to automation. Emma, who is described as a person devoid of memories and emotions, speaks about the robots as if they were already gone: “They’ve already passed on.” That line fits the world well enough, but the game’s own systems keep pushing in the opposite direction, smoothing away the danger and the uncertainty that might have made the story land harder.
The result is a game that looks designed for a broader audience, especially players who want action without punishment, but one that may leave experienced players asking how much of the challenge is actually left once the assistance is switched on. The unanswered question is not whether Beast of Reincarnation can be finished — it can — but how much of its difficulty can be stripped away before the hunt starts to feel like the game is playing itself.
