It’s always a bummer when a big release doesn’t garner the best reception among critics and players. All those months of hype and promise; the anticipation of something worthwhile to fill the void before your Mortal Shell 2 or Onimusha: Way of the Sword or even The Blood of Dawnwalker – gone, in the blink of an eye.
Such is seemingly the case with Beast of Reincarnation, Game Freak’s latest title. “Only” a 73 Metascore among 60 critical reviews; a “Mixed” rating on Steam at the moment with only 52 percent giving their approval – almost completely down the middle. Even the Steam concurrent player count isn’t that impressive, peaking at 15,001 (although it is available on Game Pass and console numbers remain unknown). It’s enough to make you remember all those months of positive impressions at the opening hours and wonder what happened.
Not to say that it’s a disaster, but it’s clear that players are divided.
One negative review on Steam praised the combat but criticized being unable to use their Deluxe Edition skins in cutscenes and flashbacks. Which is fair – it is something they paid extra for, and at least for the sheer number of in-game cutscenes, you would think it’s an easy fix. Another criticised the combat for not feeling as responsive, while also noting the world design and enemy variety didn’t blow them away. Other problems you’ll see include graphical artifacts, technical issues, the camera, and how the game doesn’t immediately grab you in the first two hours. Keep that last part in mind for later.
Here’s the funny thing. One positive review acknowledges the great art direction and music (though the latter can feel limited). They also praised the combat, though it understandably takes time to get rolling. But they also pointed out various problems, whether it’s how Cinematic Mode can feel janky, how Depth of Field causes artifacts, and yes, how annoying the camera can be when fighting larger bosses like the Nushi.
“Is the game bad? No. Are there a lot of questionable decisions? Yes,” they said, adding that you should wait for a discount.
And that’s the crux of Beast of Reincarnation’s mixed reception, at least among players. One could argue about how scores are wildly fluctuating among critics, but within the first few hours of play, a good chunk of people expected to be “wowed” much sooner. I can’t really blame them – in fact, it’s one of the things that I pointed out in my review. Between mostly fighting the same three types of Golems and maybe two different kinds of Malefacts, slowly learning about the world and Emma’s story, navigating some dull conversations among the cast, and only having a few sword skills and Bloom Arts, the first few hours can feel like an exercise in patience.
Granted, all of those aspects get better over time. While there’s only one melee weapon type, you unlock different kinds of swords with unique effects, from flaming lighting to poison. New skills become available that allow for sending Koo ahead to take down enemies, laying flame traps or taunting enemies. Different types of blade arts, Nushi Skills, Bloom Art mods, and Spirit Stones allow for more nuance to a build, whether it’s dealing more damage to status-afflicted enemies or causing those suffering from afflictions to explode on death. Enemy variety still feels like a sore spot when it’s all said and done, especially when the Nushi are reused.
It’s worth noting that several negative reviews have only played a handful of hours, but that doesn’t make their criticism any less valid. Heck, I’ve finished the game, and even after having the full picture of the story, I still don’t know how to feel. Again, it’s not horrendous, and I couldn’t begin to tell you what they should have changed. Yet that overwhelming feeling of deja vu from so many other titles that handled their respective narratives and characters better is overwhelming.
The fact that Game Freak spent about six years on this (albeit with the help of several support studios), opting for a more realistic art style that stood out among their work on Pokémon, further pushed expectations higher. At the end of the day, it feels exactly like what it’s often been described as by the media – a combination of Nier, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Pokémon. There’s even a touch of Stellar Blade, at least for protagonist Emma’s lack of personality (which is thankfully more of a story thing that slowly changes).
Is it better than Nier or Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice? Well, no. I even outright said that it’s not in my recommendations for 2026 – a list which includes Saros, Cairn, DOOM: The Dark Ages – Revelations, Denshattack! and many others. It isn’t for lack of difficulty or because I didn’t have the patience to experience the entire narrative before casting judgment.
Yet, even with some clear compromises on PS5 (not to mention the bugs), I still enjoyed it for what it was. And if you had already played Nier or Sekiro or even Stellar Blade and sought something in the same vein, then maybe Beast of Reincarnation would be for you. Just not for $60, according to many players, especially with the number of problems that currently exist.
At the end of the day, it’s a double-A game with clear triple-A aspirations. The problem is that other games like Clair Obscur fit that same description while putting many big-budget games to shame. So not only is Game Freak competing against the most polished classics whose systems are inevitably going to draw comparison to, but it’s also going up against stand-out indies and so-called mid-budget titles. On its own, there may be enough to satisfy your average player, but that’s not how things work for everyone, especially in a year with so many other standout releases (and many others to come).
Would Beast of Reincarnation have benefitted from more time for polish? Perhaps to add more options for subtitle text size and camera distance? More optimization to ensure that distant environments don’t look like paint smudges at best and jaggy messes at worst? Undoubtedly. It could have even dropped at a time when there weren’t so many other bigger titles demanding players’ time and money. Maybe even retailed for $50, which would have softened some of the impact.
But at the end of the day, would the final product with all that polish have been enough? Would there still be hefty expectations, given the era we’re living in? Or would people continue to joke that, “I guess 3D Pokemon not being great is down to Game Freak after all, and not Nintendo”? It’s hard to say. Perhaps the only consensus that one could pin down is that you should wait for patches or buy only when it’s cheaper.
That, and noting that Beast of Reincarnation could’ve been a whole lot better, and not necessarily a whole lot worse, even among those who are satisfied with it. If nothing else, it’s a sign that players still see some potential in it. Here’s hoping that Game Freak works to unearth that because even for people like me who enjoyed the journey, warts and all, it would only provide more incentive to jump back in.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
