Beast of Reincarnation

Game Freak has made non-Pokémon games before, but never one like this. Beast of Reincarnation is the studio’s first AAA swing outside its megafranchise — an action RPG set in Japan in the year 4026, following Emma, an outcast with blight powers, and Koo, a stray dog. It is beautiful, sad, mechanically thoughtful, and the most divisive big release of the summer.

One person, one dog

The central relationship carries it. Koo isn’t a gimmick companion; he’s woven into traversal, combat and the story’s emotional core, and the loneliness of the world makes his presence land. Combat fuses real-time action with turn-based elements and — crucially — is built to teach rather than punish. Reviewers who came in expecting Elden Ring found something more forgiving and more experimental: a playground for build-crafting rather than an endurance test.

As an atmosphere piece it’s superb; the blighted, blossoming world is unlike anything else this year.

The split

Here’s the honest picture. Critics were broadly positive — PC Gamer called it fun, admirable, gorgeous and flawed; other outlets called it a triumph. But Steam users sit at Mixed, around 62% of 1,268 reviews, and the complaints cluster around technical problems that get harder to ignore over a long playthrough, plus enemy variety that thins out well before the combat does. The director has since publicly apologised for not delivering “a sufficiently enjoyable experience” and confirmed fixes are in progress — a rare and fairly candid admission.

Verdict

There’s a really good game in here, and Game Freak deserves credit for proving it can build story-driven action RPGs. But at $59.99 with unresolved technical issues, the value case is shaky right now. It’s on Game Pass day one, which is the smart way in — otherwise, wait for the patches the director has promised, then come back for Emma and Koo.