Beast of Reincarnation Is Out Now - and Game Freak's Big Gamble Sounds Wonderful

Be honest: when the Pokémon studio said it was making a moody action RPG set in a post-apocalyptic Japan, did you believe it would work? I wanted to. Game Freak stepping this far outside its comfort zone is exactly the kind of underdog story I root for, and now that Beast of Reincarnation launched yesterday, August 4, the early word has me grinning.

Ahead of launch, PlayStation Blog published its hands-on impressions, and the two things they lead with are music to my ears: parry-rich combat and, in their words, the cutest mutant pup. That second part matters more than it sounds. This whole game is built around a "one woman and her dog saving the world" story, so if the dog didn't land, nothing else would. Apparently, the dog lands.

The setting is what hooked me back at the first full reveal in 2025. Beast of Reincarnation mixes the mythological with the mechanized - old-Japan folklore energy crashing into rusted machines - and that blend is still rare enough to feel genuinely fresh in a very crowded action RPG field. Everyone and their grandma is making a soulslike these days; not everyone is making one with this much personality.

And look, I have a soft spot here. Game Freak has spent decades being "the Pokémon people," praised and pummeled in equal measure. Watching them pour that experience with creatures and companionship into something darker and more personal feels like a studio stretching its legs for the first time in ages. Parry-heavy combat is a bold pick too - it's the kind of system that demands the game feel right in your hands, no shortcuts.

I'm not calling it a masterpiece before I've played it - hands-on previews are vibes, not verdicts, and now that the game is actually here, the real test begins. But a heartfelt post-apocalyptic road trip with a loyal dog at your side, playable right now? Honestly, this one got me. My evening plans just wrote themselves.

Image: Sergey Galyonkin / CC BY-SA 2.0, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Playstation_Dualsense_controller.jpg