Beast of Reincarnation hands-on: Game Freak's action-RPG is a sharp tactical surprise

Game Freak — yes, the Pokémon studio — is making a post-apocalyptic action-RPG, and based on the first two hours it's genuinely impressive. Beast of Reincarnation was playable at a BiliBili Game First Look event in Shanghai, and the preview covers the opening chapter in full.

You play as swordmaster Emma alongside her magical dog companion Koo in a world overrun by blighted beasts — fauna fused with flora, think an enraged Bulbasaur. Emma handles fast sword combos, parries that open enemies up to brutal finishing moves, and a wrist-mounted crossbow for airborne targets. Koo fights automatically, but holding a button freezes the battlefield in slow-motion and lets you pick from up to six of his special abilities — fireballs, root attacks that shatter shields, vines that bind larger enemies in place. The tactical layer comes from how the two characters feed into each other: Koo's abilities cost fluorescence points, and the only way to earn those is by landing parries with Emma. Land Koo's fireball and Emma recovers a percentage of her HP on each hit. The parry window is described as generous, and difficulty can be adjusted at any point from the pause menu.

Game Freak has spent thirty years on Pokémon, so Beast of Reincarnation is a significant departure — a dark, violent action-RPG that sits closer to something like a post-apocalyptic character action game than anything in the studio's back catalogue. The preview notes the combat felt responsive from the opening minutes, with the slow-motion ability selection adding a layer of decision-making that keeps fights from becoming pure button-mashing.

No release date or platform details were confirmed in the preview, but the hands-on impression is strongly positive — the combat loop already feels cohesive, and the Emma-and-Koo dynamic gives the game a clear identity beyond just another action-RPG.