Beast of Reincarnation is a confusing, punishing, and surprisingly fun Soulslike from Game Freak

Game Freak — the studio behind Pokémon — has a new game coming, and it's a Soulslike. Beast of Reincarnation is a dog-centric action RPG developed alongside publisher Fictions, and Polygon got 90 minutes with a demo build. First impressions: it's deliberately opaque, mechanically demanding, and genuinely entertaining.

The demo doesn't hold your hand. Game Freak leaves a lot unexplained — systems, lore, progression — and the combat leans into the punishing rhythm Soulslike fans expect. The dog companion at the center of the game appears to be more than a cosmetic sidekick, though the full extent of its role in gameplay wasn't clear from the preview build. After 90 minutes, the reviewer came away intrigued but still piecing together how everything fits together.

Game Freak is best known for the mainline Pokémon series, making Beast of Reincarnation a sharp left turn for the studio. It's not the first time Game Freak has worked outside Pokémon — the studio has released smaller original titles over the years — but a full Soulslike is a significant genre shift. The game is being published by Fictions, a label that has positioned itself around more experimental Japanese titles.

No release date or platform details were confirmed in the preview. With only a demo build available and core systems still unexplained, Beast of Reincarnation is clearly early in its public rollout — but the 90-minute taste was enough to put it on the radar.