Beast of Reincarnation (PS5)

Game Freak liefert zwar ein hervorragendes Kampfsystem, einen klasse Begleiter auf vier Pfoten und eine interessante Welt, bremst sich aber selbst aus: Recycelte Gegner und viele Wiederholungen ziehen das Spiel künstlich in die Länge.

Beast of Reincarnation is an ambitious game that often overextends itself. The lack of polish taints its versatile combat, the mundane performances and wearisome dialogue suffocate its tantalizing story, and the uninteresting areas drag down strong art direction. That isn’t to say Beast of Reincarnation is a total miss, though. The combat, despite my nitpicks, feels and looks great when you’re chaining together combos and deflecting ferocious attacks. Despite Beast of Reincarnation’s enticing mix of high-quality inspirations, it fails to reach the same heights as those experiences.

Game Freak borrows liberally from the genre's biggest hits. And while its messy and muddled, it's salvaged by exhilarating combat and traversal, and a surprising amount of soul.

If anything, Beast of Reincarnation could be the perfect 7/10; it's a mass of systems, ideas and interesting design choices that so very nearly hang together. While there’s jank, annoyances and performance issues, they don’t diminish the fundamental enjoyment of the world Game Freak has created. For all the long shadow that Pokémon casts, I want to see more like Beast of Reincarnation find their way into the light.