Game Freak is done catching them all. The studio behind three decades of Pokémon games is pivoting hard into post-apocalyptic action with Beast of Reincarnation, a tactical combat system wrapped around a swordmaster named Emma and her magical dog companion Koo. After playing the opening two hours at a recent Shanghai event, the shift feels less like a departure and more like a natural evolution of the developer's combat design philosophy, just cranked to brutal extremes.
The game thrusts you directly into chaos. Emma wields a katana for fast melee combos and carries a wrist-mounted crossbow for aerial threats, but the real innovation lies with Koo. While the dog automatically bites and tail-whips nearby enemies, you can trigger a tactical slow-motion moment to choose from up to six special abilities. During hands-on time, Koo unleashed fireballs, summoned roots to shatter shields, and bound larger beasts in place so Emma could land finishing strikes. It's a familiar buddy system elevated by smart resource management: Koo's abilities drain fluorescence points that only refill when Emma successfully parries incoming attacks.
The parry window is forgiving enough that newcomers won't feel overwhelmed, though difficulty can be adjusted on the fly. Land a parry and Emma counters with throat-cutting finishing moves. When Koo lands a hit, he recovers small chunks of Emma's health, and nailing quicktime events during his attacks yields bigger healing bursts. The more powerful Koo becomes, the more elaborate these timing challenges grow. It's a symbiotic combat loop that rewards understanding both characters' toolkits rather than button-mashing through waves of blighted beasts that result from fauna and flora fusing into warped creatures.
Hair as Gameplay
Exploration across multiple quarantine zones reveals Beast of Reincarnation's most unexpected asset: Emma's hair. Her locks form solid vines that whip her to distant ledges like a grappling hook, double as Hair Jordans that boost her upward when held, and create log platforms she can launch from to drop down on unsuspecting enemies for stealth kills. It's an oddly effective traversal system that makes scavenging for resources feel connected to combat rather than a separate activity.
Koo assists outside battles too, sniffing out item crates containing crafting materials, armor, and weapons hidden throughout the zones. Many treasures sit locked behind shuttered doors or combination puzzles, suggesting environmental puzzle-solving that demands more time than a hands-on preview allows. Skipping this optional content proved costly when facing the first Nushi, a corrupted mega beast unique to each zone. An enormous mutant stag with sweeping antlers and deadly spikes nearly ended the run twice before nearby armor supplies helped turn the tide.
The boss didn't stay down for long. Despite taking the victory, the wounded creature retreated, suggesting these encounters will resurface later. Emma and Koo operate from a mobile base camp where you can clean the dog's fur, arrange loadouts, and experience playable flashbacks that flesh out the post-apocalyptic world's collapse and the bond between the pair. Being forced through some of these sections without Koo forces players to master Emma's basic swordplay without relying on magical backup.
Beast of Reincarnation launches August 4 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Skill trees, crafting, and cooking systems await beyond these opening hours, but the foundation of companion-based combat and exploration already grabs hard. Yes, you can pet the dog.
Author Emily Chen: "Game Freak's willingness to abandon its comfort zone and rebuild itself as an action studio is refreshing, and Beast of Reincarnation suggests they have the design chops to pull it off."
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