Beast of Reincarnation Reviews Range from 6/10 to 9.5/10

A 3.5-point gap between a game's best and worst review scores is unusual. A gap that wide on a debut action RPG from one of Japan's most recognisable studios is something else entirely. Beast of Reincarnation, Game Freak's ambitious step away from Pokémon, launched yesterday on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, and the critical response has been so fractured that the Metacritic averages barely tell you anything useful.

On Metacritic, the PC average sits at 72 and the PS5 version at 73, with not enough Xbox reviews logged to calculate a score. Those mid-70s numbers look respectable enough at a glance, but they're being pulled in opposite directions by reviews that disagree about whether the game works. Vice scored it 9.5/10, calling the combat "not just innovative" but "incredibly fun" and praising the blend of real-time and turn-based action as "a perfect blend." GamesRadar gave it 9/10, describing it as "a great ARPG, with firm but fair combat and wide scope for crafting a build to your tastes." At the other end, both VGC and Eurogamer landed on 6/10. VGC criticised the "unoriginal setting and story" and a lack of enemy variety, while Eurogamer wrote that Beast of Reincarnation "riffs on Sekiro and Monster Hunter with mixed results," as reported by GamesRadar.

I've seen plenty of games launch to "mixed" receptions, but this split feels different. It's not the usual case of a game being slightly above or below average depending on taste. Reviewers are looking at the same combat system and arriving at completely opposite conclusions about whether it feels good to play. When one critic calls the fighting "slick" and another says it feels like hitting things with "a dry pool noodle," that's not a minor disagreement about polish. Something about Beast of Reincarnation's design is clicking hard for some players and bouncing off others entirely.

Steam Tells the Same Story

Early Steam reviews mirror the critical divide almost perfectly. At the time GamesRadar reported, 52% of over 700 English-language reviews were positive, giving the game a Mixed rating. One player described the experience as "a blend of Sekiro, NieR Automata and Princess Mononoke," praising the combat as "slick." Another wrote that it "looks far more ambitious than it actually plays" and that "combat feels flat and repetitive." A third said guarding and parrying feel "very inconsistent."

A 52% positive rate on Steam is about as close to a coin flip as you can get. Most games that settle into the Mixed category on Steam tend to drift toward one side or the other within a week. Beast of Reincarnation is sitting right on the knife's edge.

Game Freak built its reputation on Pokémon, and while the studio has shipped non-Pokémon titles before, from Little Town Hero to Pocket Card Jockey, nothing it's made has looked like this. Beast of Reincarnation is set in the year 4026, in a post-apocalyptic Japan where a girl named Emma and her dog Koo hunt massive beasts across a blighted landscape. The photorealistic art direction, the Soulslike combat comparisons, the emotional narrative ambitions; it's a dramatic departure from anything the studio is known for. Game Freak itself has acknowledged that the game "doesn't really fit our vibe" after decades of stylised Pokémon work, but believed photorealism was "the best fit" for this project.

The game is available now for £49.99, or included day one with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, which at least lowers the barrier for anyone on the fence. A Digital Deluxe Edition runs £57.99 and includes cosmetic skins, a bonus sword, 100,000 in-game currency, and some vegetable seedlings.

I think the Game Pass inclusion matters more than usual here. With reviews this polarised, asking someone to spend £50 on a gamble is a tough sell. But if you're already subscribed, there's no reason not to try it yourself and figure out which side of that 52% split you land on. Given how personal the combat feel seems to be, this might be one of those rare cases where no review score can substitute for your own hands on the controller.