During today’s Xbox Developer Direct, Pokemon developer Game Freak arrived on the scene to give a lengthy new look at its new game, Beast of Reincarnation, alongside a narrowed release window: it’s planned for release in summer of this year.
Beast of Reincarnation takes place in a post-apocalyptic, future Japan in the year 4026. It’s giving off big Nier: Automata vibes, with modern world ruins covered in overgrowth and plants, and the contrast of mutated natural creatures and machines. You play as Emma, a young woman who’s been corrupted by the “blight”, aka the force that’s caused the destruction of most of the world. Emma is capable of sealing the blight within her own body, a gift that allows her to purify corrupted creatures but also makes her a societal outcast. She meets Koo, a wolf creature similarly plagued by blight, and through an unlikely set of circumstances the pair end up on a journey together to defeat the legendary Beast of Reincarnation, the monster at the heart of the blight plague.
Beast of Reincarnation is primarily an action game where you control Emma, who can fight close-range with a katana or long-range with a bow and arrow against corrupted enemies called Malefacts and even more powerful boss monsters, known as Nushi. However, she’s also accompanied by a Malefact named Koo, who fights alongside her. Koo has special abilities that, when activated, will slow down time and allow access to something more like a turn-based RPG menu, where the player can pick the move they want to use next before moving on.
The trailer also gave us a look at other elements of Beast of Reincarnation, such as skill trees for both Emma and Koo, a faction of mechanical golems that used to house human souls, and three other supporting characters: Brad, Kagura, and Kunai. We also saw Emma’s traversal abilities, which involve her seemingly changing her hair into vines and crossing large distances.
Beast of Reincarnation is planned for a summer launch this year on Xbox, PC, and PlayStation, and will be on Game Pass day one.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
