Beast of Reincarnation: Everything We Know

Game Freak has always been known as the Pokémon devs, hardly a pioneer franchise in the graphics, or let’s be honest, gameplay front. The franchise simply became too massive in scale, and unfortunately, the studio’s ancient in-house engine couldn’t keep pace. 

Perhaps the studio just wants to maintain Pokémon’s archaic aesthetic. But after the recent Beast of Reincarnation trailer, fans are shocked that Game Freak might, after all, know how to make a modern game. Now, it’s crossing our fingers that the studio takes its sweet time optimizing it.

We’ve scoured the internet for any information we can find about the upcoming game, highlighting everything you need to know about Beast of Reincarnation in the article below.

What is Beast of Reincarnation?

Beast of Reincarnation is an upcoming action RPG, marketed to feature “demanding, technical combat.” The combat will adapt FromSoftware’s soulslike formula, incorporating a Samurai hack-and-slash gameplay system. You can attest the combat style to something more akin to the likes of Sekiro’s dodges and parries, alongside Nier: Automata, Monster Hunter, and Stellar Blade.  

The setting is a post-apocalyptic Japan, in a devastated world ridden with a toxic blight. Humanity is on the brink of survival, leaning on outcast Emma for salvation. Emma comes with her wolf companion, Koo, who, it appears from the trailer, will also be influential in the gameplay. 

While this is a story of the redemption of a plagued world, it’ll also feature Emma’s journey about discovering what it means to be human. Overall, Beast of Reincarnation intends to be a massive game, incorporating intense combat and a profound story to boot.

Story

The story of Beast of Reincarnation is your everyday post-apocalyptic world of a prosperous land turned to ruin. It takes place in Japan, where a corrupt force ravages through the world, leaving a devastating blight in its wake. It’s the year 4026, and humanity is clinging to its last hope: you. Although an outcast cursed with the blight, you journey with your wolf companion, Koo, to help save the world. You fight monstrous beasts, traversing through an ever-changing and dangerous world. 

Forests erupt radically due to the blight, posing a danger to you. Yet you must push further and deeper into the unknown, strengthening your bond with your wolf and discovering strange but powerful abilities.

Gameplay

Beast of Reincarnation’s gameplay will be one of unraveling a deep and heroic post-apocalyptic story. From the trailer, it appears you’ll discover new tidbits of lore and information via a narrator’s voice. While the story will provide insight into post-apocalyptic Japan, it’ll also be an eye-opener to your own humanity. 

As Steam describes it, you’ll play through “an expansive one-person, one-dog action RPG built around demanding, technical combat.” And from the developer’s insight, the combat will be of the Soulslike sub-genre. 

Overall, your playthrough will feature profound storytelling, open-world exploration, and intense combat sequences. You’ll unlock new abilities for Emma and her companion, possibly utilizing synergy, as you progress. It appears the stronger your bond, the more powerful you’ll become. 

But also, combat seems geared toward swordplay, mixed with aerial and on-ground, agile traversal. In the trailer, Emma can be seen leaping onto giant monsters to hack and slash at their metallic and wooden bodies. The monsters do seem quite challenging, and a diverse bunch at that.

It’s unclear whether you’ll have puzzles to solve or collectibles hidden away throughout the world. It’s also unclear how progression will be for Emma and her companion. Will they have individual skill trees, perhaps? In any case, with these types of games, the focus will likely be on the story campaign, especially given it’s single-player, and completing combat-based missions. 

Development

Game Freak, in collaboration with Fictions, is developing Beast of Reincarnation. The former has been in the game for well over three decades. That’s a pretty long time, spearheading the development and production of the Pokémon franchise. But Pokémon has been under scrutiny for failing to keep up with the times. Truthfully, the franchise could be so much bigger and better, with optimization to compete with some of the best open-world RPGs out there.

While fans didn’t quite get the modernization they’d hoped for in Pokémon, they might just get lucky in a brand-new franchise, Beast of Reincarnation. And from the trailer, it has the potential to turn out to be another successful long-running series.

Trailer

One of the most exciting trailers at the Xbox Game Pass event in 2025 was Beast of Reincarnation. Its developing studio, perhaps, was most surprising than its story and gameplay. In truth, the story and gameplay are nothing we haven’t seen before. Yet the world looks interesting, with a strong female lead and potential surprising threats and dangers. 

The trailer is pretty thorough, using narration to explain how a mysterious creature ruined the world. The visual and sound design is pretty good, featuring lush jungles and giant monsters. You also get snippets of the combat, of Emma hacking and slashing away at enemies on the ground and in the air. And then cue mournful music enveloping the potential end to humankind. 

If executed and optimized well, it could turn out to be a truly absorbing and satisfying adventure. 

Release Date, Platforms, & Editions

The release date for Beast of Reincarnation has been etched in stone for the year 2026. As we draw closer to the launch window, perhaps a more exact release date will be revealed. Please go ahead and add the game to your wishlist on Steam, Xbox, or PlayStation Store. That way, you’ll receive a notification when it drops. 

In the meantime, you can be readying your Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC platforms via Steam and Microsoft Store. Xbox Game Pass subscribers should also keep track of the launch date when you’ll be able to play the game from Day One.

As for the editions, we’ll be keeping an eye out for any announcements. But feel free to follow the official social handle to keep track of future updates from your end.