BLEACH Rebirth of Souls Review (PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, & PC)

Anime and manga adaptations have always been a norm in gaming. They definitely have a flourishing audience of fans. From One Piece to Dragon Ball Z, you’ll find a sprawling number of options to play. Yet there are anime that have been neglected, cast to the side for far too long. BLEACH, for instance, has only seen a fiddly number of adaptations, all hardly living up to the flamboyant reputation the anime and manga are known for.

But no more. Ever since BLEACH Rebirth of Souls was announced, fans have been eager. Given it’s been nearly ten years since BLEACH: Brave Souls, you can’t help getting giddy over what Tamsoft might have cooked for us. And, the new game is available on consoles, the first of the stream of gacha mobile adaptations we’ve been treated to. Based on the pre-launch marketing releases, it was clear the new game would be a treat for BLEACH fans. 

But Tamsoft also decided to lean in the direction of a 3D arena fighter. Most games in the arena fighter genre have been run-of-the-mill. Save for Tekken, Street Fighter, and other legendary fighting games; the combat system often dumbs it down to overly simplified controls. But there’s hope. Any fan of BLEACH will know the characters’ wealth of abilities has immense potential for a truly tactical playthrough. 

So, has Tamsoft struck the chord with fans and casual fighting gamers alike? Just how satisfying is the combat system and supplemental story? Let’s find out in our BLEACH Rebirth of Souls review. 

Memory Lane

There are two parts to BLEACH Rebirth of Souls’s playthrough: Story and Secret Story mode. The former relives the story of BLEACH from start to finish. So, newcomers have nothing to worry about. Well, there are, of course, moments that will likely hit better with veterans knowledgeable on the anime and manga. But the glossed-over cutscenes of the unforgettable moments in Ichigo’s saga do a great job of nabbing your attention. 

Granted, the build-up to the climaxes could have been handled better. Key moments in the anime and manga don’t quite hit the spot as they do in the source material. It has to do with storytelling, which leaves a lot to be desired. It’s lackluster at best and feels rushed over, likely with more tender loving care given to the character designs and combat. Character models couldn’t have looked any better, with crisp visuals and, genuinely, the best they’ve looked in gaming history. 

Voice acting, both Japanese and English, has also been given the attention they deserve. And the music is as heart-pumping as you might hope. Meanwhile, the cutscene visuals themselves might have as well been replaced by cut-out animations from the anime itself, which is sad given the opportunity Tamsoft had to recreate BLEACH, frame by frame, for the modern day.

Rock Paper Scissors

With the cutscenes hardly serving as any reward after beating a nasty opponent in the battle rounds, you’re left deriving pleasure from the combat itself. BLEACH Rebirth of Souls uses a rock, paper, scissors mechanic. Now, before you go writing it off as too simplistic, there are a few key things to note. 

At the foundation level, you have three moves you can make: Attack (quick or flash), Guard, and Breaker. Guard beats Attack. Attack beats Breaker. Breaker beats Guard. With this in mind and explained via a tutorial, you’re left with anticipating the move your opponent might make. However, you don’t get breathing room to study your opponent, leaving you with a very small window to strike. Often, your decision will be a lucky (or otherwise) guess. So, no tactical play, I’m afraid.

What spices up combat is the attacks you can string together to come up with a devastating combo, at which point you can throw in the other fighting techniques at your disposal. Depending on your chosen character, you’ll have Spiritual Pressure and Signature moves you can make. The best route you can make is to use quick attacks followed by a chain of combos. While leaving you defenseless, they do unleash pretty fast.  

To break your opponent’s guard, you’ll need heavier attacks. Meanwhile, they can give you some breathing room to fetch your long-ranged attacks. Keep in mind that studying the opponent matters, even with the short window. So, counterattacks should stay close to parry. 

So Many Gauges

BLEACH Rebirth of Souls has quite a ton of gauges to keep track of. Leave alone the anime jargon. It’s all pretty standard when you consider that Reishi simply means health bar. To properly drain your opponent’s health bar well, the Zan Ken So Ki techniques come into play. This will bring you closer to the finish line, where you can now focus on draining your enemy’s Konpaku. 

The Konpaku is where BLEACH Rebirth of Souls seemingly put more effort into crafting tactical play. Once your opponent’s Reishi is running low, you want to destroy their Konpaku to win the match. But there are two ways you can do so, a sort of risk assessment. You can unleash your Kikon move, which is a finishing move that will destroy all of your opponent’s Konpaku.

But the trick is that depending on your opponent’s ranking, they might have more Konpaku than you anticipated. Don’t worry, as the number of Konpaku left is indicated on the screen. If the opponent has spare Konpaku, then they can recover and potentially unleash a Kikon move on you, tipping the scales at the last minute.

If you time the fight, though, and play with strategy, you’ll drain your opponent’s Reishi with light, heavy, and counterattacks, break down their Konpaku with special attacks and techniques, and finish them off with a final Kikon move. It can all sound complicated, especially for newcomers unfamiliar with BLEACH. Once it all kicks in, the fights can be truly thrilling. 

Take Your Pick

To further entice your combat sprees, BLEACH Rebirth of Souls has gracefully added unique characters from the anime. Each has unique ways of play, including a flashy Awakening move. It’s tracked by a Spirit Gauge that, once filled, will allow your character to unleash Awakening, which, let’s just say, is the endgame for your opponent. 

It’s a familiar mechanic for arena fighters, that powerful move you desperately fill up so you can spam it and destroy the opponent. But, there’s yet another gauge, the Fighting Spirit, that fills up during an Awakened state. It boosts your Kikon move, which, while already powerful, further makes it a showstopper.

There are more gauges and techniques to consider in BLEACH Rebirth of Souls matches that I can’t exhaust here. All of the options available, though, point toward a deeper combat system than originally viewed. You cannot simply spam special moves and hope to win. Meanwhile, button mashing might work, but some characters are truly threatening, perhaps even overpowered. 

It makes taking the time to consider your character’s abilities carefully before starting a new match. That way, you can know how to make the most of their unique traits. Some characters thrive in ranged combat, which makes them a menace in the fighting arena. Others are agile and can be useful against certain opponents.

There are some characters who, further, unlock more abilities in an Awakened state. You can unlock a character’s Bankai state, which, for Ichigo Kurosaki, for instance, activates his “Hollowfication,” allowing him to inflict more powerful moves, thanks to a boost in Spiritual Power. Still, you can fill the Awakening Gauge and unleash Reawakening, transforming Ichigo to “Full Hollowfication,” unlocking earth-shattering attacks.

Awaken Your Power

See, your screen will probably be riddled with all sorts of text and gauges. Lots of flashy attacks will splash all over as characters achieve their fullest potential. It can all be overwhelming for a powerful player. But it all builds up at a steady rate. It starts with an underwhelming rock, paper, scissors fighting gig and hits the climax when characters are dashing across the screen, hailing hellfire on opponents. 

And that’s the joy of BLEACH Rebirth of Souls. Even in all its perceived complexities, there’s a special joy to be had in its dramatic arena-fighting playthrough. 

Verdict

It’s tough. On the one hand, BLEACH Rebirth of Souls has failed considerably in gripping your attention through its cutscenes. Its animations are serviceable and mainly feel appreciated based on the fascinating moments of the anime and manga it’s based on. Under the hood, though, lies an intricate and compelling combat system that, given the chance, shines brightest. 

Yet the question remains: Will the combat system remain enticing enough to have gamers steamrolling months or years from now? Perhaps a sequel might redeem the flaws that might make you second guess its worthiness. 

For now, it’s a satisfying challenge to drain your opponent’s Reishi and enter the stiff competition of the player that breaks down the other’s Konpaku first. The most vicious, the most strategic, perhaps. Either way, it’s fun, and ultimately, that’s what matters most.