On January 22, 2026, during the January 2026 Xbox Developer Direct, the world was given a first proper look at Beast of Reincarnation, a new upcoming Xbox action-RPG by Game Freak, the studio behind Nintendo's Pokémon franchise.
As someone who only knew Game Freak for the Pokémon games growing up, I was stunned at how wildly different this game was from their usual work.
I then quickly discovered after the showcase that this game isn't the first time Game Freak made a non-Pokémon game. Game Freak has made all kinds of original games with wild concepts in the past, like Pulseman, Giga Wrecker, Drill Dozer, and Tembo the Badass Elephant (I'm serious, that's actually what it's called), to name a few.
Setting and Premise
To start, let's talk about the setting and premise. Beast of Reincarnation takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where a parasite plant known as the Blight has overrun the world, brought mankind to the brink of extinction, and turned the wildlife into animal/plant hybrid monsters called the Malefacts.
You play as Emma, a young woman who was born with the Blight parasite, but possesses a mysterious power that allows her to stop it from killing her and manipulate plant life around her.
However, this power robbed Emma of her memories and emotions, and caused her to be ostracized by what's left of society, thinking she's a monster like the Malefacts.
She isn't alone, though, as Emma has formed a kinship with Koo, a Malefact that's strangely not hostile towards humans unless it's in self-defense.
Together, they travel the world to rid the world of Blight by killing Malefacts, absorbing the parasites into Emma's body to upgrade her abilities, and hunt down the source of all Blight, known as the "Beast of Reincarnation".
Along the way, Emma and Koo will encounter human settlements where they might find allies, explore a ruined world infested with Malefacts and hostile Golems leftover from humanity's golden age, and confront a rival swordswoman named Kunai who also has a Malefact companion like Emma.
The setting and premise of Beast of Reincarnation look interesting to me because it kind of reminds me of the ill-fated Wild Hearts.
They both have fantastical Japanese settings where you fight monsters that look like warped fusions between plants and animals, but Beast of Reincarnation seems to have a darker tone while mixing in science fiction elements like the robotic Golems and ruins of advanced civilizations.
Plus, the protagonist Emma looks pretty cool. A lone samurai who uses plant-magic while fighting alongside a plant wolf is an interesting concept, and one that I hope leads to creative gameplay during combat.
Combat and bosses
Speaking of combat, let's talk about that next. Aside from using Emma's Blight powers to explore ruined locales and overcome impassable terrain, a majority of Beast of Reincarnation's gameplay will be spent fighting the Malefacts.
Combat looks to be a third-person, hack-and-slash affair where you will unleash a flurry of attacks with your katana while dodging and parrying incoming enemy strikes at the last second to pull off devastating counterattacks.
Beast of Reincarnation spices combat with the addition of Blooming Arts. This is a system where you slow down time briefly and select special abilities that could turn the tide of battle in your favor.
Examples include commanding Koo to summon area-of-effect plant attacks, commanding Koo to bind enemies so you can strike them, or Emma summoning a spider lily plant she can vine-whip to and perform a downward thrust attack.
The combat system looks fleshed out, fast-paced, and over-the-top crazy in motion. It also reminds me of Final Fantasy VII Remake with its mechanic to slow down time to give the player time to perform special moves and command allies.
To make matters better, the game will offer ways to customize and improve the player's combat preferred play styles through learning new abilities via skill trees and gear hidden throughout the land that grant passive and active abilities.
My favorite part of the Beast of Reincarnation gameplay showcase is its boss fights. During your adventures, you will be tasked to explore dungeons called Blight Forests where powerful boss Malefacts called Nushi, reside in.
These massive behemoths are intimidating, agile, and dangerous enough to one-hit KO you if you haven't mastered the game's combat mechanics before fighting them.
Not to mention, just getting to them will be a challenge, as they can manipulate the environment of the Blight Forests they live in, summoning enemies and obstacles to block your path.
The Nushi look awesome and challenging to fight, and I'm excited to see what insane abilities they'll reward the player with upon slaying, because Emma and Koo's regular abilities look over-the-top enough by themselves.
This game is making me believe in Game Freak again
Overall, I was mighty impressed with what I saw of Beast of Reincarnation, especially considering my pessimistic and unfair opinion of Game Freak before seeing this game.
I haven't played an official Pokémon game by Game Freak in decades, mainly because the series core gameplay loop has barely evolved beyond 2002's Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire. Plus, the quality of the series has degraded so hard in recent decades, with titles like Pokémon Legends: Z-A looking like an unfinished mobile game.
On top of that, Nintendo's draconian lawsuit war against Palworld, where it's trying to patent the core concepts of monster-catcher games (even though Shin Megami Tensei pioneered the genre years before Nintendo did), has sucked out any goodwill I had towards companies associated with Pokémon, including Game Freak.
Beast of Reincarnation, however, made me realize just how much of an idiot I was for giving up on Game Freak. This game is proving that when Game Freak's given free rein to do whatever it wants, it can produce some insanely wild and imaginative concepts and gameplay hooks.
So Game Freak, I am so sorry for ignorantly doubting you all these years because Beast of Reincarnation is looking fantastic so far, and I can't wait to see more of it in the future.
Beast of Reincarnation is set to launch during the Summer of 2026 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Windows and Steam.
It will also be available on Xbox Game Pass (Day One), PC Game Pass, and Xbox Cloud Gaming, with Xbox Play Anywhere support.
Do you think Beast of Reincarnation has what it takes to help Game Freak break free from Nintendo's shadow so it can make more original IP instead of more Pokémon games? Will you be playing Beast of Reincarnation when it arrives in the Summer of 2026?
If you have any thoughts on the matter, let us know in the comments below.
FAQs
What is Beast of Reincarnation?
Beast of Reincarnation is an upcoming action-RPG developed by Game Freak, where you play as Emma, a cursed loner travelling the world with her canine friend Koo on a quest to save the world from parasite plants called the Blight.
When and where is Beast Reincarnation releasing?
Beast Reincarnation will be released during the Summer of 2026 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Windows and Steam. It will also be available on Xbox Game Pass (Day One), PC Game Pass, and Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Will Beast of Reincarnation feature Xbox Play Anywhere support?
Yes, it will. This means when buying a digital copy of Beast of Reincarnation on the Xbox or Windows PC, you won't have to buy it again on an Xbox ecosystem-compatible platform.
Also, this means Beast of Reincarnation will receive cross-save and cross-progression between Xbox ecosystem-compatible platforms via the Cloud.
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