Beast of Reincarnation Reviews: Metacritic & OpenCritic Scores
Reviews are in. Beast of Reincarnation sits at 73 on Metacritic (Mixed or Average) and 76 on OpenCritic with 68% of critics recommending it. No outlet scored it negative, but critics split roughly down the middle between positive and mixed — a solid, divisive debut ARPG from Game Freak rather than a consensus hit.
Last updated 2026-08-04 · Released 2026-08-04
How the scores break down
On Metacritic, 51% of reviews are positive and 49% are mixed, with 0% negative — critics disagree on how good it is, not on whether it is bad. The spread below shows how wide that disagreement runs, from a 95 at the top to a 5/10 at the bottom.
| Outlet | Score |
|---|---|
| Vice | 95 / 100 |
| Indigo GEEK | 85 / 100 |
| PlayStation Universe | 8.5 / 10 |
| RPG Site | 80 / 100 |
| DualShockers | 8 / 10 |
| PlayStation LifeStyle | 8 / 10 |
| ZTGD | 8 / 10 |
| COGconnected | 75 / 100 |
| TheSixthAxis | 7 / 10 |
| Giant Bomb | 3.5 / 5 |
| IGN | 6 / 10 |
| GameRant | 5 / 10 |
Scores as listed on Metacritic and OpenCritic at the time of the last update; both aggregates will shift slightly as remaining reviews land.
What critics agree on
Praised almost everywhere
- The combat system is the near-universal highlight: real-time parry-driven fighting layered with tactical commands for Koo, a blend several critics called genuinely new for the genre
- Art direction and the ruined year-4026 Japan setting deliver on what previews promised
- Wide build variety — critics praised how much room there is to shape Emma's loadout to your own playstyle
- The soundtrack drew repeated singled-out praise
Common complaints
- The story is the most common letdown: critics found the narrative flat across the roughly 30-hour runtime
- The gameplay loop turns repetitive in the back half for many reviewers
- Jank and performance issues appear across multiple reviews, though most called them tolerable rather than deal-breaking
- Several critics felt the game stumbles badly in its opening hours before finding its footing
Should you play it?
A 73/76 with zero negative reviews is the profile of a game worth trying if the pitch appeals to you — and the pitch here is technical parry combat plus commanding a dog in a ruined future Japan. The game is on Game Pass from day one for Xbox Series and PC, so you can form your own verdict without the $59.99 commitment. On PS5, the mixed half of the reviews mostly cites story and repetition rather than broken fundamentals — if you are combat-first, the scores undersell it; if you are story-first, they may oversell it. No edition includes early access or meaningful extras, so there is no reason to buy up-tier.