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Beast of Reincarnation presents itself like a Souls-like action RPG, and it definitely shares some traits with games of that ilk, but I think labelling it that way isn't quite accurate.

It is an action RPG, but it's not as intimidatingly difficult as FromSoftware's efforts, and it's doing enough stuff of its own that makes it much more interesting than yet another copycat of that formula.

That being said, the game's influences are clear, but it melds elements together in a way that mostly works very well.

You play as Emma, a woman cursed by a plant-based blight that robs her of human emotion but grants her extraordinary abilities. She exists in a post-apocalyptic Japan, one reclaimed by nature and infested with dangerous plant-animal hybrids called malefacts.

Having bonded with one such creature, a large wolf named Koo, it's down to the pair to rid the world of the titular Beast of Reincarnation and save the remainder of humanity.

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What that means for the player is a pretty simply structured action adventure. You explore a series of open zones and must defeat the Nushi — the boss — that presides over each one.

Each map is reasonably big and allows you to run around freely. When you're ready, you can follow the main objective to pursue the boss, progress the story, and move onto the next area.

Some maps feel more open than others, but I enjoyed this aspect of the world design. You're given a lot of reasons to poke around; there are optional mini-bosses and lots of useful, valuable items to discover away from the golden path.

The environmental design is also pretty nice for the most part. Whether it's grasslands and ruined villages or a massive underground settlement, there are some interesting sights to behold as you go.

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Sometimes they can feel a little dull to move through, as there isn't a lot of dynamic stuff happening outside of battles.

Some maps are better at utilising Emma's traversal abilities than others; using her hair, she can extend roots to the ground that launch you upward, as well as form a horizontal path that acts as a useful bridge. When these are needed to get around, it makes the exploration a bit more diverse.

It won't be long before you run into bad guys, and this is where Beast of Reincarnation starts to find its footing.

Combat is a mix of Emma's traditional swordplay and Koo's special attacks; the latter can be selected while time slows to a crawl, giving it the feel of a turn-based RPG, even though it isn't one.

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You have no stamina to worry about, meaning you can keep on attacking. Doing so deals damage, of course, but you'll also build up a second meter that, when full, staggers them, allowing you to pull off a fatal finisher.

Parrying is a vitally important part of fights as well, but if you're not a fan of parries, don't worry — the window of time is very generous.

There are two main reasons parrying is your best friend in this game. Firstly, it builds up enemy stagger meters much more than regular attacks, and replenishes your Entanglement Gauge, which is what fuels Emma's special attacks. Secondly, each successful parry grants Koo a point of FP; this is the resource required to use his skills.

Again, the manoeuvre is fairly easy to pull off, but they still feel very satisfying to do. The game's emphasis on parries and their relative ease of use makes me think of Beast of Reincarnation as a sort of Sekiro Lite.

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Koo's command menu adds a nice wrinkle to battles. Over the course of the adventure, both he and Emma will gain new special attacks, and each one has some sort of benefit on top of dealing damage.

Enemies all have a weakness to a particular status effect, so I found it best to give Koo a wide range of element types so you have at least one that's especially effective.

Outside of this, his commands have various benefits. You can use them to create temporary grapple points, bring enemies closer together, launch them into the air, and more.

Emma's special attacks are also useful, but for me they all sort of blur together because of the way they flow into combat. Using one didn't really feel that different from using another.

Still, combining her melee and special attacks with Koo's commands is the key to victory, and when it clicks, you feel really powerful and it can be a lot of fun.

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Difficulty is mostly well-balanced as you level up and gain better weapons and skills, but enemies also hit very hard. It can feel a bit uneven in that sense, with some frustratingly fast deaths when you're caught off-guard.

Thankfully, you don't lose anything when you die; the only penalty is being respawned at your last campfire.

After beating each boss, you return to the cleanse walker, a large bipedal vehicle where you can talk to your allies, research food and item recipes, and more. You can go back to it whenever you want, for the most part; it felt to me a bit like Death Stranding's shelters.

It's aboard this machine you'll get a majority of character moments and storytelling, but to be honest, I didn't care much for the narrative aspect. I never got invested in Emma's journey or the stories of her supporting cast.

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While the game looks and runs okay most of the time, it can appear a little drab on a regular PS5. There are some low-quality textures and other elements, while the frame rate (in Performance mode) can occasionally fluctuate from its 60 frames-per-second target.

Generally, in the midst of combat, these things aren't much of a deal breaker, although it's a shame some of the big bosses cause some performance hiccups.

Conclusion

Beast of Reincarnation is an interesting action RPG that ties together various elements to present something quite unique. While the narrative isn't particularly enthralling and it suffers from some visual and technical issues, the combat is a highlight, focusing on parries and a mix of melee and pseudo-turn-based commands that feels fun to balance. It wears its influences on its sleeve, but there are just enough fresh ideas that mean it stands apart.