Beast of Reincarnation's Combat Is a Surprising Blend of 'Dark Souls' and 'Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth'

Beast of Reincarnation, the upcoming action JRPG by Game Freak (of Pokémon development fame), has gotten a new combat overview trailer, and the game appears to be a Frankenstein of both action and command-based combat.

Uploaded to publisher Fictions' official YouTube page, the combat overview trailer gives a detailed breakdown of each aspect of combat, and the game seems to combine elements of Dark Souls with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth with a dash of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Players take direct control of Emma the Sealer in combat, while also slowing down time to issue commands to her ally dog, Koo. The camera and combat design will likely make FromSoftware fans think of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and the Dark Souls trilogy.

Enemies have two gauges: health and the down gauge. Emptying the down gauge allows Emma to complete an instant takedown. The game also puts a heavy emphasis on parrying attacks. Parrying increases the FP gauge, allowing players to call on Koo's power.

That is where things get a little more interesting, and Beast of Reincarnation separates itself from Soulslikes. Calling upon Koo's power slows down time for a direct command from a menu, very similar to the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy games. Then, you can press a button as a Quick Time Event to increase damage, similar to Expedition 33.

Koo is controlled by the AI during real-time combat and can be given general commands, like "run ahead."

Notably, according to the combat breakdown, most, if not all, attacks in the game can be parried, even those from large boss encounters.

Emma and Koo also have two separate skill trees for learning new abilities, both passive and active. Some skills are also acquired from defeating bosses.

Beast of Reincarnation releases on August 4, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jul 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 1:13 PM.