Trained by decades of Pokemon, Game Freak has taken petting the dog to a new level in its RPG Beast of Reincarnation: pet it, wash it, and master a whole affection system

Screenshot from Beast of Reincarnation, showing a sword-wielding warrior walk through a river with a huge white dog by her side.

One of the most exciting things about Beast of Reincarnation – the new action game from mainline Pokemon maker, Game Freak – is the adorably fluffy, but violently capable dog that'll follow you around for the entire adventure. And, yes, thankfully, you can pet the good boy.

Beast of Reincarnation flings us a couple thousand years into the future to experience a post-apocalyptic version of Japan, where we'll do battle with deadly automatons, frenzied beasties who hail from the natural world, and enemies that are a curious mix of both. There's hints of Nier Automata for sure, but the game's main selling point is easily the "one-person, one-dog" gameplay that arguably builds off the monster-befriending, apocalypse-proof loop of Pokemon.