During Microsoft's Xbox Developer Direct of January 2026, the famous studio behind the legendary Pokémon franchise, Game Freak, appeared to show off Beast of Reincarnation, a new action-RPG coming to Xbox later this year during the Summer.
The game is set in a post-apocalyptic version of Japan in 4026. In this era, a grand majority of humanity has been wiped out by a parasitic plant called "Blight," and most of Earth's wildlife has been mutated into horrifying monsters called Malefacts.
You play as Emma, a young woman who has somehow managed to seal the "blight"'s infection and has gained powers to help her combat the Malefacts.
Together with her mysterious "blighted" canine companion, Koo, Emma must travel the world to defeat the titular Beast of Reincarnation before it can destroy one of humanity's last safe havens, the Capital, and find a way to destroy the "Blight" for good
On the gameplay side, Beast of Reincarnation is an action-RPG where you explore massive environments, using Emma's "Blighted" powers to traverse precarious terrain and fight hordes of dangerous Malefacts.
Combat will allow the player to defend themselves with sword combos, defensive parries, and slow down briefly to prepare devastating attacks called Blooming Arts, similar to the combat system of Final Fantasy VII Remake.
You can also use this time slowdown mechanic to command Roo to bind enemies or fire off area-of-effect attacks to clear out groups to give you some breathing room.
You will need to master these abilities quickly, as this game will pit you against challenging Malafact bosses called "Nushi".
These are massive beasts that can manipulate the ecosystem around them and will require careful strategies and aggression to defeat and obtain new powers from them.
Will you save the world from the Blight?
Emma and Koo will also encounter hostile Golems, friendly human survivors named Brad and Kagura, and a rival swordswoman named Kunai who is somehow allied with a Malefact on their adventures.
If you wish to help Emma solve this mystery and save her world, then check out Beast of Reincarnation when it drops in 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, and will support Xbox Play Anywhere.
So what do you think of Beast of Reincarnation? Does its premise and gameplay look enticing, or do you need more gameplay trailers and deep dives before deciding to play it?
If you have any thoughts on the matter, let us know in the comments below.
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