Game Freak is best known as the studio that has made Pokemon games for nearly thirty years, but this week it is putting out something completely different. Beast of Reincarnation, an original action RPG released under Game Freak's own new publishing label Fictions, arrives on August 4, 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S - and it lands on Game Pass on day one.
It is the studio's most ambitious non-Pokemon project to date: a single-player action RPG set in a beautiful but ruined world, built around what Game Freak calls a "one-person, one-dog" journey. You play as Emma, a young warrior, travelling alongside a beast companion named Koo. The two are effectively a team, and the game's combat is designed around the pair working in tandem rather than a lone hero swinging a sword.
Combat Built Around a Partnership
Emma fights up close with a blade, leaning on timing-based parries and flashy "Bloom Arts" special attacks, while Koo is directed through command-style abilities that flank, distract and tear into enemies. The result is a hybrid of real-time action and more deliberate, command-driven decision-making - you are reacting to attacks in the moment, but also constantly deciding how to deploy your companion. Enemies range from skittering mechanical husks to towering, bone-and-metal colossi that force you to use both members of the duo to survive.
A New Direction for Game Freak
The world of Beast of Reincarnation is one of decay and overgrowth - crumbling shrines, giant trees and hostile wildlife reclaiming the ruins of a fallen civilisation. It is a strikingly different tone from the developer's usual output, and early hands-on impressions have been cautiously positive rather than ecstatic, praising the atmosphere and the Emma-and-Koo dynamic while noting that the combat and structure still feel like a studio finding its footing in a new genre.
Whether or not it becomes a breakout hit, Beast of Reincarnation is a notable moment: Game Freak stepping well outside its comfort zone, and doing it as a self-published, day-one Game Pass release. It is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S this week.
