Pokemon studio's action RPG Beast of Reincarnation is not open-world, has difficulty settings unlike Soulslikes, and combat is about parrying to tag in a dog you power up with pets

Beast of Reincarnation's director, Kota Furushima, has released more gameplay details about the upcoming one-person, one-dog action RPG, which will be the first AAA game developed by Game Freak that's not part of the Pokemon series.

In an interview with Famitsu, translated by GamesRadar+, Furushima has given more details on the game, scheduled for release in mid-2026. His comments have helped clear up some confusion about the game's genre.

Gameplay shown during the 15-minute showcase as part of Xbox Developer Direct 2026 had people wondering if Beast of Reincarnation is a soulslike thanks to the emphasis on parrying and overall design, but unlike most games of that genre, Furushima has confirmed that it will have difficulty settings, a linear structure, and no online elements.

Speaking of the game's structure, Furushima says, "It's a long journey with a wide variety of different environments, so I think you can essentially think of it as one long, very wide path. Rather than a completely open world, it's kind of a road to Kyoto broken up into 'district' levels."

He also explains how the team deliberately excluded online elements to better focus on the game's core concept. "Because the relationship between the person and the animal is so important," Furuyama explains, "we deliberately didn't include any online elements."

Furushima also confirms that Beast of Reincarnation will have overt difficulty selection, but will also allow players to adjust difficulty for themselves through the use and selection of different passive skills.

"We've made it so that it's enjoyable for even those who aren't good at action games," Furushima says. "You can choose your difficulty level, so I recommend choosing a lower difficulty if you're unsure. Personally, with the skill trees and the support that Koo offers, I think that people can enjoy finding their own approach that essentially reduces the difficulty."

Emma's dog partner, Koo, creates the game's unique combat system, which is a mix between real-time and turn-based combat. When Emma parries, she builds up points that allow Koo to pull off a Bloom Art ability, stopping time as you select a move and a target.

Koo also has passive skills, and can have more equipped the closer Emma and Koo become. "Starting out you'll only have one [space for skills]," Furushima explains. "But as you increase Koo's affection, the number will increase little by little. You'll be able to set up to six skills in total. [Affection increases by] feeding him, petting him. Show him lots of love."

So they're telling us you can and should pet the dog. Noted.

Pokemon dev Game Freak says it wasn't trying to make an anti-Pokemon game with its flashy new action RPG Beast of Reincarnation: "It just happened"