Pokémon Meets Nier in New Game, Out Today

Published Aug 4, 2026, 8:30 AM EDT Yuliya Geikhman has been writing professionally for over 17 years. She started out in the MMO scene with Pando Media Booster and now dives into everything gaming at Screen Rant. She's a lifelong gamer, a relentless industry sleuth, and a passionate follower of everything happening in the games industry. Game Freak's newest game has officially launched, and it takes the studio well beyond the Pokémon franchise. Beast of Reincarnation arrives today as Game Freak's biggest non-Pokémon project to date. And while the title certainly includes finding and defeating monsters, it also clearly gets its inspiration from other big RPGs. In particular, Beast of Reincarnation bears a strong resemblance to Stellar Blade for its story and characters, Sekiro for its parry-forward combat (rather than stamina-oriented), and Nier: Automata for the overarching themes and atmosphere, right down to the ethereal music. Fans of those games may want to take note of this new game that takes the main character and their fierce animal companion on a journey through a post-apocalyptic world. Beast of Reincarnation Is No Pokémon Make no mistake—although Beast of Reincarnation was created by the same studio that makes all the Pokémon games, it's a big departure from the studio's usual fare. The new game's director, Kota Furushima, told IGN that the studio wanted to try something new and different. Furushima submitted his idea to the studio's internal Gear Project, which lets anyone submit game pitches. "I started with the concept of the feeling that I wanted to get across to the users, the feeling of loneliness, isolation, and warmth," said Furushima, "And the game design that we have now kind of coalesced naturally around that concept." Beast of Reincarnation follows Emma and her huge white dog-like companion, Koo, through post-apocalyptic Japan ravaged by a mysterious blight and populated by androids. Emma and Koo's journey is indeed a lonely one, as both are shunned by society for being affected by the blight, which seems to have nature slowly taking over. The Beautiful RPG Is Out Now Emma and Koo work together to fight through the desolate world. Echoes of the Pokémon series can be felt in the enemy design and gameplay. Like Pokémon, Emma gives Koo commands on the fly as she slices, shoots, and blocks her way through battles. But the title also offers so much more. Emma and Koo are natural enemies, making their collaboration one of a kind in the world. There are elements of base-building, a hunger system, and the coolest use for hair we've seen since Bayonetta. And finally, like Nier: Automata, Emma and Koo's adventuring takes them ever closer to understanding what happened to the world, how to save it, and what it means to be human. Beast of Reincarnation is out today, August 4, 2026, on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Systems Released August 4, 2026 Developer(s) Game Freak Publisher(s) Fictions Number of Players Single-player Steam Deck Compatibility Unknown