I’m usually not one who likes to compare a new game to others, or someone who combines two games and calls it a “child” of the aforementioned counterparts. But I feel like I would be dishonest with the fans of specific games if I didn’t compare in this case.

Beast of Reincarnation is part NieR: Automata, a touch of Sekiro, with a semblance of Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, all combined into a beautiful creation that makes me wonder what Game Freak could really do if they weren’t enthralled by the money they make with Nintendo off their Pokémon games.

The first time I saw the developer of Beast of Reincarnation listed, I was floored by what Game Freak could actually do. For years, they’d been on the receiving end of joke after joke for their lackluster open worlds in Pokémon on Nintendo Switch 1 and 2.

Let’s just say this: Game Freak is actually capable of some astonishing stuff. Beast of Reincarnation is proof that developers can sometimes become victims of their own success, bound to endless cycles of repeat games until they’re able to break free and direct something of their own.

This review was conducted using a pre-release code of Beast of Reincarnation provided to Windows Central by Game Freak. The company had no input or prior knowledge of its content.

Beast of Reincarnation: Story

The year is 4026, and the world as humanity once knew it is gone. Taken by what they call the Blight, the Earth has been largely replaced by some sort of forest-like organism that dominates the landscape and poisons the populace. Humanity still exists, whether as themselves or the husks of iron golems; the world's future hangs in the balance of one they call “Blighted.”

That person is Emma, an 18-year-old both gifted and cursed by the Blight. Known to the rest of humanity as a “Sealer,” Emma has the ability to use the Blight to her advantage. She grows and manipulates it at will to wreak havoc on those around her.

Alongside Emma is Koo, a dog who also suffers from the Blight. Together, Emma and Koo set out alongside a ragtag set of characters to free the land of the Blight by taking on the big bad, the Beast of Reincarnation. A creature that resurrects itself once every 100 years and must be defeated in order for humanity to survive.

To do so, Emma must go about collecting the powers held within the Nushi, boss-like creatures of massive zones Emma will journey to. Each Nushi collected will grant Emma a new power and further improve her strength and capability to defeat the Beast of Reincarnation.

The overall arc is well done and far beyond anything I've seen Game Freak make to date. While it's not on the same level as NieR: Automata or Pragmata in terms of Eastern-developed stories, it's nice to see them create something more than the ever-loving rival-driven Pokémon games.

Beast of Reincarnation: Gameplay and Combat

Beast of Reincarnation comes labeled as an action RPG, but that term doesn’t really cover what kind of action the game entails. From Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Diablo 4 to Kingdom Hearts and The Witcher 3, the ARPG genre is very undefined in terms of what you can expect.

Which is yet another reason why comparing other games is such a compelling approach in this situation. As the combat reflects that of games like Sekiro and NieR: Automata, but it's nothing like something from Diablo!

Either way, what matters most is the answer to the age-old question, “Is it fun?” Yes! I had a blast playing Beast of Reincarnation.

The combat is a bewildering dance of enemy management. Engage foes when ready, keeping them at a distance, or sneaking up on a group to eliminate one before engaging the whole cohort. Balancing that alongside handling your companion, it might sound overwhelming, but it's not.

What I love most about Beast of Reincarnation is how intuitive the controls feel (at least on a controller). Your main weapon attacks, combos, and pet abilities are all within reasonable button combinations that create a sense of power.

I am always the shield or magic guy in Soulslike/ARPG games, so I was pretty terrible with the parries to start. I even gave up playing Sekiro at one point because it wasn’t clicking, and I’m a guy who’s beaten and replayed every other Dark Souls game.

Beast of Reincarnation felt different, or at least, things just finally clicked. After an hour, I felt like I knew what I was doing. A feeling a lot of players have when tackling some of these harder games.

And make no mistake, again, I love these games, but I’m trying to emphasize both the challenge of them as well as the ease of learning. One of the biggest gripes players have with harder games these days is the lack of accessibility or difficulty options, or how hard the games are.

I’ve never been one to believe that games like Sekiro or Dark Souls should have difficulty options, as that would alter the very core principles those games were built on. Beast of Reincarnation isn’t that, but it's also not a game that will hold your hand through every little niche or problem you come across.

Beast is a perfect reincarnation of the ARPG genre in the sense that it delivers a rewarding, challenging experience yet doesn’t punish the player with lost experience, loot, or something else upon death.

The rewards come in waves with a sense of accomplishment as well as wonder on screen as parries land and enemies fall. New weapons, gear, and other items that grant currency for upgrading both your gear and your home base.

Your main weapon is a samurai sword. Upgradable and interchangeable with other similar swords of varying effects you'll find across the landscape.

What I found disappointing in terms of both weapons and combat is that over time it can feel very repetitive. Unlocking combos is a slow process, and weapons aren't all that varied either.

From boss to boss, they look gorgeous, but the combat itself is the general dodge and parry, followed by a finishing move. I find it more frustrating that it seems so much potential was left on the development floor. Even general enemy finishers are mirrored far too often, with every Golem seemingly getting the same backslash attack.

With great horizontal and vertical traversal mechanics, I felt "whelmed" by the combative options to make good use of them. The abilities eventually begin to flesh this out, but they take so long to unlock that by the time you do, you start to wonder if you even have enough time to have fun.

That's not to say it's horrid, not by any means. The combat is serviceable and genuinely fun at times, but the fact that much of the actual development for this game was given to external studios is shown as the entire puzzle doesn't feel as cohesive as it could have.

Walker

Speaking of which, the main base for player operations is known as the Cleanse Walker. This, straight out of Star Wars, metallic vehicle is a host for you and your party, as well as equipment benches, chicken farms, and even a shower for you and your dog, Koo.

Players can find items out in the world that will grant upgrades to these different little Walker areas, like different seeds to plant so your in-Walker cook can help create new dishes that will bolster your stats as well as keep Emma fed. Hitting a point of starvation will cause Emma to lose out on some of her strength, making a general return to your Walker something that will become habit-forming.

You can also increase bonds with other characters and Koo, which grant extra slots for abilities, or other things like new recipes, upgrade paths, etc.

Those abilities for Koo will be essential, as he adds a plethora of abilities that grant multi-target damage, blinding, and other effects. He can also carry healing items and other small-use gadgets that will help Emma in a pinch. Upgrading his bond with Emma will allow for more slots to become available to use. If he dies (not Emma), the slots reset, so be careful!

I actually quite liked these additions granted by the Walker, but as I said with combat, I just wish they'd have more impact on the overall game itself. Once again, it feels like the mechanic is there but never quite reaches its full potential.

Open world-ish

All of this comes neatly packed in a semi-open world. On your pilgrimage, Emma will come across multiple zones of varying size, all of which are open to the player to explore. Checking corners, while not necessary, will lead to treasure chests and Walker upgrade items.

Each new zone comes with a general collection of both corrupted and normal Golems to either fight or buy items from, as well as new enemies packed into different areas that will keep players on their toes, much like the second zone, which literally had me blowing up from self-destructing Golems.

A general Blight-infested look will dawn on each zone, but every one felt very different from the last. The first acting as a training ground of sorts, while leading into narrower, but more vertical areas like an entire city structure with its own underground tunnel system.

What you don’t find on your first go won’t be gone forever, as each zone can be revisited with a simple fast travel back. Meaning anything you might have missed is still up for collection.

The loot isn't game-changing outside of general Walker upgrade materials. What bothered me most was the lack of cool outfits to find! Armor isn't showcased either, as each new outfit

Beast of Reincarnation: Performance and graphics

Here’s where things get a little more complicated. Our main review rig was my Windows PC via Steam, where I run an RTX 5080, 9800X3D, and 64GB of DDR5 RAM. Needless to say, my rig can hang.

On Beast of Reincarnation, I had zero issues running it via my system at 4K with DLSS set to Quality. I was hitting frame rates well above 90, with all the settings maxed out, ray tracing included. When we hop over to Xbox, it’s a different story.

Our own Jez Corden was testing it on his Xbox Series X and reported to me that it was almost unplayable at times. I asked him what kind of frame rate issues he was running into, and in his own words he said, “from 60 FPS down to like 5 FPS,” when running around the open-world zones.

Curiously, I booted up my 4060m laptop, and over there, it ran surprisingly well. At 1080p, I was hitting over 100 FPS with most settings maxed and DLSS 3.5 set to Quality. So, for once, it doesn’t seem to be a bad PC port, but rather a potentially bog-water console port.

We’ve been told that issues will be ironed out come launch, but as of July 28, 2026, when we last tested the Xbox Series X version, it wasn’t doing so well. I can’t imagine the Series S version is much better!

So buyer beware; maybe check out a couple of day-one patches if you’re unsure about the experience you could potentially have playing on console. Sounds like it could be another Crimson Desert situation. Great PC performance, with a couple of patches needed before the game really shines on console.

You'd think as a result, the world would be jaw-droppingly gorgeous, but it's just okay, I guess? Don't get me wrong, the art direction is wonderful, and I do think the game is rather pretty to look at, but for the performance trade-offs we're currently seeing on console, it doesn't make a lot of sense.

Should you buy Beast of Reincarnation?

If you’re a sucker for the following titles, you should absolutely buy this game: NieR: Automata, Sekiro, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, Pragmata, Horizon Zero Dawn, Shadow of the Colossus. You get the point.

I think once all the bugs are ironed out, Beast of Reincarnation will become quite a hit with a smaller audience. I don’t believe it’ll reach the heights of something like NieR: Automata, but it's something that I truly feel has the weight to capture said audience with its magic and majesty.

It's also a day-one release on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, so if you're a subscriber to either, definitely add it to your list.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

As it is, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag is one of the greatest Assassin’s Creed games ever made. Buckling gameplay from bow to stern, Black Flag is the title that set a pirate craze in the world. To the point that Ubisoft spent well over a decade developing the cursed game Skull and Bones.

Even with the dastardly failure of the game, Ubisoft’s vision of a pirate game has crawled its way back in the form of the Black Flag remake, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. As a player who gained every single achievement in the original game, you can bet your coin that I had high expectations when it came to this remake.

I’m happy to say that a little over a dozen years after the original game, Resynced is back to claim the piracy title.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced: The Story

You’re Edward Kenway, the ever-loving and charismatic privateer with a dashing Welsh accent. Driven by dreams of wealth for his wife and glory to boot, Edward sets sail for the West Indies in search of riches beyond measure.

From the start, Edward finds himself in turmoil under a naval encounter that sees his world unraveled and shipwrecked. A shady figure by the name of Duncan Walpole crosses paths with Edward, and an entire world beyond the realm of piracy unfolds before him. One of the shadow and ancient struggles between the Templars and Assassins. The fight between true freedom and control.

Within hours, players will find themselves commanding their very own vessel, the Jackdaw. A versatile ship under the command of a man with legendary pirate friends like Edward "Blackbeard" Thatch, Anne Bonny, Charles Vane, and more. With his trusty crew and mythical friends, Edward looks to create a pirate paradise free from the control of the outside world.

Along this path, Edward discovers the Observatory, Black Flag’s integral piece left behind by the First Civilization that both Assassins and Templars are fighting for. A device that could potentially locate any person across the globe, powers beyond Edward’s imagination begin to clash, with him caught right in the middle.

With everything at stake, Black Flag Resynced, like the game before it, does a wonderful job of depicting a struggle of self-discovery as Edward grapples with his own ambitions as they come at odds with protecting what truly matters in the world.

Unlike the original Black Flag, none of the original modern-day storyline is present. Instead, the entire game is set from beginning to end within the eyes and confines of Edward Kenway. No more will the player find themselves going through the motions of some Abstergo office.

On top of the original story, players can expect extra epilogue missions as well that add more to the world of Edward Kenway.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced: Sail beyond the original

Everything you loved from the original Black Flag returns in Resynced, alongside a plethora of new activities to explore. From new locations to entirely new end-game missions that expand upon the original story, Resynced is more than just a remake, all while packing itself into a single game.

Modern-day stories have been replaced by Rifts, which are optional quests within the Animus that provide players with a unique “what-if” perspective shift. I won’t spoil anything, but a single one of these missions is far better than all of the modern-day experiences found in the original game, combined.

Alongside the main story, side-quests have also been expanded upon. With entirely new missions that give a better glimpse into some of the game’s most iconic characters, as well as other contracts that begin to number beyond what I’m willing to write about. Needless to say, even players who come fresh from the original will find tons of newly packed story content in Resynced!

With all the newly minted narrative pieces, Ubisoft also delivered the goods when it came to combat on foot and on the high seas. First, let’s talk about Edward’s expanded repertoire.

Edward’s melee capabilities have been expanded with perfect parries and heavy attacks. Now, when an enemy takes a parryable swing at Edward, a perfectly timed parry will open them up for a devastating finisher.

Players can also add heavy attacks to their swashbuckling swings to engage in melee beatdowns on enemies on their heels. These heavy hits are multi-enemy swings that apply to all melee weapons in the game.

Another fantastic “addition” is the rope dart, a mechanic that was part of the original, but many players felt was unlocked far too late in the game to be of any use. Correcting this mistake, Ubisoft has unlocked it for use within the first few hours of gameplay, as well as expanding on its combat capabilities.

Naval combat, as I said earlier, has also been heavily expanded. Each and every weapon on the Jackdaw now has an added secondary fire mode that drastically changes how the weapon performs. For instance, let's talk about the heated shot for the broadside cannons.

Rather than a single please-don’t-miss-shot, the heated-shot is a close-quarters monster. Enabling a rapid-fire “fire” shot that barrages the enemy with flaming cannonballs. The heated-shot is an up-close face melter when it comes to naval combat, and something I could never go back to the original without.

That’s just one of the added secondary weapons as well, with the upfront chain shots, swivel gun, mortars, and fire barrels all getting some fantastic additions to their arsenals. Open-water combat that was once perfection is now peak perfection.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced: Looks and runs amazingly

Very rarely do I get to see a remake that captures the magic of the original while surpassing it in every way. Generally, there’s always something that seems to throw me off, something that the new team felt was needed but doesn’t quite fit the world of the initial creation.

Having played through the entirety of the original Black Flag in 2013, I went into Resynced immediately astonished. The world I had once known has been captured and enhanced in ways my nostalgia-driven mind thinks the original always looked.

Iconic cities like Nassau have been overhauled with incredibly new, detailed textures and meshes, all while triggering memory circuits in my brain I thought had been long lost. My first time on shore activated something in my head that I assumed I had completely forgotten. The buildings all fit perfectly in their places as I had once remembered them.

Even trees contain the same pathways I once ran through, while paths leading from ships initiate the same but greatly updated animations of the originals. The entire Resynced experience is absolutely breathtaking in terms of how closely the world has been reimagined while remaining faithful to its predecessor.

With that, you’d think a massive performance hit would come as well, but as someone playing on PC through Ubisoft Connect, it didn’t!

I’m happy to report that I achieved well over 120 frames per second on my build with a little DLSS Quality and Nvidia Frame Generation set to 2x. I know, I know, “frame generation sucks!” I’m here to tell you that as a competitive player, frame generation is perfectly fine in this case, given the native performance I was getting was well beyond 60 fps.

My current build is an RTX 5080, 9800X3D, and 64GB of DDR5 RAM. I was running the game on the Very High preset for most of my gameplay. I bumped it to Ultra settings with ray-tracing and field-of-view maxed, and Resynced still managed to maintain an average of 110+ frames per second.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced: Should you buy it?

If you loved the original game, then yes, you definitely should. If you've never played it, but love that older-school Assassin's Creed formula, then yes, you should too!

For everyone else, it really comes down to what you're looking for in a game.

While Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is massive, players can adhere to most of the mainline story without too much side-tracking. So if these larger-than-life open-world games aren't your cup of tea, just know that Black Flag Resynced can be played as a sort of linear experience.

For collectathon people like myself, Resynced isn’t quite as bad as the latest Legend of Zelda entries, but you’ll definitely be busy running around each and every island, crossing off the to-do checklist you’re presented with. Especially if you want to grab every cosmetic as I do.

Then there’s an added layer of their new Animus Hub that was originally introduced with Assassin’s Creed Shadows. More points mean more unlocks, which all just feels like an expanded version of their original Ubisoft Uplay Store.

At the end of the day, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is everything I’ve ever loved about the series, now dressed to the Blackbeard nines and bursting with new features to keep gamers busy for days. Sure, I’ve been overwhelmed by the treasure trove of things to do, but not once have I played without a grin plastered across my face.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

The video game industry is no stranger to heartbreaking news, and the latest round of cuts at Microsoft-owned studios is yet another continuation of that. They say people begin to become numb to certain sensations, and it seems we’ve reached a point where my own emotions are beginning to gloss over from this repeated news cycle.

On June 25, 2026, gaming reporter Rebs Gaming shared the latest update on X, stating that layoffs had started at Compulsion Games, the team responsible for developing South of Midnight. We knew this was coming, and in effect, many hoped for potential buyouts of these studios so they could continue their work and livelihood under the direction of another publisher.

Compulsions Games were known for their distinctive flavor, with titles such as We Happy Few, South of Midnight, and a personal favorite of mine, Contrast. A film noir-inspired platform puzzle game, Contrast was a perfect encapsulation of the work you could expect from Compulsion Games.

These reductions form a larger shift within Microsoft’s gaming division, as Asha Sharma looks to “right the ship” of the declining Xbox brand. As both budgets and studios within the group have ballooned beyond a reasonable amount, measures are being taken to reduce the issues before an even greater collapse were to occur.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not defending this whatsoever. Quite a while back, I remember writing another article about the closure of Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks, where I mentioned that Microsoft shouldn’t be buying companies it couldn’t afford.

One can hope that these layoffs don’t lead to the total closure of Compulsion Games. One can hope their uniqueness is better directed toward games like their earlier entries, such as Contrast, rather than more extensive, less budget-friendly ventures.

Responses to the news have varied. Some fans lament the loss of potential sequels or new ideas from a studio known for taking creative risks. Others argue that such adjustments are essential for long-term viability, especially when resources need reallocating toward projects with broader appeal.

What saddens me is that, regardless of the current need to do so, it seems to me these decisions are still a reflection of the direction Xbox had previously taken. Sure, Phil Spencer is no longer at the helm, but folks like Matt Booty are still present who oversaw previous operations.

To make matters worse, more are still to come, with discussions ongoing amongst a group of studios at Xbox. Ninja Theory, Double Fine, and more are all under the strain of potential closure or layoffs within their walls. We previously heard that Ninja Theory is completely done, with Senua’s reveal being a last-ditch effort to give the studio a fighting chance to be purchased.

Regardless, here’s to hoping the future of these studios is met with a gentle hand, one that will guide them into the light rather than shuttering them forever.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Amazon Prime Day is here, and like always, we have some of the best deals out there highlighted for you. To add a little flair to it, I am someone who very rarely posts about deals. It’s not my jam, but when I do, you can bet it’s about something I think is a real deal!

Introducing the Turtle Beach Velocity One Racing Wheel and Pedal System. One of the best setups I’ve laid my hands on and reviewed in 2024 is now on sale for an absolutely crazy price. Not only that, but its sister system is also on sale, the Turtle Beach VelocityOne Race KD3.

Originally priced at $650, the VelocityOne Race Wheel & Pedal System is now just $399, an absolute steal when compared to plug-and-play systems like the Logitech G923. Then, the KD3 wheel, which starts at an even lower original price of $449, is at a crushingly low price of $237!

These deals are absolutely crazy

These are insane deals coming from my favorite new racing wheel creator, Turtle Beach. It still feels weird seeing them make something that isn’t a headset, but it's always amazing to see new entrants into the simulation space.

While I didn’t entirely recommend the VelocityOne system at the $650 price point, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that $399 would make this a ten out of ten deal. You'll get a 7.2nm base with a side control unit that delivers over a dozen different buttons and switches. Alongside a triple-pedal setup, perfect for manual/clutch racers.

Then, there's the $237 for the KD3 system, which is even more shocking. Completely undercutting the half-decade-old Logitech G923, which is also on sale, it’s $25 less than its main competitor!

With a slimmer look and a slightly reduced feedback system, the KD3 wheel and base are phenomenal for the price. With two pedals rather than three, those looking to skip the clutch and have a more realistic, but still casual racing experience will absolutely love this setup.

Whether you’re looking for a cheaper, higher-end setup or something cheaper than the old price of the Xbox Series S, look no further than the Turtle Beach Racing Wheel family. And while you’re at it, pick up Forza Horizon 6 too, you’ll thank me later!

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.