Beast of Reincarnation is the most important game of the summer

If you’re looking for something to play this summer, you’ll have plenty of good options. Star Fox, Rhythm Heaven Groove, and Splatoon Raiders will keep Nintendo Switch 2 owners busy. Heavy hitters like Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced and Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls feel like perfect lazy-day obsessions. Heck, even Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots coming to modern consoles is a huge deal. But no summer game launch feels quite as consequential as Beast of Reincarnation.

At a glance, the upcoming game doesn’t look all that industry-shifting. It looks like your typical action RPG, full of intimidating bosses to take down in a post-apocalyptic world. Very cool, just not exactly new. Look a little closer at the tin, though, and you’ll understand why it’s an important one: It’s the latest project from Game Freak, the studio behind the mainline Pokémon RPGs. While it’s unlikely to be a make-or-break kind of game for a studio that powerful, it is one that you’ll want to keep a close eye on. It might just be a crystal ball that gives us a glimpse into Pokémon’s future.

If you had no idea that Beast of Reincarnation was being developed by Game Freak, don’t beat yourself up over it. It’s not the kind of thing you’d pick up from a screenshot. While the company has practically always worked with cartoon art styles, Beast of Reincarnation has the photorealistic sheen of a high-end AAA game built in Unreal Engine 5. The natural environments are so detailed that you can count the blades of grass. The monsters are as intricately designed as anything in Dark Souls, with wooden branches covering their bodies like veins. The trailers show off action that’s faster and smoother than anything we’ve seen from Game Freak previously.

It’s a total aesthetic departure, though one that you can see Game Freak’s DNA in if you squint. A game where you and your animal companion do battle with a whole host of inventive creatures? Yep, that checks out! Even then, it’s still something of a statement. None of Game Freak’s titles — including side-projects ranging from Giga Wrecker to Pocket Card Jockey — have ever tried to punch at this big-budget weight class.

That’s a big deal, considering what the last decade has looked like for Game Freak. While the Pokémon series is as popular as ever, it hit some significant growing pains during the Nintendo Switch era. The jump from dedicated handheld to hybrid console development saw the RPGs run into a brick wall, as Game Freak’s design ambitions outpaced its technical ability. Open-world games like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet were hampered by performance issues and muddy textures that left fans increasingly miffed with each new game. The games still sell, but Game Freak’s reputation has been bruised for a very long time.

Considering that the studio has something to prove, it’s significant that Beast of Reincarnation is designed as a current-gen game targeting PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. It feels like a pointed decision, as if Game Freak is out to show it’s perfectly capable of making something as grand as Black Myth: Wukong if it wanted to. If it can deliver a dazzling bit of spectacle with few technical hiccups, it will go a long way towards changing the narrative hanging over the studio. (Even if it might be a little misleading, considering that Game Freak says development is being handled by “several dozen trusted external partners.”)

Image: Game Freak Inc./Fictions

It desperately needs that reversal, too. Next year, Game Freak will have an actual make-or-break moment with Pokémon Winds and Waves. Its first mainline Pokémon RPG developed exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2 will be a must-pass test if Game Freak is going to convince players that it has cleaned up its act; another technically disastrous open-world game could be the last straw for a certain subset of players, even if kids will always line up for another Pokémon adventure. Beast of Reincarnation could ease some of that tension if it can lay the groundwork for that comeback story.

Not only that, but a new hit could mark a turning point for a company that currently has all of its eggs in one (very lucrative) basket. Even with a few passion projects here and there, Game Freak is exclusively known as “the Pokémon studio.” It hasn’t had much of a chance to show its range as a developer as of late and prove that it can make an original game that’s not tied to nostalgia. Though it sure seems like that well will never dry up, it can’t hurt to diversify and prove that you’re ready to adapt to changing trends at a moment’s notice. Whether it’s a mess or a surprise sensation, we’re going to learn a lot about Game Freak this August.