Game Freak is winding down support for Beast of Reincarnation. The studio and publisher Fictions say the game's next patch, currently planned for Monday (October 19th), will be the last one in its current run of major post-launch updates. The final date is still to be determined, and Game Freak's Japanese post puts it at around October 20th in Japan time.
Game Freak shared the news on its official X account on Friday (October 16th), in both Japanese and English:
The English half reads: "We want to share that our current post-launch update cycle is coming to a close. Our next patch, currently planned for Oct 19th (final date TBD), will be the final patch in this ongoing phase of major post-launch updates. While frequent updates will be coming to an end, if you have any thoughts, feedback, or issues you'd like to share, please feel free to reach out to us or file a support ticket via the Fictions support website."
What This Means For Players
The wording is careful. This is the end of a phase, and the team is leaving the door open. In the latest patch notes on the Fictions support site, the team wrote that it hopes "to address any remaining major concerns, either in next week's planned patch or a later update." So more fixes could still come down the line. They just will not be arriving on the steady schedule players have gotten used to.
Feedback is still being collected through the Fictions support website, and Game Freak asked players to keep their game updated. The current versions are 01.012.000 on PS5, and 1.1.1.0 on both Xbox Series X and S and Steam.
Eight Updates In Two Months
Beast of Reincarnation launched on August 4th in Japan and August 3rd in the US, on PS5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC through Steam. Game Freak started patching almost immediately. On August 5th, it posted that it was taking player feedback seriously and promised camera adjustments, bigger text, and better story pacing within a week.
The most recent patch, version 1.1.01 on PC and 1.012.000 on PS5, was the 8th update since launch. It added a pretty big change for story-focused players. After clearing the Great Wall Terraces Zone, you can now choose "Hasten to the Capital" and skip Pilgrim's Zone, Matsukawa Colony Zone, and Fuji Frontier Zone entirely. Achievements in those zones cannot be earned on a New Game run if you skip them, but you can still get them in New Game+ by picking the Mountain Route.
The patch also brought:
- A Field of View slider on PC.
- An option to show or hide cutscene skip prompts.
- Adjusted line pacing and staging across many cutscenes.
- Fixes for subtitles sticking around after skipping, soft locks from skipping events too fast, and odd camera angles after skips.
- A fix for Entanglement Overdrive toggling lock-on when canceled manually.
- A fix for the camera locking onto Koo when canceling a strongbox while using Koo's Bloom Art.
- Performance improvements and a long list of environment fixes, including gaps, clipping, and invisible walls.
A lot of that list points at the same complaints players had at launch. Pacing, cutscenes, and the camera came up over and over.
Where The Game Stands
Beast of Reincarnation is Game Freak's big original action RPG outside of Pokemon. It is set in a post-apocalyptic Japan in the year 4026, and follows Emma and her dog Koo in what the studio calls a "one-person, one-dog action RPG," with combat that mixes real-time action and turn-based commands.
On Steam, it currently sits at Mixed reviews, with 3,778 positive and 2,610 negative. It sells for $59.99 there, with a $9.99 Deluxe DLC.
Ending a frequent patch cycle after two months is not unusual on its own, especially after eight updates. The timing still stands out, since the game is still sitting at Mixed while Game Freak has started showing off other projects, including its new original game Ame Nochi Hare Onna, revealed in September.
Do you think Game Freak gave Beast of Reincarnation enough support, or should it have kept the regular patches coming longer?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.