Many people often assume that Game Freak, the developer of the Pokemon series, is a Nintendo first-party studio, but that isn't actually the case. Although the company frequently collaborates with Nintendo and has partial ownership of the Pokemon IP, it is a wholly independent firm. In addition, Game Freak has, to some people's surprise, released a handful of non-Pokemon games over the last several years, many of which are available on multiple platforms. These include the turn-based RPG Little Town Hero, the puzzle-platformer Giga Wrecker, the card-based sports game Pocket Card Jockey, and the side-scrolling platformer Tembo the Badass Elephant.
Unlike the original Pokemon games from back in the day, Game Freak's non-Pokemon projects haven't exactly achieved mainstream recognition. The majority of these games have received middling critical reception at best, and they haven't sold particularly well, either. Nonetheless, Game Freak has still not abandoned its plans to develop more original properties. In fact, its next game (after this year's Pokemon Legends: Z-A) seems to be the company's most ambitious title yet from a visual and technical standpoint, and it surprisingly looks a lot like Sucker Punch's Ghost of Yotei.
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Game Freak's New Game Looks Like it Will Be the Closest Thing to Ghost of Yotei on Xbox
Beast of Reincarnation Was Announced During the Xbox Games Showcase
During this year's Xbox Games Showcase, Game Freak announced a game called Beast of Reincarnation, which is coming to Xbox Series X/S, Xbox Game Pass, PC, and PlayStation 5 in 2026. Beast of Reincarnation looks, quite literally, nothing like Pokemon, and it's the first game with a realistic art style that the company has ever made. Unlike Little Town Hero or Pocket Card Jockey, it looks like Game Freak is putting a lot of money behind this title, given that it has impressive graphics and is targeting non-Nintendo consoles. Beast of Reincarnation also appears to have a much more mature tone compared to the company's prior works.
Beast of Reincarnation takes place in the far future in a post-apocalyptic Japan, where robots and dangerous beasts roam freely across the land. The game follows a young woman named Emma, who becomes an outcast after being cursed as a Blighted One. In order to save humanity, she goes on a trek through the wilderness and explores the unknown. Fortunately, she isn't taking this journey all alone. Emma has a trustworthy dog companion named Koo by her side, and her bond with it deepens as the game progresses. According to Game Freak, Beast of Reincarnation is a "one-person, one-dog action RPG," and it seems to have Soulslike-inspired combat.
Ghost of Yotei and Beast of Reincarnation Have a Surprising Amount of Similarities
As previously mentioned, the upcoming open world game Ghost of Yotei appears to have a lot of similarities with Beast of Reincarnation. For one, both of the titles are set in the Japanese wilderness; one, however, takes place in the past, while the other is set thousands of years in the future. The games have female protagonists with dog companions, as well. Even though it's not clear what roles these dogs will have gameplay-wise, they do presumably have a major presence in their respective titles. Beast of Reincarnation and Ghost of Yotei are also third-person action games that place a heavy emphasis on melee combat.
Beast of Reincarnation May Satisfy Xbox Fans Who Are Looking for a Ghost of Yotei-Like Experience
Unlike Beast of Reincarnation, Ghost of Yotei is coming out in just a few months, but it will only be available on the PS5 at launch. Although it will likely be ported to PC eventually, like its predecessor, Ghost of Tsushima, was, the chances of it coming to a non-PlayStation console are slim, since it's being developed by a PlayStation first-party studio. Xbox players who want to experience a game like Ghost of Yotei on their preferred platform have, at the very least, Beast of Reincarnation to look forward to. They're not exactly the same thing (Ghost of Yotei is an action-adventure game, while Beast of Reincarnation is more of a Soulslike), but Game Freak's upcoming game may satisfy those longing for a new action RPG set in Japan.
Ghost of Yotei
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 87 /100 Critics Rec: 94%
- Released
- October 2, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Language, Partial Nudity, Use of Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Sucker Punch
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Action, Adventure, Open-World
