The Tales series has a long-standing tradition of delivering great stories, plenty of humour and some fantastic gameplay. Of late however, developers Bandai Namco have strayed from that tradition by producing some average Tales instalments that were bereft of anything outstanding. Tales of Zestiria was a perfect example of a solid game that failed to stand out in anyway.
So, comes the latest addition to the franchise in the form of Tales of Berseia which shares the same game world as Zestiria but is set a long time ago in a galaxy not so far away. Berseria places you in the role of Velvet, a young woman whose once kind demeanour has been replaced by demon fuelled revenge.
In stark contrast to Zestiria band of goody two shoes, Berseria is filled with Demons, morally grey vagabonds and anti-heroes all. This leaves the game with an exciting, drama filled story from the start that never becomes tiresome thanks to the trademark humour embedded within the Tales games.
Gameplay
Performance & Graphics
Graphically, Berseria looks amazing with the Tales anime styling although some textures are disappointing and lack detail for example certain furry creatures are not represented well. Barring that the game runs well, looks beautiful and the lip syncing is done well. Thankfully this time round, Berseria runs at 60fps unlike Zestiria which helps with the fluidity of combat and smoothens out cut scenes.
Minimum:
Recommended:
Audio / Voice Acting
Both sound effects and musical score do the job quite nicely here as would be expected from an Tales game. The voice acting is once again on point and the voice actors did a fantastic job of bringing these characters to life.
Combo!
Additional Thoughts
While Tales of Berseria’s story and characters are amazing the improvements made the game’s core mechanics cannot be understated. The game uses a form of the Zestiria system that sheds most of Zestiria’s issues.
The combat for a start is massively improved and the battle system flows much better. The item and character progression systems have been improved and are easier to use. The changes to the combat are small but culminate into a vastly improved and superior experience.
Not to mention that the game is absolutely packed with content from side quests to cooking. The game does suffer from a lack of interesting exploration and dungeoneering late game but the quality of the story helps drive you through any stagnation.
Fluid and fun
TALES OF BERSERIA VERDICT
Tales of Berseria is a strong return to form from Bandai Namco and this return to form has produced one of the best Tales games out there in terms of story and overall quality.
TOP GAME MOMENT
Destroying foes with your demon eating hand after a hefty combo feels consistently legit.
Price and Purchase
Tales of Berseria can be picked up on Steam for $49.99 USD.
Good vs Bad
- Solid core gameplay
- Great Story, characters and dialogue
- Packed full of content
- Sound and voice acting
- Lack interesting exploration mid game
