Beast of Reincarnation director says Game Freak's priority is delivering a quality 'gameplay experience' rather than graphical fidelity — but the game still certainly appears to be a visual upgrade compared to Pokémon

Game Freak's attention is on "making sure that our vision can get to your hands and your heart"

23 Jan 2026, 13:04 · TechRadar

News By Demi Williams published 23 January 2026

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Beast of Reincarnation director Kota Furushima has said Game Freak's priority is delivering a good "gameplay experience"
The director says graphics and performance are important, but the studio wants to make sure "our vision can get to your hands and your hearts"
The game just received a new trailer at the Xbox Developer Direct showcase

Pokémon studio Game Freak is more focused on delivering a good gameplay experience than graphical fidelity in its upcoming action-adventure game, Beast of Reincarnation.

Beast of Reincarnation, in practically every way, is a far cry from the games Game Freak is known for. We've got fast-paced combat, a wolf companion that can use skills via a command system, a story set in post-apocalyptic Japan, and challenging boss fights.

It's clearly Game Freak's most ambitious game yet, but game director Kota Furushima has said the studio isn't looking to make a game "of a certain level of quality", but one that delivers an experience that will stick with players.

"I think when it comes to Beast of Reincarnation, and I guess we would regard it as the scale and the ambition of the title, when we approach game design, we're not looking to make, say, a title of a certain level of quality," Furushima said in an interview with with IGN following the Xbox Developer Direct, where we were treated to a fresh gameplay trailer.

The director's comments come in response to a question about concerns players may have about the game, following criticism the studio has received for the performance of its previous Pokémon games.

Furushima explained that optimization will be important, but Game Freak's priority is the overall gameplay experience.

"We're looking to deliver a very specific game experience, and visual fidelity and graphics, this is something that supports that game experience, everything that goes into that," he said. "That includes things like bug fixing, optimization. Everything is there to serve the gameplay and the experience.

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