{"id":56095,"date":"2026-01-23T19:19:44","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T10:19:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=56095"},"modified":"2026-01-23T19:19:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T10:19:47","slug":"beast-of-reincarnation-director-explains-why-japan-was-the-perfect-setting-for-the-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/beast-of-reincarnation-director-explains-why-japan-was-the-perfect-setting-for-the-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Beast of Reincarnation director explains why Japan was the perfect setting for the game\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Set in a post-apocalyptic Japan&nbsp;in the year 4026,&nbsp;<strong>Beast of Reincarnation<\/strong>&nbsp;is a more grounded title than Game Freak\u2019s&nbsp;previous&nbsp;work on the Pok\u00e9mon franchise. In a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.famitsu.com\/article\/202601\/63919\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Famitsu interview<\/a>, game director Kota Furushima explains&nbsp;why he chose Japan as the story\u2019s setting.&nbsp;According&nbsp;to the director,&nbsp;the country\u2019s harsh topography helped convey the difficulties&nbsp;Emma, the protagonist, and her dog companion Koo are facing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Beast of Reincarnation Gameplay Overview | Xbox Developer Direct 2026\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AqTcDkjtxW8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c(The choice of setting)&nbsp;stems from wanting to make Emma and&nbsp;Koo\u2019s&nbsp;journey&nbsp;a&nbsp;harsh&nbsp;one.&nbsp;They&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;just travel&nbsp;along orderly roads, but&nbsp;to&nbsp;places that are&nbsp;messy,&nbsp;be they&nbsp;narrow,&nbsp;wide,&nbsp;or&nbsp;surrounded by mountains with elevation changes. When I thought of a place with terrain encompassing such varied features, I thought&nbsp;to myself,&nbsp;\u2018Isn&#8217;t that&nbsp;Japan?\u2019\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He adds that Emma and Koo\u2019s journey will take them from the countryside to the game\u2019s capital, a journey that is\u00a0meant to\u00a0evoke\u00a0the real-life\u00a0mountainous trek from the\u00a0Kanto region to Kyoto.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While Beast of Reincarnation is primarily a linear experience, there are several\u00a0broad\u00a0\u201czones\u201d that provide ample room for exploration, be it through normal traversal (i.e.,\u00a0walking\u00a0and climbing) or by using Emma\u2019s plant-based abilities.\u00a0There will also be various\u00a0elements that\u00a0convey\u00a0a distinct Japanese feeling.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1525\" height=\"845\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1525px) 100vw, 1525px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260123-56095-001.jpg\" alt=\"Beast of Reincarnation\" class=\"wp-image-56099\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260123-56095-001.jpg 1525w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260123-56095-001-380x211.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260123-56095-001-768x426.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>That said, a devastated Japan set in the year 4026 also&nbsp;reinforces Furushima\u2019s desire to make the protagonists\u2019 journey difficult. In addition to the unpredictable terrain, Emma and Koo must also contend with Golems, robots created&nbsp;to hold human souls. Only by overcoming these challenges can the two hope&nbsp;to achieve&nbsp;their goal of defeating the titular Beast of Reincarnation.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beast of Reincarnation is set to release in Summer 2026 for&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/store.playstation.com\/en-us\/concept\/10014719\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PlayStation 5<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.xbox.com\/en-US\/games\/store\/beast-of-reincarnation\/9NXWSWBM4H6T\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Xbox Series X|S<\/a>, and Windows (<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/2001760\/Beast_of_Reincarnation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steam<\/a>).&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Related:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/20220426-11999\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pok\u00e9mon developer Game Freak adopts an optional 4-day workweek program with 20% salary reduction<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Beast of Reincarnation game director Kota Furushima talks about how he came to choose post-apocalyptic Japan as the story&#8217;s setting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":56097,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-56095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Beast of Reincarnation director explains why Japan was the perfect setting for the game\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Beast of Reincarnation game director Kota Furushima talks about how he came to choose post-apocalyptic Japan as the story&#039;s setting.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/beast-of-reincarnation-director-explains-why-japan-was-the-perfect-setting-for-the-game\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Beast of Reincarnation director explains why Japan was the perfect setting for the game\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Beast of Reincarnation game director Kota Furushima talks about how he came to choose post-apocalyptic Japan as the story&#039;s setting.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/beast-of-reincarnation-director-explains-why-japan-was-the-perfect-setting-for-the-game\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-23T10:19:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-23T10:19:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260123-56095-header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1515\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"848\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Carlos &quot;Zoto&quot; Zotomayor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carlos &quot;Zoto&quot; Zotomayor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Beast of Reincarnation director explains why Japan was the perfect setting for the game\u00a0 - 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