Berserk and the Band of the Hawk

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is a decent Dynasty Warriors spin-off that fits the world of Berserk well enough. However, the one-on-one boss fights show up the simplicity of the combat system and missions get repetitive pretty quickly. It’s also not a visually impressive game but it is an eminently playable one.

Simple, violent and rough around the edges, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is just like its protagonist, Guts, and equally just as endearing in small doses.

This title is a good entry point to first experience Berserk for any newcomers to the series. Longtime fans may be annoyed by the reuse of scenes from the Golden Age movies and wish other arcs past that point received more attention - I know I did. But the game's addictive and satisfying combat ensures Berserk and the Band of the Hawk will remain installed on my PS4 throughout 2017.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is a game which is absolutely charming to fans of the manga/series. For others it is a mediocre hack and slash game with simplified (but great) combat, but outdated graphics.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is a strictly by-the-books Warriors-style game. There's enough value here for die-hard Berserk fans, if only for collecting Behelits, which unlock artwork and galleries, and they can enjoy the fun of mowing down tons of helpless foes. However, in comparison to most other recent Warriors titles, Berserk feels unambitious. As an anime adaptation, it's a darn sight better than something like Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage, but it seems to coast on its popular license rather than trying to do something special.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is yet another version of Dynasty Warriors. A well known gameplay formula was implemented, and the action is fast and bloody. There's nothing wrong with that - I just think a different approach would result in a better game. Still, the target audience (fans of the original manga and anime) should be pleased.

If you're a fan of the series it is based on, then it's a good option, but if you're looking for a musou you can find better options out there. It doesn't feel like a missed opportunity, but it certainly could have been better.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk could have been more than a simple re-issuing of the same Warriors formula that Omega Force has perfected over the years, but instead this is merely a re-telling of the Berserk story with a lot of emphasis on the Square and Triangle buttons.

A typical fan service product: probably the best Berserk video game ever published, but nothing more than a classic Omega Force musou.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk, like its source material, isn’t for everyone, but underneath its many flaws lies a solid core combat system and a great campaign mode that does a good job adapting the long-running manga to fit the Dynasty Warriors structure.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk doesn't capitalize on the Dynasty Warriors formula as well as it could have, but its incredibly dark and engaging narrative makes it a unique experience. Dynasty Warriors fans will likely be satisfied with what it has to offer in the gameplay department, but if you're tired of that particular brand of hack 'n' slash then this will do little to change your mind.

What’s really hard to shake about Berserk is the feeling that Koei applied the wrong template to it. With the Nioh engine now having proven itself, I would rather Koei had held onto the IP a little longer and married Berserk’s dark narrative to Nioh’s gameplay structure.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk's gameplay would definitely stand toe-to-toe with other licensed musou games like One Piece: Pirate Warriors and Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, but maybe this game could have strayed further away from the typical musou formula like what fans saw with Attack on Titan. Instead, it seems Omega Force played it a little too safe.

I can’t think of another franchise, whose hero is so well suited to be the star of a musou game than Guts of the Berserk manga. Having said that mechanically this is a step back, while in terms of storytelling, no musou game has ever been this atmospheric and tense – mainly thanks to the extensive inclusion of original anime scenes.

If you're looking for a Hack-N-Slash game with a with an awesome visual style and an equally compelling story, or you're just a Berserk fan, then you could do far worse than to dip your toes into these waters.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is just another musou, since Omega Force didn't apply to the base formula the changes that made both Attack on Titan and Dragon Quest Heroes better games. This is a more violent and slightly easier version of the latest installments in the Dynasty Warriors Franchise, so consider buying it only if you're a diehard fan of this type of game.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is a nice game and the feeling of being part of Kentaro Miura's masterpiece is intense... for a few hours. Later it's just a little mess with a bit of Berserk.

Berserk could have been great, but instead it’s an average, repetitive romp that would have benefited from a bit more thought put into what makes it special.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk isn’t a bad time, but it’s not quite the Berserk Warriors I was hoping for. The story mode is great fun for a while but soon falls apart, character unlocks are tantalizing until you realize how thin on the ground they are, and generally nothing good the game does comes without at least some minor caveat.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is mindlessly repetitive, but its combat is still somehow addictive enough to be an enjoyable action game with a dark-fantasy story that stays true to its source, most suitable for fans of Berserk. It even left me craving to try out new characters in Endless Abyss Mode. But it desperately needs more challenge and variety to carry it through its campaign, especially considering you can’t bring a friend with you.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk's fate is to be branded as yet another not-so-great initial effort from Omega Force. While the release does get a decent amount right – the story mode is nicely done in places and the fundamental combat mechanics are super satisfying – it stumbles on several fronts. Again, we're left with a Warriors game that's begging for a much improved sequel. Fans of Berserk will enjoy bathing in the blood for a good few hours, but it's hard to ignore the cracks at this sword's core.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk offers plenty of content for fans of the franchise in an impressively presented package. However, its gameplay falls flat as it fails to pull itself from Musou mediocrity.

It’s certainly not the best way to experience the Berserk saga for the first time (I’d recommend the original manga or 1997 anime series instead) and it’s not the best example of a Musou game, but for established fans of Berserk who fancy engaging in some rampant slaughter, it should do the trick.

The one on one fights are the worst part of the game by a long shot, but even then the fact that most things don’t change up over time really brings down the entire experience. Only big Berserk fans should try this one, and even then I’d say wait for a price cut.

While the game might be directed at Berserk fans first and foremost, it does not present anything new to those who played any of the Musou games, which is hardly appealing.

Berserk and the Band of Hawk could have been the new Dragon Quest Heroes or Hyrule Warriors. Even if they were far from perfect, those two wanted to do something modern with classic musou gameplay. Instead, Berserk falls in the same category than Fist of the North Star.

Plenty of Guts, then, but not enough glory. [May 2017, p80]

Part gruesome medieval fantasy, part bleak supernatural horror, Berserk evokes the spirit of its source but descends into drudgery in an overlong campaign. [Apr 2017, p.96]

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is cast away into the depths of the eclipse as a gory average Warriors game with a captivating mature theme, but lacking substance to keep people motivated to playing past a single completion of the story.

Really, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is just a bit disappointing. It’s functional enough, and if you’re a die-hard fan of Warriors and Berserk going in you might get some fun out of this, but realistically it’s not worth picking up for most players.

At first, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk looks like one of the best manga adaptations ever developed... Beautiful, well polished and faithful to the original work of Kentaro Miura, we had high hopes for this game. Sadly, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk has nothing else to offer. Gameplay is dull and repetitive, the game in itself atrociously lacks meanigful content to have fun with (there are only 8 characters to chose from) and there are no multiplayer mode. This game feels like a huge step backward for the Musou genre.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk provides the rich story that fans of the manga and anime will certainly appreciate. Unfortunately, the feel of the gameplay itself captures the unique nature of each character, but never feels like it shares the same soul as the series it’s based on.