Berserk and the Band of the Hawk

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
66

Mixed or average reviews - based on 53 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 53
  2. Mixed: 34 out of 53
  3. Negative: 1 out of 53
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  1. TheSixthAxis
    Feb 21, 2017
    90
    Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is the pinnacle of musou games, as far as I’m concerned. Omega Force and Koei Tecmo have experimented with the formula for years, and everything they’ve learned and perfected has led up to this game. Berserk Musou gives you the addictive, outrageous hack-and-slash combat musou games have had for ages. It gives you the unique characters and varied mission structures that musou games have only had in the last few years. And on top of that it gives you a gripping, mature, and masterful narrative that a musou game has never had. Until now.
  2. Hardcore Gamer
    Feb 21, 2017
    90
    The lack of multiplayer holds Berserk and the Band of the Hawk back from being the greatest Omega Force title, but players who are okay with this will find an experience that both captures the soul of the source material as well as one of the purest, most hyperviolent, titles to hit the market.
  3. CGMagazine
    Feb 21, 2017
    90
    Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is amazing. It’s perfect for fans of series, it’s perfect for fans of the Warriors franchise, it’s perfect for gamers looking for a fun “mature” game that isn’t Call of Duty. It’s hard to imagine a manga that filled me with horror so many times, filling me with such joy as a game, but it does. Get this game, if only to open the door to a darker generation of Warriors games.
  5. COGconnected
    Feb 21, 2017
    85
    Even though Berserk and the Band of the Hawk isn’t the best way to experience the Berserk story, its story is so in-depth that it would still be a great way to experience it for the first time.
  6. Telegraph
    Apr 4, 2017
    80
    If you have no interest in the anime or manga and simply want a musou game, there are better, more fleshed out options out there, but for Berserk fans it’s rich with cutscenes lifted from the latest anime, faithful to the story, and gives you a chance to hack folk apart as Guts. In other words, it’s a lot of silly, fan-pleasing fun with plenty of scope to improve in a potential sequel.
  7. We Got This Covered
    Feb 21, 2017
    80
    Despite repetition issues, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk combines its memorable story with Musou-style gameplay to produce a fun package for both fans and newcomers to the series.
  8. Everyeye.it
    Feb 21, 2017
    80
    Although it is not without some flaws typical of the kind of game, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is an unmissable product for all gamers who grew up reading the immeasurable dark fantasy epic of Miura genius: the title manages to translate perfectly in pure action as appreciated in the pages eponymous manga.
  9. Multiplayer.it
    Feb 21, 2017
    80
    Berserk and the Band of the Hawk shows that the manga by Kentaro Miura was a perfect fit for a musou game, thanks to a plethora of powerful characters and horrible monsters.
  10. Eurogamer Italy
    Feb 21, 2017
    80
    Quotation forthcoming.
  11. Gaming Nexus
    Feb 21, 2017
    80
    Berserk: Band of the Hawk is a pretty good fit for the Dynasty Warriors formula. It keeps up the story's tension with a dramatic mission structure, and doesn't shy away from the source material's mature themes.
  12. PlayStation Universe
    Feb 21, 2017
    80
    Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is not only one of the best Musou titles to date, it’s the first license to truly fit the mould effortlessly.
  13. Destructoid
    Feb 21, 2017
    80
    Do you want to slice some demons into little meat chunks as a troubled badass, and perhaps missed out on the great Dreamcast and PS2 renditions of Berserk? Get Band of the Hawk. Seeing the story continue past the Golden Age is enough for an enthusiast to buy in. Otherwise, wait for the price to match what's being offered.
  14. IGN Italia
    Feb 21, 2017
    79
    A standard musou experience, graced by an impressive narrative universe that makes it unmissable for the fans... and rather boring for anyone else.
  15. Hobby Consolas
    Mar 16, 2017
    78
    Although Band of the Hawk is incredibly faithful to Kentaro Miura´s manga, it becomes boring after playing several stages. We miss multiplayer modes in this musou.
  16. Gamers' Temple
    Mar 13, 2017
    75
    It doesn't bring anything new to the table past the usual Warriors style gameplay, so if you're both a Berserk fan and a Musou fan you'll get the most out of it.
  17. Wccftech
    Feb 24, 2017
    75
    Berserk and the Band of the Hawk doesn’t strive to expand upon Koei Tecmo’s signature style in any meaningful way, but for longtime fans of the genre, perhaps there isn’t much need to innovate. Being able to relive Guts' early adventures during the Golden Age and beyond is sure to excite fans of Kentaro Miura's epic.
  18. LaPS4
    Feb 21, 2017
    75
    Berserk and the Band of the Hawk won't deceive anyone, nor does it try to. It's a musou where you will mostly play as Guts slaying hundreds of enemies in each phase, enjoy sequences in between missions taken directly from the anime and won't suffer from a high level of censorship, trying to pay respect to the original work. It won't get any GOTY prize, but it is an interesting game if you're looking for something different from the usual western games.
  19. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Feb 21, 2017
    75
    Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is, as Musou games go, undeniably enjoyable and satisfying.

Awards & Rankings

51
#51 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2017

User Reviews

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User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 112 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 74 out of 112
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 112
  3. Negative: 21 out of 112
  1. SpookyScaryWuf
    Feb 22, 2017
    10
    A brutal experience for any fan of the Black Swordsman. A truly faithful adaptation to the manga and the animes (with actual scenes from theA brutal experience for any fan of the Black Swordsman. A truly faithful adaptation to the manga and the animes (with actual scenes from the Golden Age arc). If you've got a weak stomach, stay away from this game.… Full Review »
  2. raineye
    Feb 22, 2017
    10
    It's no cut!

    and Berserk!! Better then Japan type. Good Graphics and good actions, good animation of character good weapons , good    It's no cut!

    and Berserk!!

    Better then Japan type.

    Good Graphics and good actions, good animation of character
    good weapons , good voices,
    It's good game.    … Full Review »
  3. Himonji
    Feb 25, 2017
    2
    This review has been CENSORED by Metacritic once, i edited it to make it "luss uffunssive, muh feelings", but i'll keep posting it if it getsThis review has been CENSORED by Metacritic once, i edited it to make it "luss uffunssive, muh feelings", but i'll keep posting it if it gets deleted.

    It is pure cash-grab seriously, the game has like 0 depth whatsoever in terms of game-play you are better playing the PS2 game which was WAY better with more game mechanics than this game.

    Difficulties are broken all of them, if you play on Berserk the game at first glans seems to be super hard and it is because the game has 0 depth in terms of combat and is just a button mashing game (and not even a good one just smash X and Y...) then they made a mechanic called RAGE, when you press O and get all powerful and mighty YOU CAN'T DIE, you are literally IMMORTAL and here is another thing... that rage meter thing charges ON IT'S OWN once your health is red... so here is how you beat the game on Bersker mode:

    Get on red health---> wait for rage--->press O and become immortal ---> hack and slash everyone-->charge "ult"---> press O again in the direction of a multitude of enemies or the boss---> WIN.

    There is no "git gud" so don't pretend this game is hard, it isn't, this mechanics just shows how bad this is, people trying to pretend this game is hard and one must "become good" are just lying to themselves, the game combat has no mechanics whatsoever is unresponsive and it's basically done to just spam X and Y and sometimes hit O.

    The fact of the matter is that if you put the game on "Hard" it is outright BABY MODE, enemies hit for like .04% of your total health bar... ARE YOU KIDDING ME NOW?, and you know why is that?, because the core of the game, the combat is terrible, it has no depth so the game can't be "balanced" either Baby mode or super hard mode with CHEESE.

    Then the "customization" is sooo LAME i mean compared to games like Dragon Quest Heroes this is terrible, no crafting, no item drops, no skills, no leveling up points, no character builds, no world map, no new areas with hidden bosses. All you have is lame accessories and that's it...

    They were so lazy that they just outright put the same stuff you already saw in the movies, you are basically seeing the movies again, the cut-scenes are just LAZY rip-offs.

    On top of that the game runs poorly and it has many problems with alt-tabbing, crashes and stuff...AND day 1 DLC, trash overpriced costumes.

    Anyone, ANYONE that defends this is just a fanboy, PERIOD.    … Full Review »
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