Tales of Berseria

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 594 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 409 out of 594
  2. Mixed: 49 out of 594
  3. Negative: 136 out of 594
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  1. aaronnmp96
    Jan 31, 2023
    10
    This game tells you a story that I don't think I'll ever forget, the characters and the plot are the best of the genre
  2. 2random
    Jan 3, 2023
    8
    There are some things the game does right, so let's start with these. First of all- the plot. It is represented by all sorts of in-game cutscenes, dialogues, and even animated movies. It feels like you're inside of an anime movie, which is great. And it just keeps on giving.
    Characters are one of the game's strong points, especially your main character. There isn't a single "default" grey    There are some things the game does right, so let's start with these. First of all- the plot. It is represented by all sorts of in-game cutscenes, dialogues, and even animated movies. It feels like you're inside of an anime movie, which is great. And it just keeps on giving.
    Characters are one of the game's strong points, especially your main character. There isn't a single "default" grey person- all of them have strong personalities and desires. And the ones you play for are on the dark side! So, there's no default "save the world" anime plot. You destroy it and bring ruin, not really save it. They did add a ton of quests and a huge variety of subquests, so even after I've finished the game, I was still playing for about 20 hours, which was rather unexpected. There's not a single "kill 10 mobs" quest, all of them are unique, with their own plots, twists and unexpected turnarounds.
    Visuals look rather dated. While character models are ok, with tons of customizations and outfits, some locations look like they came all the way back from 2004, like something you would expect to see in Half Life 2. It doesn't affect the experience too much, but it's worth mentioning.
    The game sounds awesome- almost every line is voiced over, there's a huge variety of battle and background music.
    Difficulty settings are also plentiful- the game will be as hard or as easy as you'd like. All sorts of items and chests and loot just keep flowing, which feels great.
    The main downside is the battle system. I can see how it evolved in Tales of Arise, but here it's just worse in every way. There are way too many skills you've got no control over- they just unlock by themselves, and it's impossible to update the ones you like. Yes, you can assign them and make comboes, but there are like 20 pages of the manual the game keeps showing you for the first 5 hours after every ballte, to explain all types of skills and their effectiveness and status effects, etc. The system is way too overcomplicated! They did offer a solution- you can assign a "choose the skill automatically' to any button, and the character will decide which one is the most suitable in the current situation. While enemies look different, they feel similar and pose little to no threat on a normal difficulty.
    All in all, I really enjoyed tne game. Playing the villain was fun, and the story kept me engaged till the very end.    … Expand
  3. Neia
    Mar 22, 2022
    10
    Simplesmente emocionante,se tornou jogo preferidobdo ps4 com personagens cativantes
  4. bullshark
    Feb 23, 2022
    9
    A challenging and rewarding experience with a killer storyline, amazing characters, & spectacular gameplay. The crafting and its convolutedness kinda hold this game back from a 10, but it's still elite. Do play before Arise so you don't spoil yourself. The characters' personalities, the storyline, and the English dub are tops as well.

    PS: Also, Velvet Crowe is what a female main protag    A challenging and rewarding experience with a killer storyline, amazing characters, & spectacular gameplay. The crafting and its convolutedness kinda hold this game back from a 10, but it's still elite. Do play before Arise so you don't spoil yourself. The characters' personalities, the storyline, and the English dub are tops as well.

    PS: Also, Velvet Crowe is what a female main protag should be - strong but sexy, powerful but feminine, interesting yet nuanced; strongwilled but not insufferable. Contrast to what Western devs give us w/ Aloy...    … Expand
  5. Spartacus_637
    Oct 17, 2021
    10
    The best Tales game in the series, even though it has low budget but still it's dark and enjoyable, it has the best cast.
  6. Denis1717
    Sep 13, 2021
    10
    Muy buen JRPG de los mejores que he jugado,tanto el sistema de combate como la historia me parece espectacular, también el mundo y la banda sonora y que comparta mundo con tales of zestiria además de los mejores inicios de juego que he jugado en un juego, además merece más de la nota que tiene
  7. Lwkasmax
    Aug 14, 2021
    9
    Excellent story, great gameplay and fixed several errors that had in tales of zestiria, the graphics are still dated
  8. luminous15cf
    Jul 24, 2021
    9
    This game is one of the best JRPGs in the last gen. This game's story and gameplay is hands down the best one in Tales of series and it was great to see the strong woman protagonist with unique backstory.
  9. midori_gamers
    Jun 19, 2021
    10
    I always been a tales of fan but this game takes the cake. I love the dark theme and twists. Really fun playing through!
  10. LuizDaBike
    Jun 2, 2021
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. VAMOS LA
    antes de fazer a analise desse jogo , eu esperei zerar parar dar minha opinião e depois de exatas 116 horas( apenas a historia principal ) de jogo eu posso dizer , para mim esse é o melhor jogo da franquia Tales que eu joguei até o momento.
    se você gosta de jogos JRPG esse jogo é pra você , se você gosta da franquia Tales esse jogo é perfeito pra você, se você gosta de historia e personagens bem construidos, esse certamente é um jogo pra você.
    não ouve nada nesse jogo que não gostei. personagem com total aprofundamento, variação de monstros, vilões muito bem usados, varios plotes , momentos de tristeza e um final digno.

    uma coisa que eu digo é que todos o personagens são interessantes, não tem um que você vire a cara e diga que odio , e não quer usar no seu time, a liberdade de coisas que você pode fazer é vasta depois de um tempo de jogo, e uma dica que eu dou, AUMENTE A DIFICULDADE DO JOGO COM FORME VOCÊ VAI PEGANDO O JEITO DO JOGO, digo isso pois a maior graça e diversão do jogo acaba sendo jogar na dificuldades mais difíceis, mas se estiver muito dificil , não se force a jogar nela e abaixe a dificuldade pois se não isso pode estressar.

    UMA DICA: Sempre que você ver uma balão com ( ! ), va e fale com o npc , isso pode contar alguma historia extra sobre os personagem , o que da muito mais vida a eles.

    ===Gráficos===
    … Expand
  11. Kai82
    May 4, 2021
    9
    It was my first game of the Tales series and a great experience. It won me me over with its characters, their development and story atop on a good battle system. It is an action RPG and set in the Holy Midgand Empire which rules over the world. It is the story of Velvet Crowe who wants to take revenge against her brother in law more than anything after the events that happen in the soIt was my first game of the Tales series and a great experience. It won me me over with its characters, their development and story atop on a good battle system. It is an action RPG and set in the Holy Midgand Empire which rules over the world. It is the story of Velvet Crowe who wants to take revenge against her brother in law more than anything after the events that happen in the so called Scarlet Night. The event changed the world and a new menace called Demonblight appeared. Her whole life was turned upside down and she changed too as she become basically the monster that monsters fear. I leave it here to not spoil plot points. On her journey she meets other people that join her party. I wont use names to avoid spoilers here too. There is an innocent boy, a member of the church, a ronin (or what the worlds equivalent is), a sorceress and a pirate. Each of them has their own arcs, background (or baggage?) character development and growth. It is well integrated in the story. The story itself fully delivers. What seems as simple revenge plot against a one dimensional bad guys turns out to be far more complex. There are a lot of twist and some will change the believes and expectations of the player and characters. There is also a system called skits which are clips that pop up. Here the characters have conversations. These can be serious, just commentaries or pure comedy gold ;-). I want to praise the developer for this rich cast of characters. It was a refreshing and enjoyable experience. Gameplay: The real time battle system is called Liberation LMBS. You have full control of your character during battle and attack with normal attacks or special attacks (artes), guard or evade. Your are in control of a character and can switch to all active party members (4 active members if I remember correctly). Special abilities need Souls from the Soul Gauge. You have 5 points to use which are restored by time. Emptying it completely has disadvantages but only after unleashing powerful attacks. Of cause there are side quest, mini games and additional content. After finishing the story new additional content is unlocked. The battle system works smoothly and is impactful. I enjoyed the battles and barely ever struggled. It was also great to explore the world and traveling around. Graphical I truly enjoyed the art style and character models. It is anime inspired and won me over. The soundtrack was pretty good but also not in the league that I searched for the songs. I want to praise the voice actors for the good performance. Special praise for the antagonists before I forget this. I have not much negatives to complain. I do not like all mini games and should point out that the ending while satisfying for me can be a disappointment. Overall this was an enjoyable game and I value this experience. It is a strong 9/10 for me with a bad feeling not to have given 10/10. I recommend it for the main character, other characters, story and interactions.… Expand
  12. Stefanobed
    Apr 3, 2021
    8
    Good game not a masterpiece but funny and deep and long story. For me is the 2 best of the series
  13. Steyraus
    Mar 6, 2021
    10
    Amsome game with one of the coolest stories and great combat.. The Story is dark, with twists and surprises. The characters are all compelling, especially Velvet, she is a pure Badarse, sexy and letal.. If you passed on the because of the trash Zesteria or crap games media reviews, you might want to at least guve it a try.
  14. Joekick
    Mar 3, 2021
    10
    A really Fun and Innovative JRPG´S if you like jrpg´s, buy this game.

    If you´re looking for compelling storylines, fun combat and a lot of replayability this game is for you.
  15. Johnden
    Feb 23, 2021
    10
    Best game in the series imo. Was falling out of live with the series but this one is fresh take on the series with the character with darker motives instead of the whole cliche the rest operate on.
  16. Shenandoah
    Feb 7, 2021
    10
    A really nice JRPG which have a lot of story contents. The dialogues are pretty good written, far better than usual. The visuals are mediocre, looks more like a PS3 game, but the in-game cutscenes have their moments, the costumes are the best visual detail in this game. The gameplay is really fun but it needs some time to get an full overview of all the settings and combos you need toA really nice JRPG which have a lot of story contents. The dialogues are pretty good written, far better than usual. The visuals are mediocre, looks more like a PS3 game, but the in-game cutscenes have their moments, the costumes are the best visual detail in this game. The gameplay is really fun but it needs some time to get an full overview of all the settings and combos you need to press. The gameplay and battle system remembers me on Nino Kuni 2. All in all it is a pretty solid RPG not only for hardcore fans of this genre. The size of the package you got from this game is just amazing.

    +1 added for the extra size of story content
    +1 added for the beautiful voice acting (english)    … Expand
  17. Emrys89
    Jul 20, 2018
    8
    This is by far the best JRPG game I've played for a long time. The story is great with enjoyable character and a very deep story that may not fit a younger audience. Its dark and intriguing story with a fun game play. I do admit though that I didn't get "good" at the combat but it was fun and I did find it fun to explore and do the side-quests.
    This is a great game to play from the Tales    This is by far the best JRPG game I've played for a long time. The story is great with enjoyable character and a very deep story that may not fit a younger audience. Its dark and intriguing story with a fun game play. I do admit though that I didn't get "good" at the combat but it was fun and I did find it fun to explore and do the side-quests.
    This is a great game to play from the Tales series and I hope to see more of such varieties.    … Expand
  18. OldAndCynical
    Dec 6, 2020
    9
    In my opinion, this is the best of the Tales games. Best cast of characters, best locations, best pacing and the player is not forced to do massive amounts of grinding. And the game just gets better towards the end, with some breathtaking locations at the very end of your memorable journey.
    Must buy for JRPG fans.
  19. Kingdomhear
    Dec 5, 2020
    9
    Trama eccezionale ! Squadra stupenda! Personaggi elaborati in maniera più che perfetta!! Gioco che eccelle in quasi ogni punto
  20. Vagabundork
    Nov 6, 2020
    9
    This review doesn't contain spoilers, I reveal something but without any details, and it's something from the early hours of the game. If this was Mario, I'd be revealing that you fight turles and dragons.

    At the start, it doesn't look like much: a rusting and well meaning girl in a forest town doing some work for her neighbours, but a few hours later, the game turns dark, very dark.    This review doesn't contain spoilers, I reveal something but without any details, and it's something from the early hours of the game. If this was Mario, I'd be revealing that you fight turles and dragons.

    At the start, it doesn't look like much: a rusting and well meaning girl in a forest town doing some work for her neighbours, but a few hours later, the game turns dark, very dark. You are put to jail after witnessing something bad, and when you escape, you swear for revenge. Your enemy? The Pope, no less!

    This is one of those bleak stories where the church is the bad guys (just like in real life), and your character, and your companions, truly embrace that idea. But make no mistake, you (or your companions) are not a holy crusader commited to stop evil ones, no: you're a bunch of flawed people, driven by their passions, who all have their own personal vendettas with the church

    Velvet, our main character, is delightful! She's focused, she has a mission, she has a clear mind and doesn't give a s**t about other's opinion (she doesn't even change her ragged and very revealing clothes... after three years in jail, wearing the same suit, it's obviously tore apart, covering just some strategic places). The rest of her companions are just as interesting, with the witch Magilou as my personal favorite (after Velvet).

    I am not a fan of action RPGs, I am old-school (I am old, I played Final Fantasy 3/6 when it was released in Mexico in the early 90s). I also played Tales of Phantasia, which was good but never finished. I tried to play other Tales games but they are too childish, too familiar, too colorful, too happy, and I like my coffee, my metal and my games very dark, black if possible. And Berseria is black as hell!

    Not everything is good, though. The game is easy. Like, very easy. If you change the difficulty to a higher level, after a while you unblock new difficulty levels, which is a good thing. You can use any of the characters at any time, but I found only Velvet is fun to play, with Laphicet and Eleanor next, but the rest... no, didn't like them. When the game get harder is when you fight special bosses and special monsters. The special bosses are fine, very hard in the sense they hit hard, harder than normal bosses, and you can't damage them a lot. The special monsters are accompanied by two invulnerable companions that follow you, preventing from attacking their commander, who will kill your party very quickly. It's not a challenge, it's an annoyance, but you will kill them on your second try, or you an ignore them (or even lower the difficulty if you really want the prize they grant).

    Also, this is a very japanese game. This means everytime a character makes a move, they have to say the name of the move in loud voice. Every move! This means, during combat, there's screaming non stop, and it can cause you a head ache, no joke. You can turn down the volumen of voice and effects and it improves, but it always feels chaotic. Also, in English, although the voices are ugly (except Velvet's, her voice is perfect in both English and Japanese), they are less noisy, but in japanese, outside the fights, the voices add more character.

    These problems are not a big deal, and for many people they might not even be problems at all.    … Expand
  21. Flammie
    Sep 3, 2020
    8
    Tales of Berseria is a part of tales series, an action rpg with specific battle system. I am not a long time fan of the series but have played few entries to know that this works mostly like others. The plot is very captivating, good enough to keep you wanting to play more and more. The battle system is something I am not a big fan of, it is slightly complicated, based on combos and stuns,Tales of Berseria is a part of tales series, an action rpg with specific battle system. I am not a long time fan of the series but have played few entries to know that this works mostly like others. The plot is very captivating, good enough to keep you wanting to play more and more. The battle system is something I am not a big fan of, it is slightly complicated, based on combos and stuns, but for me it always ends up in rather uninteresting button mashing, Tales have also a lot of collecting and crafting, for my taste a bit too much and the effect of crafting is so limited that I get bored of doing anything besides some +1 for all equipment to get the basic bonuses. The story and good characters really save a lot but it wasn't enough for me to complete game or do end game hunting, it's a decent buy in the discount sales.… Expand
  22. HEVS777
    Sep 2, 2020
    10
    This was a magnificent surprise. I bought the game based on a couple of trailers and my oh my...my expectations where surpassed.
    Combat system is simple, but nice and looks amazing when you use the specials.
    The graphics are the already known for the Tales series, but they are enhanced to take advantage of the PS4. The game has several Anime cutscenes, which are stunning; and the voice    This was a magnificent surprise. I bought the game based on a couple of trailers and my oh my...my expectations where surpassed.
    Combat system is simple, but nice and looks amazing when you use the specials.
    The graphics are the already known for the Tales series, but they are enhanced to take advantage of the PS4. The game has several Anime cutscenes, which are stunning; and the voice acting is great through all the game.
    The story starts as something really simple, but slowly it's starts unwinding into something way more complex, but not to the point that you can't keep up.
    The characters development is not the best, except for the main ones (Velvet and Phi). As you progress, the game brilliantly adds to the mix some serious topics, like the reason to live, free will and human nature. The ending is unexpected, but true to the Plot in such a way you get a very nice and deserved closure.
    After spending 81 hours to complete the main story, I can truthfully say this has become my favorite JRPG so far.    … Expand
  23. hotsuma
    Aug 29, 2020
    8
    Finished it in about 3 days, damn. Velvet such OP. Enough said. Even without grinding too much, such a strong player.
  24. Halfnail
    Aug 7, 2020
    10
    One of the best "Tales"... All characters are well written like the story. Gameplay is fun, recommend harder difficulties since combat can be really easy when mastered.
  25. hsiaruZ
    Jul 21, 2020
    10
    One of the best Tales games ever made
    The story was excellent, and the character are memorable, wish there is much more games with a story and character like this...
  26. cheburagen
    Jul 13, 2020
    9
    У серии Tales долгая история в которую я не играл и не знаю че там.
    Но меня привлекла тут гг поэтому и начал знакомство с этой частью.
    Что-то тут показалось мне не оч, так это переходы в поединки, но это вкусовщина. Странное чувство было, играешь уже долго пытаешься всезде полазить и чето задолбало, но стоило пройти ее и бл*ть опять хочется вернуться в нее. Значит хорошо вышло.    У серии Tales долгая история в которую я не играл и не знаю че там.
    Но меня привлекла тут гг поэтому и начал знакомство с этой частью.
    Что-то тут показалось мне не оч, так это переходы в поединки, но это вкусовщина.
    Странное чувство было, играешь уже долго пытаешься всезде полазить и чето задолбало, но стоило пройти ее и бл*ть опять хочется вернуться в нее. Значит хорошо вышло.
  27. SapphireRose97
    Jun 24, 2020
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is not perfect, no game is. However, it is definitely above average. The gameplay is smooth, the voice acting amazing, and the only real problem I have with it is that the graphics and menus could use a little work.

    Now onto what everyone cares about: the characters and story.

    To start, the story is a revenge story which I know isn't everyone's favorite but something that, done well, I really enjoy. Velvet's story of revenge against her brother in law is fantastic, and it's not often that a game gets you to play as someone so morally compromised. In this game you experience the betrayal that Velvet does first hand and you understand how angry she is at Artorius, with this game pulling basically no punches with what she's willing to do. Velvet's character arc is amazing, going from purely revenge driven to using that reputation she's garnered to help save people's lives even if it continues to paint her in a bad life. She had to learn to forgive herself and allow other people in, to love other people.

    The cast is lovable and entertaining despite being morally questionable sometimes. Velvet is fantastic as the main character, always engaging even if you don't agree with her. Rokurou is surprisingly insightful and strikes a nice balance between battle hungry daemon, funny mood lightener, and good friend to all of the team. Eizen has a personality that makes him dryly funny without him ever meaning to and he genuinely enjoys teaching people new things that he's learned on his many pirate journeys - oh yeah did I mention you become pirates? - while learning to come to terms with the curse on him. Magilou is one of those characters that gets better the more you learn about her. She's devious and fun and lighthearted and sarcastic and dramatic and has a deep backstory that only begins to be unraveled at the end of the game. Eleanor is the true good person on the team, joining later into the story and acting as an antagonist to the party for a good chunk. She has to learn to question what she's been taught and grow to accept that Artorius's creed might not fit with what she knows to be right and wrong. Then there's Laphicet. The genuine glue that holds this game and this party together. His is a journey of self discovery, of love, of finding family.

    The characters truly carry this story. While the story is good it can be considered average for a JRPG and the world building is also good but none of that compares to the wonderful character work they do in this game. Genuinely if you haven't, I truly recommend giving this game a try.    … Expand
  28. Aokana
    Jun 19, 2020
    9
    Overall this is my second favorite Tales game, edging out Tales of Symphonia by a smidge.

    Velvet is a solid protagonist, at first appearing very flat and just the "I"m just varying levels of angry" but as the story evolves we see her go completely nuts and then you get to see a softer side of her at points too. She winds up being pretty varied main character, at least more so than some    Overall this is my second favorite Tales game, edging out Tales of Symphonia by a smidge.

    Velvet is a solid protagonist, at first appearing very flat and just the "I"m just varying levels of angry" but as the story evolves we see her go completely nuts and then you get to see a softer side of her at points too. She winds up being pretty varied main character, at least more so than some of the other Tales protags.

    Overall the story is solid, By no means a masterpiece but it's still good. Throughout the main story and skits you get a good bead on every one of the party members, a bit of their past a bit of their hopes for the future. The interactions between the party often leads to comedy which helps break up the bleakness of the main story and a world where people can turn into demons by having too many negative emotions.

    Combat is great and by far better than most Tales games, it starts off pretty slow but as you gain levels and progress through the story it really picks up. you can expand you combos further by completing side quests and grinding out gear. Take raw gear, break it down and enhance other gear. Pretty straight forward but by combining the right special effects with the right character titles that also grant bonus's and you can extend your combo (called break souls) gauge really far. The higher your gauge the more moves you can combo together which can further extended by using break soul moves. In short if you put the time in you will be rewarded it isn't just about getting further in the game so you can get the new shiny gear.

    The soundtrack is solid, but compared to some other games like final fantasy it's a bit flat. It's good fits the mood well but really doesn't stand out. Graphics are a bit dated but Tales has never been "Bleeding edge" in graphics and has always been more of a budget build. Hopefully Tales of Arise takes things up a notch in this department.

    Overall it's very solid and I find myself coming back to the game time and again whenever I get disappointing by newer games.    … Expand
  29. XxAlbertoBuzzxX
    Jun 2, 2020
    8
    Tales Of Berseria
    .........................................................
  30. krs256
    Apr 18, 2020
    10
    This is not a perfect game, but it surprised me, and I enjoyed playing every bit of the ~43 hours I spent with it. It made me lough, it made me think, and I had A LOT of fun with it.

    The characters in this game are the main selling point. Each and every of the main characters we deal with are very likable and have a distinct personality. The amazing skits implemented in this game reveal    This is not a perfect game, but it surprised me, and I enjoyed playing every bit of the ~43 hours I spent with it. It made me lough, it made me think, and I had A LOT of fun with it.

    The characters in this game are the main selling point. Each and every of the main characters we deal with are very likable and have a distinct personality. The amazing skits implemented in this game reveal (in kind of a natural way) new and interesting things about them - both serious and funny.

    This game is very well paced, and not once did I think "man, this section drags out for so long.." - there is no grinding required, and sections in which there is a lot of travel are usually filled with skits (which are really awesome) that I mentioned above.

    The combat system is is quite fun (not the best perhaps, but definitely good).

    Also, the game runs very smoothly, and loading times are almost non-existent - which is also worth mentioning given how these technical aspects ruin the experience for some other games.

    I bought this game at a discounted price, but even if I would buy it at full price - I would still think I got my money's worth and be very satisfied with it.

    This is my third "tales of" game. The first was "Tales of Abyss" which was excellent, second was "Tales of Graces F" which I was disappointed with (although the disappointment came closer to the end-game), and now "Tales of Berseria" delivered an amazing experience for me again.

    I recommend this game not only to "Tales of" fans. And to the developers - thank you for creating it :)    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

80
#80 Best PS4 Game of 2017
43
#43 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2017
27
#27 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 57 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 46 out of 57
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 57
  3. Negative: 0 out of 57
  1. CD-Action
    Apr 5, 2017
    80
    Despite simple, painfully dull dungeon designs and PS3 era graphics, it’s one of the best Tales games in years. The story is really sound, the combat system is solid and interesting, difficulty levels are properly balanced at last, character development and crafting are addictive and players are introduced into the world at a perfect pace. [04/2017, p.65]
  2. Softpedia
    Apr 3, 2017
    85
    Having played some of the previous Tales games, I can definitely say that Tales of Berseria is the best title in the series. What makes it even more appealing is the fact that you don't need to have played Tales of Zestiria or any other game in the same universe to be able to play the new one.
    Read full review
  3. Games Master UK
    Apr 2, 2017
    73
    In some ways, this is the most innovative Tales game for years. In others, it's still stuck firmly in the past. [March 2017, p.78]
See all critic reviews »