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. Here4aMoment
    Jan 25, 2017
    10
    The darkest, most intriguing Tales game to date with tons of weapons and armor to collect so you can learn skills from, 100 Katz for you to find, a giant bestiary to complete, loads of skits for you to view, and and average completion time of 70+ hours (based on Japanese players and those who imported) this game has more than enough content to keep you entertained for a long time withoutThe darkest, most intriguing Tales game to date with tons of weapons and armor to collect so you can learn skills from, 100 Katz for you to find, a giant bestiary to complete, loads of skits for you to view, and and average completion time of 70+ hours (based on Japanese players and those who imported) this game has more than enough content to keep you entertained for a long time without becoming a drag.

    The combat system is the best it's ever been with fluid controls and the ability to customize your own combo strings, it's never been so newcomer friendly while still allowing the long time fans to take full advantage since the more you know the better your attacks will be. If someone finds the combat broken or unbalanced then there's a good chance they either haven't played the game or they just don't have the knowledge to make the character they play as truly great.

    The sound design is fantastic. The music sets the tone very well and enemy noises will always fill you in on when you need to be wary and what kind of enemy it is that is approaching you. The voice acting is the best it's ever been in a Tales game, with an all-star cast who clearly knows what they're doing. The graphics tend to be hit and miss with people, while it's mostly due to the style of the game it can tend to look a little rough to players who expect every game to look (and have) a AAA budget, but the graphics never once detract or distract from the game.    … Expand
  2. snakekill321
    Jan 24, 2017
    10
    It is so amazing to be playing another tales game. Coming off zestiria with tempered expectations, i was blown away by how amazing this was. They truly outdid theirselves with Berseria. Each character is fleshed out, and the soundtrack really set the aumbiance. The opening this time was beautifully crafted (Flow always does the best work) and the story has you walking the thin line betweenIt is so amazing to be playing another tales game. Coming off zestiria with tempered expectations, i was blown away by how amazing this was. They truly outdid theirselves with Berseria. Each character is fleshed out, and the soundtrack really set the aumbiance. The opening this time was beautifully crafted (Flow always does the best work) and the story has you walking the thin line between good and bad, and the story pulls at the feels. definately worth the money… Expand
  3. Leon_Magnus03
    Jan 24, 2017
    10
    Finally, after so many years we received a new great Tales game. Berseria is fantastic, Velvet is a pretty good protaganist and the support character are memorable (my favorite character is Eizen), it's way better than the last Tales game, "Tales of Zestiria", and after play Berseria you should be hyped for the future of the franchise.
  4. ragnarokew
    Nov 3, 2018
    5
    Good Story ✔ Plot is intriguing enough
    Cast is great ✔ Only thing saves this game
    Combat System✔ Its more refined but still can be improved Terrible World design ✘As always tales series comes up with very uninspiring and empty world design and graphics aren't helping either Bad script &ok voice acting ✘Again as always lots of overacting ,melodramatic script.Its unfair to say "bad    Good Story ✔ Plot is intriguing enough
    Cast is great ✔ Only thing saves this game
    Combat System✔ Its more refined but still can be improved

    Terrible World design ✘As always tales series comes up with very uninspiring and empty world design and graphics aren't helping either
    Bad script &ok voice acting ✘Again as always lots of overacting ,melodramatic script.Its unfair to say "bad script" i mean its mostly bad ofc there is good in it.
    Repetitive ✘ Again as always ^_^

    Overall its ok game important thing is what are you looking for in this game , flaws of this game can be overlooked depending on you.For me its 5/10    … Expand
  5. OnanTheMan
    Mar 23, 2017
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Far from the best the Tales series has to offer, but definitely not the worst. The biggest offenses this game commits is in the ending and the missed opportunity Velvet's character had. The game was sold as a darker entry in the tales series, but then again the tales series has always been a walk in the park in terms of tone, so think of this as a rainy day in the park, it doesn't begin to approach the levels of darkness Diablo hits, or Dragon Age origins did. The story is very standard tales fair by the end, save the world, very little moral ambiguity, despite the grey start we had with Velvet. This is the biggest miss i have seen in a game. We could of had a Sepiroth style villain in Velvet, and when the time comes to decide what her arch will be they go the tried and true good guy route. This isn't bad, but it wasn't what i wanted out of Berseria, or what i was expecting. The story is nothing memorable, with only Magilou, for better or worst, really standing out as a memorable character. Combat wise the game is good, but after 30+ hours of a uninspired story it gets repetitive, and I began to tire of it. So, if it's discounted to the 20-30 dollar range, pick it up, its easily worth that much.… Expand
  6. SpecterWSA
    Feb 2, 2017
    9
    I am rating this game a 9 for many reasons. It's not perfect, but there are not large errors that I have found, and only a few combat exploits (like all action games/rpgs)
    Story; I am 60+ hours into the game, mostly running around completing everything I can. No I am not a completionist, but I do love the voice actinga nd little side quest. You're an anti hero, all she cares about is    I am rating this game a 9 for many reasons. It's not perfect, but there are not large errors that I have found, and only a few combat exploits (like all action games/rpgs)
    Story; I am 60+ hours into the game, mostly running around completing everything I can. No I am not a completionist, but I do love the voice actinga nd little side quest. You're an anti hero, all she cares about is avenging the murder of her little brother- she is willing to use anyone to achieve her goal of killing basically the pope. The people who you meet also have similar one track goals; some for killing someone, others for finding some spell etc etc. Traveling the world with "demons" to kill the clergy is basically the game.
    The story/anime style reminds me of a combination between One Piece, and Seven Deadly Sins. A little bit of humor but its not outstandingly wacky. Very easy to get immersed.

    Characters; Finally an RPG where you're not a group of goody goodies running around being noble. You are "bad guys" anti heroes, with one or two normal rpg archtypes for main characters.
    The main character is like a mix of Daria and Spawn.
    You get a pirate, who's pretty nice; like Sanji from One Piece mixed with Ashton from star ocean (When he isn't a whiny baby)
    A swordsman who just wants to kill his own older brother so he can prove hes the better swordsman- basically Zoro from one Piece.
    A witch, she's the funny **** of the group, usually doing cartoony anime **** but more in the violent dark humored sort of way. Think Rieoko from Tenchi Muyo mixed with Harley Quinn- she looks like Celine from Star Ocean the second story.
    A exorcist- basically a paladin. Shes one of the goody goodies, but shes not annoying. I can't really compare her to other characters, basically the virgin Archtype despite her being battle ready.
    A lil kid who isn't super annoying either (surprisingly) once again another goody archtype, someone who tries hard to please their friends, even if their friends are bad.

    Controversial things
    The dialogue in this game between them is really funny. Unless you're a crybully- it makes fun of dudes and chicks for their stereotypes (that happen to be true). But you shouldnt be playing games where you literally MURDER woodland creatures for experience.

    They censored the early scene where Laphi gets stabbed through the gut, and replaced it with 2 magical blades skewering him over a **** pit. Later in the game you see multiple people get run through, so I dont know what the big deal is. The censorship didn't take away from the powerful scene though, but it did feel more drawn out -draws sword acting like he will stab kid- -stabs ground, does stupid magic thing-

    Skimpy outfits watch people cry about it.

    Battle system is ok, I probably dont understand it as much as I should. You can exploit death by using therion right when you're getting hit, to mitigate the damage you are taking and not get one shotted. Good way to heal too. I mostly use it for stringing combos, but its still fun and challenging on "hard" the next difficulty was too meat spongey in my opinion and I dont wanna hold block for 2 minutes every fight.

    AI isn't too bad, the fighting reminds me a lot of star ocean the second story (one of my fave rpgs)
    the costumes are ok too, im glad there is variety in changing your looks. The weapon gearing system is meh basically farm all the time for stats which sucks cuz a lot of the weapons are ****

    TLDR
    The game is really good, there are a few things that could make it better; but if you care about Good Voice Acting, and listening to the characters opposed to reading 100s of lines of **** dialogue then its great. The story is pretty good, and the characters really make the game for me. They are all interesting    … Expand
  7. SaitamaOnePunch
    Feb 9, 2017
    10
    Game totally blew me away. The story is spectacular, velvet the protagonist is a total bad ass.. . .the story has a dark vibe and is pretty deep. Got really attached and emotionally involved with all the party members. Graphics are decent. Combat is awesome. Super fast and fluid, smooth as hell really and its pretty beefy in depth. In all honesty this game smokes FFXV and i liked that gameGame totally blew me away. The story is spectacular, velvet the protagonist is a total bad ass.. . .the story has a dark vibe and is pretty deep. Got really attached and emotionally involved with all the party members. Graphics are decent. Combat is awesome. Super fast and fluid, smooth as hell really and its pretty beefy in depth. In all honesty this game smokes FFXV and i liked that game a lot. This is one of the best RPGs ive ever played. The story is so good and the game is huge with tons of narrative and new areas. If you want a JRPG dont bother with anything else, this is one of the best games ive played in a very long time. Another masterpiece from Bandai Namco.… Expand
  8. Magnanimous14
    Feb 10, 2017
    9
    Berseria effectively captures the best mechanics of the Tales series and absolutely shines in the narrative. The characters feel fully formed, voice acting is strong overall, and the story moves forward at an excellent pace. If you are also into analysis of literary themes, this game gets way deeper into human nature than many reviewers would like to admit.
  9. ValkyrieAngel
    Feb 16, 2017
    10
    I never played a Tales game before Berseria. I fell in love with it instantly, I couldn't find one thing I didnt like. Its one of best ps4 games out to date in my opinion
  10. Olakasexd
    Feb 26, 2017
    10
    Que mas se le puede pedir a este juego? Horas y horas de juego, sistema de combate divertidisimo, personajes carismaticos, una historia adulta y un nivel artistico hermoso. Sin dudas Velvet te enamora.
  11. DanielPeled
    Mar 22, 2017
    7
    The gameplay is getting a bit old, I must say. Maybe I'm growing out of it, but as is, it's not challenging at all. I'll try playing as other characters, and maybe I'll update the rating if it gets more interesting. But as is, you can simply put the game on auto. You have little incentive to actually play the game because combat is so trivial.

    I think a few of the characters aren't    The gameplay is getting a bit old, I must say. Maybe I'm growing out of it, but as is, it's not challenging at all. I'll try playing as other characters, and maybe I'll update the rating if it gets more interesting. But as is, you can simply put the game on auto. You have little incentive to actually play the game because combat is so trivial.

    I think a few of the characters aren't fleshed out. One character's entire plot revolves around having bad luck. Most of the characters are really one dimensional. I think this is definitely a lot better than Zestiria however.

    Overall this is a good game and a step in the right direction. The game to me is worth $20.    … Expand
  12. ChallengeMaster
    May 26, 2017
    8
    Is this the best Tales game yet? You bet your ass it is.

    Better then Zestiria at least although I really liked the Xillia's though. But I will say that playing Zestiria before this game will make enjoying this game more of a pleasure since its a prequel to Zestiria and it explains alot of things about what happens in the future Story - The story revolves around Velvet Crowe who wants    Is this the best Tales game yet? You bet your ass it is.

    Better then Zestiria at least although I really liked the Xillia's though. But I will say that playing Zestiria before this game will make enjoying this game more of a pleasure since its a prequel to Zestiria and it explains alot of things about what happens in the future

    Story - The story revolves around Velvet Crowe who wants vengeance on Artorius Calabrande for the death of her younger brother. Eventually she joins a band of rogues - A Japanese Swordsman, A Malak, A Witch, A Pirate & An Exorcist who are all tied to the Abbey the organization that Artorius is from coincidentally. In the beginning it seems like some characters aren't tied to Velvet's goals but eventually you'll see how all these characters connect. From start to finish the story is filled with twists and very intriguing revelations.

    Characters - I love the cast but I honestly didn't think I would though especially for Magilou & Laphicet. But Magilou is hilarious in skits and her true identity signifies a bit of importance in the game. Laphicet while a kid and I usually don't like kids in Video Games is a very good character who grows to be amazing by the end of the game. My favorite character though is Eizen after that its Rokurou and then Velvet.

    Gameplay - Is less repetitive then Zestiria. Each button has a combo and enemy weaknesses play an important role on which combo you use based on elemental afflictions. For bosses its best to switch all attacks to the same elements for the best outcome. Overall gameplay is fun but a bit too easy sometimes. With the exception of some bonus bosses which kicked my ass on occasion.

    Soundtrack - Zestiria had one of the best OST's ever but this game is a bit lacking in that department with the exception of a few tracks. I love the songs that play in Ice Locations, the waterfall temple dungeon & the Earthpulse dungeon where Zaveid temporarily joins the party. Sadly I don't know the names of said songs. There's also a boss theme versus a dragon at the 3rd act of the game that I also liked. Overall not bad but not so great. I feel like Motoi Sakaruba is just tired and needs Go Shina to take over temporarily so he can compose the next Star Ocean and put way more effort into that then any Tales Game.

    Graphics - It has the Zestiria/Xillia Look but slightly better. I love the menu designs. Also Ufotable are the Gods of Animation Holy **** There responsible for the Animated Cutscenes and opening and both are amazing. Zestiria's opening is still better though.

    Cons - An annoying child character that joins you during the 2nd act not Laphicet she's story material but still annoying. Dungeons are a bit repetitive. I **** hate caves - the soundtrack for Caves sucks and they are unnecessarily long.

    Pros - Excellent Gameplay, Unique & Beautiful World also a Dark, Twisted World as well. Amazing Heroes and Villains. Lots of Bonus Content to do after the game is done and lots of callbacks to Zestiria. And lastly the story is phenomenal. Berseria is a good game and one fans and newcomers will enjoy. Till this day though Vesperia is my absolute favorite, I recommend that one too if you have an Xbox 360 as the main characters for both games are a bit similar in my opinion. I also recommend Tales of Xillia 1.    … Expand
  13. Grownia
    Aug 7, 2017
    7
    Feels good to be the bad guy in this game. Overall a very good JRPG. Not the best in Tales Series but one of the good ones.
    *Graphics are fine. Animations are not the best but does its job. Environments doesn't look good and seems outdated.
    * Combat system is a mess. It doesn't require any strategy just button mashing which i didn't like. Most of the time you don't understand what is    Feels good to be the bad guy in this game. Overall a very good JRPG. Not the best in Tales Series but one of the good ones.
    *Graphics are fine. Animations are not the best but does its job. Environments doesn't look good and seems outdated.
    * Combat system is a mess. It doesn't require any strategy just button mashing which i didn't like. Most of the time you don't understand what is happening. There are some minor differences between characters gameplay but overall it is an hack and slash.
    * Story doesn't impress but doesn't disappoint too. It is good.
    * Best part of the game is its characters. They are well designed, alive and likable. Really good character relations development with lovely cut-scenes. This game would be a 10/10 for me if it was a visual novel.

    Last word : Buy it if you like JRPGs. Doesn't taste perfect but fine.    … Expand
  14. vahn
    Mar 24, 2018
    8
    I'm not a super huge fan of tales, especially since I come from Europe and we still didn't get most of their games here like Legendia, Destiny and Abyss (which is a very recent arrival here thanks to the 3ds re-release), so I'm very unbiased here.

    But I'll start with the positives: the plot itself is your general "world in peril" and with someone wanting to cleanse the world from    I'm not a super huge fan of tales, especially since I come from Europe and we still didn't get most of their games here like Legendia, Destiny and Abyss (which is a very recent arrival here thanks to the 3ds re-release), so I'm very unbiased here.

    But I'll start with the positives: the plot itself is your general "world in peril" and with someone wanting to cleanse the world from despair and negativity, which is nothing spectacular or original and it's seen in countless other RPGs.
    However, what saves this game from being another generic tale of saving the world it's the writing of the characters and how brilliantly they are developed throughout the game, making an uninteresting and boring plot much more relatable and likable.
    For starters, Velvet is a MUCH better main protagonist than Milla Maxwell - who was an unlikeable and cruel B who should've been a villain - and her constant anger and hatred are explained and fitting from the start: you'll see her losing everything she has and her reaction is reasonable. It only gets "worse" later on but I won't spoil here: let me just say that Velvet "snaps" and starts to lose herself to despair and anger even more, becoming completely "berserk".

    But don't worry because also the rest of the main and sub protagonists are extremely well written and likable, with relatable backstories and overall believable dialogues (except maybe Magilou, but that's her quirk). Everyone, from the villains to the NPCs you meet are relatable in a way or another and even if I praised Velvet a lot, the best-developed protagonist is definitely Laphicet and his literal journey from blandness to fully grown character (without any exaggeration)

    The others are quite good too and all of them have their unique quirks: Magilou is the oddball, always spouting remarks and overacting in her voice, but beneath all that oddity hides a struggling woman who tries to "joke" on her past and has quite the broken heart.
    Eizen is a pirate and also a Malak (or seraphim), but he's also very passionate and incredibly caring for his team and his sister, which is another reference from Zestiria.
    Rokurou starts out pretty one dimensional but he becomes more likable and shows his laid back personality but also his honor, despite being a Daemon
    Eleanor also starts out rather bland, but not only she becomes a much better character later on, but she also shows her flaws and, ironically, her thirst for revenge against daemons.

    And last but not definitely not least, the entire cast of sub characters are amazing and very, very enjoyable to talk within the skits and while I won't spoil anything, I really had a blast listening to their dialogues and cutscenes and I would actively search for them whenever I had time.

    ....too bad this game has one major flaw: the combat

    Now I could also mention how the graphics don't look amazing (it's ps3 graphics in hd), how the lack of world map makes it very annoying to travel and other things, but my biggest gripe with the game is the combat and that's because...well...it's broken AF.

    In combat you have 5 icons above your hp called Soul Gauge: these are your TP and are needed to use artes. The more you have, the stronger you are and the more artes you can use without having to stop; you start most fights with 3 and you gain more by stunning the enemy with your attacks which will make them drop their soul shards.

    Problem is, this also works against you and unlike your enemies, you can get stunned almost instantly in one hit...and then die from being ganged from the entire enemy team.

    This was incredibly annoying, and it's not even because I played on moderate-hard, because what killed me most times is how enemies will often stun me and kill me (my character) while ignoring the other 3. It doesn't help that the dodging mechanic is freaking bad and not reliable, especially when 3-5 enemies are all ganging on you: you're bound to get damaged eventually and that one damage can stun lock you to death, which is what caused me to nearly quit the game at some points... but I didn't so I cheated by using Eizen and his infinite blast gauge attacks due to his high stun rate.

    Hey if the computer cheats, so will I!

    I could also explain how the mastery system is pretty lame - essentially Vesperia with much weaker skills but all active - and how the Katz's chest are annoying due to gathering coins, but those are tolerable nitpicks.

    For me, what turned me off was the combat that kept relied too much on inflicting stuns and even after learning dodging and other things, all the enemy needed was one hit to stun me and kill me within seconds...and I had enough.

    Still an amazing story and overall great game, but I think the combat could've used more polish and not because of the stuns (Rokurou is meh, Eleanor becomes better after the final dungeon, and Velvet can't stunlock like eizen).

    Definitely worth a shot, despite my ranting about combat.    … Expand
  15. 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
  16. midipon
    Dec 6, 2019
    9
    Berseria is a step in the right direction for the series. Where Zestiria had me doing my best to avoid double-encounters, Berseria made me seek them out. Battling is so much fun and wandering around is so comfy. The story is unique and the characters are funny and interesting. This is easily one of the best Tales games. I hope ToArise is even better!
  17. Jamesshen
    Feb 21, 2017
    8
    Now that i had finished the game, i can safely write a review. firstly i like the story. Its dark nature really impressed me and it was way different compared to other tales games.
    Its characters are very interesting especially Velvet and Magilou and that causes me to stick to the game till the end of its journey
    My only minor complaints is that the gameplay was somewhat complex. Im    Now that i had finished the game, i can safely write a review. firstly i like the story. Its dark nature really impressed me and it was way different compared to other tales games.
    Its characters are very interesting especially Velvet and Magilou and that causes me to stick to the game till the end of its journey
    My only minor complaints is that the gameplay was somewhat complex. Im having difficulties executing certain mystic artes which actually lower down the enjoyability rate of this game
    Animation was mediocre at most- as there are other games that had better animations and graphics compared to this game.
    Well my end scored would be 8/10- with minus point from complicated gameplay and mediocre graphics. Otherwise, it had done pretty well to be memorable to me    … Expand
  18. yukidarake
    Jan 27, 2017
    10
    It is so amazing to be playing another tales game. this is so much better then zestiria.Mind blown away by how amazing this game is and was about to lose faith in the tales games after zestiria since it wasn't that good. They truly do great with Berseria and all the character is fleshed out made and the emotion makes it worth playing since each has the same objective but for a differentIt is so amazing to be playing another tales game. this is so much better then zestiria.Mind blown away by how amazing this game is and was about to lose faith in the tales games after zestiria since it wasn't that good. They truly do great with Berseria and all the character is fleshed out made and the emotion makes it worth playing since each has the same objective but for a different reason. The opening was beautifully and the band is great. The story is dark and has a purpose for why ur doing what u doing with each character point of view and not just throw people in and try to make them fit in like (zestria did aka rose). They have u walk between whats good and bad in there world who iis trying to protect them and who really trying to be a god, and the story pulls at the feels.… Expand
  19. takisdv
    Nov 9, 2019
    10
    Amazing action battle system while retaining the rpg concepts...the graphics are not amazing but the art design.. storyline and characters are amazing..the story is dark and serious while having the jrpg/anime.tropes that all jrpg fans love..amazing..cannot wait for tales of arise
  20. FabioSS
    Jan 31, 2018
    10
    Tales of Berseria one of the best ps4 rpg and one of the best of all time. Unique and fun battle system. Great RPG!
  21. k227
    Feb 12, 2018
    10
    Well. It was my first Tales games.

    In one word "Amazing"

    One of my favourites RPG on PS4. The story was so good that was worth every single hour in the game.
  22. eruciform
    Dec 22, 2018
    9
    ** OVERALL 9.0/10 ** Gameplay 9/10 - Creativity 9/10 - Music 8/10 - Visuals 9/10 - Characters 10/10 - Plotline 9/10 - Emotional Engagement 9/10 - Replayability */10 (to be explained in review) - Difficulty */10 (also to be explained)

    This was probably the best Tales game in the series that I've played. Though I do have to say that when I played Tales of Symphonia, I did every single    ** OVERALL 9.0/10 ** Gameplay 9/10 - Creativity 9/10 - Music 8/10 - Visuals 9/10 - Characters 10/10 - Plotline 9/10 - Emotional Engagement 9/10 - Replayability */10 (to be explained in review) - Difficulty */10 (also to be explained)

    This was probably the best Tales game in the series that I've played. Though I do have to say that when I played Tales of Symphonia, I did every single extra in the game and immediately started another New Game+ upon finishing, whereas I did not do that this time in Berseria. That being said, I think the gameplay is better here, the characters are better, and the plot is better.

    The characters are top-notch, and the plotline is epic and just unexpected enough to be engaging all the way through.

    Gameplay 9/10

    The controls are well done and smooth. They take a while to get used to the flow of battle, but it eventually becomes second nature, and the interface is reasonably natural. It does what you want most of the time and doesn't stick or fail to take input very often. Outside of battle, the camera is controllable and reasonable. And even if the geoboard is a little flaky and sensitive, you also get used to that, and it's a welcome interface.

    Creativity 9/10

    Overall well done. Creative characters, enemies, locations, backgrounds, weapons, skills, etc.

    Music 8/10

    While there are no single stand out tracks that I'd listen to outside the game, they were still all well done. I particularly liked the Dannan Highway - very epic adventure.

    Visuals 9/10

    Locations and characters are gorgeously rendered. Even the non-prerendered non-animated scenes were really well done.

    Characters 10/10

    Maybe the strongest part of the game. Very well fleshed out characters. I love their interactions, they're all very relatable, and they interact with each other in very realistic and engaging ways. There's a ton of interaction between them, in terms of cutscenes, little stillframe theater-like scenes, and animations.

    They all had me smiling or crying half the time, the portrayal was so good. In particular, even in the non-pre-rendered portions, the body movements, facial expressions, chroeography, and voice acting were SUPERB. (Oh, I played in Japanese with English subtitles, so my voice acting commentary is for that.) I honestly can't think of any game that I've ever played that has stood up to it. They absolutely nailed the body language and facial expressions. Nailed.

    Plotline 9/10

    Excellent fantasy plotline, lots of twists and turns, but nothing too much out of left field changing things "just for plot reasons". You can see a lot of things coming, but a lot you can't. And it all serves to drive the excellent character development.

    Emotional Engagement 9/10

    As I said in the character section, it had me laughing and crying consistently. Very engaging.

    Replayability */10

    This is one of those infinitely replayable games because it has a New Game+ mode. I haven't tried it yet, because if you want all the NG+ benefits, you have to grind a bit in the postgame for "grade" points, and I didn't feel like it. But I imagine it will be fun a second time.

    Difficulty */10

    Hard to pin down because there's a difficulty section that you can change at any time other than literally during a battle. However, if you lose a plot battle, you can retry and reset the difficulty to anything you want. There are no penalties for playing on easier, but some weapon skills only pop up on items when earned at higher difficulties. But set it to anything you want and have fun. I had it set to the third-highest difficulty, Hard, most of the time, and died a couple times here and there, but not that often. It was consistently a challenge without being annoying.    … Expand
  23. kennethkoole
    Jan 3, 2020
    5
    What could have been a great game is let down by its gameplay which although fun has some glaring problems which are especially noticable on higher difficulties.
  24. 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...
  25. Letiste-Gaming
    Jan 24, 2017
    9
    Objetivamente hablando sigo pensando que el título anterior hizo mejor una o dos cosas Sin embargo, en el resto de apartados Tales Of Berseria lo supera ampliamente. No solo es un título idóneo para iniciarse en la serie gracias a lo refinado de todos y cada uno de sus apartados jugables, la historia y personajes son para el recuerdo, a la altura de los mejores JRPG que os puedan venir aObjetivamente hablando sigo pensando que el título anterior hizo mejor una o dos cosas Sin embargo, en el resto de apartados Tales Of Berseria lo supera ampliamente. No solo es un título idóneo para iniciarse en la serie gracias a lo refinado de todos y cada uno de sus apartados jugables, la historia y personajes son para el recuerdo, a la altura de los mejores JRPG que os puedan venir a la cabeza.

    Aunque todo se sostenga gracias a su excepcional sistema de combate en tiempo real, mas refinado que nunca, Berseria sobresale en contenido y actividades opcionales, en permitir (ahora mas que nunca) que el jugador este siempre al mando con los reajustes en el sistema de artes completamente personalizables, y no menos importante, que Velvet pase a nuestros corazones como algo mas que un simple escote, sino como uno de los mejores personajes que ha parido el género.

    Y demuestra que esta saga no es la Fast-Food del género JRPG como suelen decir por ahí medios mas sensacionalistas del videojuego, sino que puede mirar cara a cara a la élite del género, situándola en el mismo escalón que Final Fantasy y Dragon Quest.

    Solo su desfasado apartado técnico lo ha alejado de nuestra calificación mas alta, pero no ha impedido que el viaje de venganza de Velvet y compañía se convierta en uno de los mejores títulos del año, aunque este acabe de empezar.    … Expand
  26. Prrgangsta
    Jan 24, 2017
    8
    The game's combat, story, and characters are all great. The skills and abilities are all easy to learn from different sets of equipment.

    The only drawback is the equipment i have been getting is just terrible, the more i find and equip the lower my stats dropped even after enhancing them, my default weapon was always better so i always ended using the new weapon to just learn a skill    The game's combat, story, and characters are all great. The skills and abilities are all easy to learn from different sets of equipment.

    The only drawback is the equipment i have been getting is just terrible, the more i find and equip the lower my stats dropped even after enhancing them, my default weapon was always better so i always ended using the new weapon to just learn a skill then going back to my default weapon.    … Expand
  27. KoolAidColin
    Feb 16, 2017
    10
    I like it its really good, The characters are charming, and the story's good. Combats great too. i enjoyed playing it
    it was a great game not as great as Symphonia but still up there.
  28. Renzokuken
    Feb 6, 2017
    8
    Well I just got finished with the main story, took me about 60 hours with some sidequesting inbetween:

    The good:
    Great combat.
    Amazing characters.
    Amazing story
    Magilou
  29. rensyphon
    Jan 31, 2017
    9
    This game is a throwbacks to JRPGs you used to play as a kid. The interface is well-polished, with a detailed mini-map that even tells you which NPCs have dialogue for you and lets you know when you've exhausted all new dialogue. The part of the game that really shines is the storyline and colorful cast of characters, which drive the game. The weakest part of the package is the combat,This game is a throwbacks to JRPGs you used to play as a kid. The interface is well-polished, with a detailed mini-map that even tells you which NPCs have dialogue for you and lets you know when you've exhausted all new dialogue. The part of the game that really shines is the storyline and colorful cast of characters, which drive the game. The weakest part of the package is the combat, which can devolve into button mashing, particularly on lower difficulties. It's recommended you change the challenge level to at least "moderate", if not "hard".

    If you've been craving an old-fashioned storyline-based RPG, pick this up.    … Expand
  30. mikeje
    Jan 27, 2017
    10
    LOL game of the year, but the price of PS4. You can of course still many things to write, but usually there are people who write reviews usually do not differ in mental development.
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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]
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