Tales Of Berseria Review – Overview, Storyline, Pros, Cons, And More

If you like anime, blisteringly fast combat, and traditional roleplaying game elements, Tales of Berseria should be at the top of your list. One of the PlayStation 4's most critically acclaimed titles, Tales of Berseria is a game that tells a rich story full of charming characters, intense battles, and moral dilemmas. If this description has piqued your interest, read on. This Tales of Berseria review is your definitive resource for figuring out if this game is worthy of being your next digital obsession.

Our Tales of Berseria review will walk you through the essentials and more, from the game's storyline to its unique features. We will walk you through what we consider to be the game's pros and cons, and because we want this Tales of Berseria review to be the most comprehensive one out there, we will also compare the game to similar titles on the market, like Anima Gate of Memories, NieR: Automata, and Drakengard 3. Follow along, and in just a few moments, you will know all the essentials when it comes to these titles, and you will be one short step away from your next gaming adventure.

We begin this Tales of Berseria review with an overview of one of its strongest aspects: its story.

Berseria takes place in a fictional country known as the Holy Midgand Empire, which rules over a large archipelago. The game shares its setting with Tales of Zestiria, and the events of its story precede those of Zestiria.

The Holy Midgand Empire is divided into a number of territories, and it is populated by several different races. Aside from the humans, another one of its major ethnic groups is the Malakhim, a race of supernatural spirits which the humans have enslaved and exploited for their magical powers.

At the time of the story, the empire has become ravaged by a disease known as Daemonblight, which causes those it infects to lose their sense of humanity and rational thought. These victims transform into monsters called Daemons, and they present a major source of danger to the world. A group of religious warriors known as the Exorcists have taken it upon themselves to eliminate all daemons and restore peace to their world.

The player follows the adventures of a young woman named Velvet Crowe. After surviving a daemon attack on her village, she devotes her life to taking care of her sickly brother Laphicet with her brother-in-law Artorius. Seven years after the first devastating attack, though, her village is attacked once more. This time, the damage is far greater. Velvet learns of and becomes embroiled in a nefarious plot, and in the process, she herself is turned into a daemon.

It is at this delicate juncture that players begin their journey with Velvet, learning the truth of the world and the daemon threat through nearly a hundred hours of addicting game play and storytelling.  

Next, our Tales of Berseria review will explain the specific features you can expect to find in this world-renowned action roleplaying game. 

Tales of Berseria is a fast-paced action game with an anime-inspired art style. This single-player game developed by Bandai Namco Studios is the sixteenth installment of the series and the prequel to Tales of Zestiria.

The game features a massive world that players are free to explore from a third-person perspective. Throughout their journey, players can enjoy the series' hallmark Skits function, which they can activate to watch animated clips of character interactions. Unlike previous installments, though, Tales of Berseria is unique in that it includes a cut-in effect, in which characters will take on a wide variety of poses that correspond to the dialogue.

The aspect we enjoyed the most in our Tales of Berseria review was its creative variation of the series' usual Linear Motion Battle System. Battles take place in combat zones, in which players have complete control over their characters' movement and camera angles. Players can use physical and magical attacks, as well as special skills known as Artes. They can also guard, side-step, and escape when battles go awry.

As they fight, they must manage a new element called the Soul Gauge, which acts as a limiter for powerful Artes.  Each character has five Souls in their Soul Gauge. Each time they use an Arte, they deplete a soul. These souls recharge over time, but players must be thoughtful in planning and timing their attacks to get through their fights alive. By keeping their Soul Gauge full, however, characters gain access to specially heightened states called the Break Soul.

As players control four characters at a time, they must also manage these various features, making for complex battles that never feel the same from one to another. We found little to fault in our Tales of Berseria review. We were hoping to find a larger variety of environments in the game, but this was a minor issue we got over rather quickly.

We were pleasantly surprised when we reached this section of our Tales of Berseria review. Despite the game's recent release, impressive graphics, and staggering length, it is extremely affordable for a PS4 game. The game is available on Amazon for just around $20, a mere third of the regular going price for new PS4 games ($60).

We picked a few similar products available on the market to see how they compare.     

Tales of Berseria is currently selling for around twenty dollars. For a relatively new PS4 game, the price is exceedingly affordable.

Despite the number of installments in this series, Tales of Berseria has a lot of new elements to offer. It is by far the most graphically sophisticated entry, and on top of that, its story takes the game into thematic territory yet unexplored. Players will also find a lot to love about its game play. Battles are fast-paced and impressively deep with its countless mechanics and special features. The world provides plenty to discover, and trekking through it never feels like a chore, as travel often feels in these sorts of games.

Tales of Berseria's greatest strength lies in its storytelling. Unlike most of the games in this series, Berseria has a dark story full of mature themes involving vengeance, rage, emotional conflict, and betrayal. The world itself is a dangerous and broken place, and so are its people. These elements gave the game's writers an interesting opportunity to take the story into places the series has traditionally stayed away from.

While previous titles were full of peppy characters with an almost tiresome optimism, Berseria has a cast of characters with major flaws and emotional scars. They have a great deal of depth, and they all have interesting motivations that showcase the less flattering aspects of the human heart.

If you want a mature story that has a ton of interesting statements to make, you will find a lot to appreciate in Tales of Berseria.

Tales of Berseria has the most advanced graphics of any title in the series. Aesthetically, the game fits right in with its contemporaries on the PS4. It has a clean, bold anime art style, and its background environments provide a space for the game's unique artwork to pop out.

Anima Gate of Memories is a third person action RPG developed by Anima Project and published by Badland Games for Linux, Microsoft Windows, OS X, Playstation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. It features a hack and slash combat style and takes place in a rich world full of monsters, unique locations, and hidden secrets. Its combat system combines RPG elements with intense action full of gorgeous attacks and spells.

Anima Gate of Memories is available on Amazon for just around twenty dollars. For a PlayStation 4 game, it is extremely affordable.

Anima Gate of Memories, the first comparison point in our Tales of Berseria review, is a solid title for fans of ARPGs and hack and slash combat. Its story is not anything to write home about, but its game play is surprisingly deep. The game offers a great deal more than combat. When players are not fighting mobs of enemies with beautiful combos and interesting attacks, they must solve a wide variety of puzzles. Between that and exploration, we found a lot to keep players busy.

The story of Anima Gate of Memories is full of cliches and predictable plot twists. Luckily, the game's primary focus is its gameplay. Whatever fault we found in its story, we quickly became distracted by its rich combat and challenging puzzles.

Its graphics is where Anima excels. The game uses an anime art style with heavy western influences. That, combined with its impressive graphics, gives the game an aesthetic anyone can enjoy.

NieR: Automata features action-packed battles in which players must skillfully combine melee and ranged attacks to take down overwhelming hordes of enemies and unique bosses. It comes with an open world full of desolate environments, and its story tackles heavy dystopian themes like no game ever before.

NieR: Automata is less affordable than the other titles covered by this review. Currently, it is selling for around forty dollars on Amazon.

NieR: Automata took the world by storm when it was released, and for a good reason, too. The game excels in every aspect and completely lacks any major weaknesses. It has a breathtaking soundtrack. Its story is rich, mature, and devoid of the usual gaming cliches. Its combat is various enough to surprise players even minutes away from the end. Even players who would not consider themselves ARPG fans should give this title a try.

NieR: Automata's story involves androids and dystopian societies. Despite the great many stories covering these elements, NieR succeeded to surprise us from beginning to end.

The graphics of NieR: Automata are nothing short of gorgeous. The character designs are incredibly unique, and walking through the countless different environments, it becomes clear that the game's artists took painstaking effort to wow gamers visually.

Drakengard 3 marks the 10th anniversary of the series. This prequel to the Drakengard series features high-octane, hack and slash combat. It offers unique aerial battle stages, which players can navigate with the help of Mikhail, their dragon companion.

Drakengard 3 is relatively affordable at around twenty dollars.

Drakengard 3 is a mixed package, with an interesting story, addicting game play, and a number of distracting flaws. Its writing feels inconsistent, with jokes that fall flat and events that feel contrived. Its characters, however, more than make up for it. All in all, we were hoping for more with this game.

The game's story is its strongest point. While it seems to get bogged down by fan service at times, we found ourselves surprisingly invested in the characters and their mission.

The graphics were impressive at the time of its PS3 release. Today, they still hold up, but they probably will not particularly impressive anyone.

We end our Tales of Berseria review with a cumulative rating of 4-stars. Overall, the game is a must-play for anyone who enjoys anime, ARPGs, or interesting plotlines. Berseria is a fantastic entry point into the series, and from its combat to its storytelling, it offers a lot for players to chew on.