Beast of Reincarnation: Seven Smart Ways to Survive the Opening Hours

Koo can reveal nearby camps and supplies, while Emma's hair, stealth, parries, and Blade Arts give you several ways to handle early threats.

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Emma stands beside Koo in a field during Beast of Reincarnation

Beast of Reincarnation sends Emma into a large, dangerous region soon after its opening sequence. The action RPG gives you basic tutorials, but several useful systems are easy to miss when the Miasma is already filling the world with hostile creatures.

These early tips focus on the tools that can keep Emma alive, reveal hidden rewards, and make the first battles less punishing. Xbox Wire’s starter guide also confirms that the game will arrive on August 4 for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, and cloud, with Xbox Play Anywhere support and day-one access through Game Pass Ultimate.

Let Koo Mark Points of Interest

Koo is more than Emma’s enormous white companion. While traveling through open areas, he can sense nearby points of interest and mark them on the map. These can include camps, hidden treasures, and food that restores part of Emma’s hunger gauge.

Pay attention when Koo reacts to something nearby instead of rushing toward the next objective. His markings can reveal a useful rest stop or a reward tucked away from the main path. You can also leave those locations marked and return to them later.

Use Stealth Before Starting a Fight

The opening areas contain corrupted machines, Blight-infected wildlife, and plenty of opportunities to lose health quickly. Some enemies will even fight one another, so there is no reason to charge into every group.

Holding B puts Emma into a crouched stealth stance. Moving more gently with the stick also reduces the chance of drawing attention. This lets her get close enough for a stealth attack, which can remove weaker enemies before the real fight begins.

Turn Emma’s Hair Into a Path

Emma’s vine-like hair is one of her best exploration tools. It can reach across gaps, pull her toward higher ground, and uncover secrets above and below the normal route.

Hold A to use the hair as a glide, or hold RT to extend it as a temporary platform. Look at rooftops, ledges, and tall structures with a little suspicion. If a location seems just out of reach, Emma’s hair may be the answer, and hidden rewards are often waiting there.

Emma and Koo facing a large mechanical enemy in Beast of Reincarnation

Use the Hair During Combat

The same ability can give Emma a quick escape when a fight gets crowded. Using her hair to rise above an enemy can put her out of reach of many basic attacks. Emma can also fire her ranged weapon from the air, where the built-in slow motion gives her a brief chance to aim.

Hair platforms can work offensively too. Emma can create a bridge over an enemy, move above it, and use a death-from-above attack. Weaker foes may go down immediately, while tougher targets can lose a large portion of their health before the main exchange begins.

Spend Time With Blade Arts

Emma’s regular combos use the right bumper, but her attacks become much more flexible once Blade Arts are available. Press X to activate these skills. Some work as separate attacks, while others finish a combo with effects such as explosive flowers appearing beneath enemies.

Check the menus whenever a new Blade Art unlocks. Assigning the right skills gives Emma more answers when enemies surround her, and it is worth learning which abilities work best as combo finishers.

Emma fighting enemies with her hair in Beast of Reincarnation

Practice Parrying Early

Parrying is not merely a risky bonus technique in Beast of Reincarnation. It helps power Koo’s Bloom Arts by building the Florescence Points needed to use them.

Press LB as an enemy’s attacking limb begins its swing toward Emma. The first area offers forgiving robotic enemies and stags that return after resting at camp, giving you a safe place to practice the timing.

Consistent parries also fill an enemy’s stagger bar faster. Once that bar is ready, Emma can perform an execution and end the encounter much sooner.

Send Koo In First

Koo does not need to wait beside Emma during every encounter. Target an enemy from outside combat, then hold LT and press RS to send Koo forward. He will attack first and use his unlocked Bloom Arts without requiring constant input.

This command is useful when several enemies are spread across an area. Koo can keep one target busy while Emma deals with another, reducing the chance of an attack coming from outside her view. It is also a handy way to let the big dog handle the first bite.

Beast of Reincarnation will arrive on August 4 for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, and cloud. Players with Game Pass Ultimate will be able to play it on day one.

Which of these tools will you rely on most in the opening hours? Share your thoughts in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, and Instagram.

In post-apocalyptic Japan, humanity’s last hope may rest with Emma and her loyal canine companion, Koo. Explore what it means to be human in Beast of Reincarnation, an expansive one-person, one-dog action RPG built around demanding, technical combat. What awaits at journey’s end?