Bandai Namco once again step into the world of Anime as the eagerly anticipated and stylish fighting game Bleach REBirth Of Souls arrives.
Having become renown for being the go-to publisher for all things Anime over recent years, Bandai Namco is looking to shake things up with this fighting release that has a slick presentation and gameplay mechanics that offer something refreshingly different from the norm.
With this being the first Bleach release in over 15 years and in an already saturated market, Bleach REBirth Of Souls, sadly doesn’t stand out as I’d originally hoped it would. That’s not to say it’s a bad game by any stretch.
Based on the Japanese manga series, Bleach REBirth Of Souls does a fine job of staying true to its comic form. (Whilst omitting a few aspects of the anime in the story mode). Character models look sharp, accurate, and detailed. Menus are simple but easy to navigate and the impressive music/sound quality is funky and energizing, adding to the hype of fights.
Combat/gameplay mechanics consist of players having an emphasis on the timing of the guard gauge and then all-out assaults. You have a small Reishi health bar which deteriorates as strikes connect. Should that bar go red, it leaves you wide open for a devastating Soul Break which then exposes you to a soul-destroying special attack. This lets your opponent trigger a special attack that removes lives from the main health gauge known as the Konpaku. Different fighters deal different levels of damage resulting in factors that impact balance and strategy. This is certainly a more refreshing and different approach to the norm in this genre. Yet its execution feels lacking in depth and skillset to help it stand out from the rest.
Using the soul breaker/soul destruction moves to turn a fight on its head these can be activated in a state of normal and awakened. Fighters have a different amount of Soul breaker moves to utilize. Activating several different transformations (Shikai/Bankai/Resurreccion) to deplete your opponent’s health and lives to the point of becoming the victor.
It’s flash, fancy and does everything it claims to on the tin. That’s about it, The fight-offs felt little more than a repetitive hack-and-slash showdown. Move sets are limited and the 3d movement system felt stiff resulting in a fighting experience that can be just as frustrating as it is easy on the eye.
It just doesn’t offer anywhere near as much depth as rival games in terms of move sets being pretty repetitive and niggling issues with online servers having lag & crashing regularly.
Most matches felt annoyingly similar to the previous and then you have the balancing issues that see select fighters feeling overpowered, resulting in game-breaking exploits to gain an advantage.
Up against the likes of King Of Fighters 15, Guilty Gear Strive, and DNF duel. Bleach REBirth Of Souls has a tough task in bettering any of those recently released pillars of the fighting genre.
Story Mode/Online
There are two types of features to the story mode. The original storyline focuses on retelling the story of Bleach with Ichigo Kurosaki’s journey from student to substitute soul reaver. This covers the events of the substitute Soul Reaper arc and the Arrancar arc. (Culminating in the battle against Sosuke Aizen).
Then there’s the secret story which shines a light on the personality of the fighters with subplots and an alternative perspective of the events that transpire in the story mode. (Secret story requires the completion of the main story arc before being enabled to play).
Some questionable dialogue impacts the emotional aspect of the storytelling and more minor issues like mannerisms, animations, and recycled in-game character models left me feeling that perhaps the budget fell a little short of what could have been required to add further polish in giving fans a flawless experience.
Online is actually quite lacking, there are clearly stability issues with server performance and delays. Then we have no ranked play, meaning there’s a lack of leaderboards for competitive play. No crossplay & matches are restricted to 1v1 with no spectators.
Further modes include offline missions that provide gamers with tasks and objectives to achieve during fights. These provide rewards in the form of souls crystals and talismans which can be spent in the shop to provide a boost to your fighter.
Stages do a fine job of recapturing the magic of locations from the anime, accurately replicated to showcase some of the most well-loved locations in its 20-year history, and with around 31 fighters there’s enough variety to keep fans busy unlocking all the content.
Summary
With a lack of modes and features in both online/offline play, (just three modes if you include the tutorial).
Marred by poor server issues, and some pretty basic fighting mechanics. It is hard to support a purchase for the full recommended retail price. All the flash and impressive presentation values soon wear off. Story mode has its highs and lows that hardcore fans will love due to its faithful implementation of the original comic tale.
Bleach REBirth Of Souls will prove popular to hardcore fans who love the nostalgia factor, (whilst arguably just grateful for an actual Bleach video game release).
I felt the game could and should offer much more. A lack of depth in modes and its basic gameplay mechanics leave me feeling what could have been had more time been pumped into this release. REBirth Of Souls is a rough diamond that sadly, probably didn’t have the budget to match the ambition.
My thanks go to Bandai Namco for the review code. Bleach REBirth OF Souls is out now for Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, and on the Steam marketplace.(This review is also live on Opencritic).
