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The 30th anniversary of Bandai Namco’s acclaimed role-playing game (RPG) series, Tales of, has been going quite smoothly.
Review info
Platform reviewed: PS5
Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
Release date: February 26, 2026
With titles like Tales of Xillia and Tales of Graces f getting the remaster treatment, newcomers can experience the series’ rich past on recent consoles. The latest arrival is Tales of Berseria Remastered, an updated game which originally released in 2016 and marked a new direction for the series in more ways than one.
Its drama, charm, and thrill hit just as hard as they did back then, making it an apt title worthy of remastering.
Leaning on the edge
Despite being a prequel to Tales of Zestiria, the game takes on a rather different tone. Following Velvet Crowe, a hellbent half-human half-Daemon, as well as a ragtag team of misfits, you’ll travel the many islands of Midgand to hunt and kill those who wronged you. The game is a revenge story through and through.
Here, those darker elements are on full display, with monstrous beings, death, and wanton destruction around every corner. It can be a bit overbearing, especially if coming off titles like Xillia or Graces f, but it still keeps that signature charm.
Best bit
The combat here works extremely well, as it evolves the LMBS system into a more open action experience. Being able to move around freely and customize your moves makes a world of difference and gets you more involved. Plus, letting you switch between characters more easily gives you more room to explore gameplay styles.
As a newcomer, it was very surprising just how well a darker tone fits the Tales series. Usually one for bright colors and adventure over adversity, Berseria highlights a much more twisted tale, not straying away from killing or violence.
Even still, the cast of characters, like the tactful Eizen to the ever-frustrating-yet-lovable Magilou, bring levity to situations, albeit with underlying brooding beneath it. The party does rank among the franchise’s best, as the chemistry and dynamic mesh extremely well, both feeling like a well-oiled machine and separate entities all their own.
While returning fans know the story beats, newcomers will enjoy the direction the story takes and the journey they’ll go on. It can be a bit heavy with its edgy themes, but underneath it all is a tale of trust, family, and emotion. The many twists and turns will get you on the edge of your seat and are paced out quite well, so there are rarely any dull moments.
One of the highlights for me was a surprising one: the performances from the game’s cast. With the material being as deep as it is, the cast does a fantastic job. Much praise goes to lead Christina Vee, who brings the broken Velvet to life with finesse and grace. Other standouts include Erika Lindbeck’s hilarious Magilou, Benjamin Diskin’s adventurous Rokurou, and Taliesin Jaffe’s determined Eizen.
In open waters
Fortunately for fans of long RPGs, Berseria Remastered has got you covered. With its story taking roughly 35-45 hours, not counting grinding or side missions, it covers a lot of ground. Lots of that time is spent exploring the many regions, fighting enemies, and diving into its intense story. Luckily, it’s time well spent, as what’s on display is entertaining and gripping, especially the skits towards the middle and end of the title.
Like Tales of Arise, the game allows you to walk freely on the battlefield, not restricted to a single line like past titles. The Linear Motion Battle System (LMBS) is still present, as when you attack, you run towards the highlighted opponent. However, you can walk around and avoid attacks more easily. As someone who enjoys that style, Berseria’s combat was a joy to play and explore. Crafting attack sequences with simple button presses also allows you to string some great combos for you and your party.
As always, the Tales series excels in crafting intricate landscapes, with Berseria doing just that. Many of the regions, like Loegres and Maclir Beach, look incredible and showcase the game’s great artistic direction. Plus, with Motoi Sakuraba’s impeccable score (much love to Velvet’s Theme), the world comes to life beautifully.
Smooth sailing
Despite Berseria being released in 2016, the many quality-of-life improvements this remaster brings help it shine much brighter. Many of the additions go to the game’s map, which is more maneuverable thanks to better movement speed and easy-to-find guide markers. Autosave and quick save are also lifesavers when a save point is nowhere to be found.
Graphically speaking, the updated framerate and fidelity really make some of Berseria’s landscapes and cutscenes shine. It can still feel like a mid-budget 2016 game, with blocky textures or unvaried backdrops, but when it shows its creativity it looks great. Bringing in a lot more polish than Xillia, characters and battles look and feel great to interact with.
Unfortunately, character customization, especially with skills and upgrades, feels bare-bones and inflexible. Compared to Xillia’s Lillium Orb or even Arise’s upgrade system, there’s not much wiggle room to craft characters the way you’d like to. While characters are well-tuned to combat, with some more magic-based and others physical-based, it does feel like it can go deeper.
In short, Tales of Berseria Remastered took risks that, since 2016, have paid off, and we see that with this remaster. From open combat to a mature tone, it wasn’t afraid to go in a different direction. While it isn’t perfectly done, seeing it in a new light thanks to the remaster is a great way to see the versatility of the franchise and what may hold the key to future installments.
Should I play Tales of Berseria Remastered?
Play it if…
Don’t play it if…
Accessibility features
Much like other remasters in the series, there are a few accessibility functions to adjust and tune, like difficulty. You can customize your playthrough via button mapping and the addition of map markers, as well as switching between English and Japanese audio at any time. Despite that, the lack of colorblind modes is a bit disappointing.
How I reviewed Tales of Berseria Remastered
I played Tales of Berseria Remastered for around 40 hours, finishing the main story with some side content. I also explored many of the islands and beat some of the optional bosses.
There is multiplayer available for battles, although I did not test it out for the review. I played the game on a base PS5 with the DualSense Wireless Controller and HyperX Cloud 3 wired gaming headset, all on a Roku 4K TV. If you played the recent Tales of remasters like Xillia and Graces f, you’ll find a lot of similarities in the upgrades here.
First reviewed February 2026
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