Tales of Berseria is the sixteenth game in the Tales Series from the Bandai Namco Entertainment. It was released for gaming consoles PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 last year. But this 2017, a Microsoft Windows version for PCs and gaming laptops has been made available on Steam.
Coming from the critically-acclaimed Tales Series, Tales of Berseria features a unique protagonist that goes on a journey of self-discovery to defeat her inner demons and the greater evil that rules the land.
First, let’s check out its trailer:
Plot
Tales of Berseria begins with the story of Velvet Crowe, a 19-year-old female whose life was changed three years before the start of the game. It all started with the Scarlet Night, and the disease known as Daemonblight consumed their village. Her family was killed while her younger brother was used as a sacrifice for a ritual called “Advent.” During the ritual, the Daemonblight possessed her arm and transformed her into a Daemon called a “Therion,” giving her the ability to absorb other Daemons.
After the tragic events that happened in her life, she now embarks on a journey, and joins a crew of pirates and travel across the sea, exploring the many islands of the sacred kingdom Midgand. Together with Laphicet, a young boy from the Malak race; Rokurou Rangetsu, a Daemon samurai; Eleanor Hume, a high-ranked exorcist; Eizen, a 1,000-year-old Reaper, and Magilou, a great sorceress, Velvet must face her past and defeat an empire led by the man who killed her brother.
Gameplay
This role-playing video game uses a battle gameplay known as the Linear Motion Battle System similar to the previous Tales titles. In this mode, players can freely move around the arena when in the battle zone. Characters can fight using physical or magical attacks, as well as perform skills known as Artes that will cause various effects on enemies such as stunning or causing ailments. The Artes can be controlled using different buttons. There are also other abilities outside the normal combat which include guarding against attacks, escaping from the battle, and side-stepping around opponents.
The game also introduces a Soul Gauge, an essential element that can replace the move that governs the game mechanics. Each character has a separate gauge that can contain up to five Souls.
In Tales of Berseria, the main party consists of four characters. You can switch characters through the mechanic called the Switch Blast and is done by consuming a portion of the Blast Gauge. Just remember though that the Blast Gauge can also be depleted by performing Artes.
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Tales of Berseria has received positive reviews from the critics and continues to strike players with its beautiful and unique graphics, diverse characters and challenging gameplay. Its emotional story is a plus factor, giving the game an anime-like plotline.
Velvet’s story also presents a new approach to the Tales Series with her anti-hero qualities, different from all the other protagonists. To those interested in the game, you can check it out at http://store.steampowered.com/app/429660/?snr=1_4_4__100.