Faster, smoother, and bursting at the seams with content, Berseria delivers a much needed kick to the series.

With the best story since Abyss and the best cast of characters since Vesperia, Tales of Berseria is the best entry in Bandai Namco's flagship franchise for years.

Tales of Berseria is one of the best JRPG with real-time battles you can find at the moment. It has its shortcomings, but you forget about them thanks to its narrative and gameplay.

Tales of Berseria is a solid JRPG that doesn't excel in any one area but manages to hit all the marks well enough to be enjoyable. It's not ambitious and focuses on providing a pleasant experience. It suffers from being too easy and spending too much time clearing up its predecessor's flaws, but it's balanced by fast-paced combat and an entertaining cast. It's not going to change your world, but Tales fans should find a lot to like, and for casual players, it's a good introduction to the franchise.

While it may take a while to grasp, Tales of Berseria also has one of the most satisfying combat systems I’ve seen from a JRPG in a while. It’s easily the first must-have JRPG of 2017.

Berseria is in many ways just another Tales Of game. The combat feels familiar, the environments are non-distinct and the cooking system isn’t anything special or new. What carries this entry is its narrative, the characters, and how the game explores the consumptive and destructive nature of revenge as a motivator. It’s an interesting RPG story wrapped in decent, if not exciting, surrounding elements. An alright RPG I’m certainly glad I played.

A much more interesting story and lead character than usual for the series, but the weak script and aging combat system fail to make the most of it.