A familiar feeling demon slayer
It is a world embroiled in steel and blood, littered with corpses and death. War and battle are unending and constant. Any semblance of normalcy is quickly snuffed out. Beneath the boiling grounds of blood and muscle, sinister forces from an unworldly realm plot their course of destruction. It is a tragic life for anyone trying to make a living on this Earth, but for one man, he may find something worth fighting for and turn his rage into the ultimate weapon. From W-Force and Koei Tecmo Games comes Berserk and The Band of The Hawk, an action game from the makers of the Dynasty Warriors games. Taking their unique brand of stylish action, the team adapts the world of Berserk into an action game, filled with supernatural creatures and large-scale epic battles. For fans of the anime and action fans in general, it’s a dark and thrilling journey.
Following the path…
Berserk was originally written by Kintaro Miura and began in 1987 as a manga. The manga, known for its violence and graphic content, drew attention and popularity, and eventually became an anime series and a trilogy of films. The manga has continued on to the present day, and while the series is on a temporary hiatus, it continues to be revered by manga and anime enthusiasts.
Berserk follows a lone warrior by the name of Guts. Known as ” The Black Swordsman,” he is a mercenary known for his unrelenting ferocity and strength. Born screaming into this world onto a battlefield, he was literally born to fight in endless war. For decades, he has fought for himself, but in a world filled with darkness, he may need to fight for more than just himself. In Berserk and The Band of The Hawk, players take on the role of Guts, as well as an ensemble of characters from the anime and manga.
The story for Berserk and The Band of The Hawk follows the trilogy of films, known as Berserk: The Golden Age Arc. In this trilogy of films, Guts encounters a small group of mercenaries, known as The Band Of The Hawk. He is challenged to a duel with its leader, Griffith, and subsequently loses. In losing, Griffith orders him to remain with The Band Of The Hawk. Guts is unfamiliar and reluctant to work with others, though he is encouraged by his comrades, including Casca, a female warrior known for her skill and speed. Over the course of 46 missions, Berserk and The Band of The Hawk has players go through a dark and evil tale of war and power, as well as righteousness and determination. This story is also told through clips from the movies and in-game cut-scenes.
The heart of battle…
The core of Berserk and The Band of The Hawk is the thrilling battles. Players fight on large scale battlefields, with multiple secondary objectives and primary objectives. After an opening tutorial that introduces players to fighting and moving, players set off on the main story. As I mentioned earlier, each mission features different levels, enemies, and objectives to complete. The secondary objectives can involve protecting comrades in battle or eliminating a particular target, while primary targets involve destroying high ranking enemies. It seems simple enough and the ultimate objective of each mission is to simply win.
Several missions involve boss fights, encouraging the player to think before attacking, as they utilize brute force and their inhuman forms to strike the player down with impunity. In the beginning, players fight general armies and soldiers, from swordsmen, archers, and knights on horseback, to large armored juggernauts. Over the course of Berserk and The Band of The Hawk, players fight the enemies of the supernatural, which use otherworldly means to attack the player. Demonic monsters and grotesque demons attack, with deadly weapons and evil gothic power. These particular enemies are more deadly than the average soldier, but by the time players encounter them, Guts will have brand new weapons and abilities to face them on. It is a great feeling when you have a full arsenal at your disposal including a hand cannon and his trademark Dragon Sword. Between missions, players can level up their character, enhance weapons, and select items for combat.
Those ‘right at home’ controls…
Controlling the characters in Berserk and The Band of The Hawk are easy and accessible. Players move with the left analog stick, while the right analog stick moves the camera. Standard fare at this point. Players will be using a combination of the Square and Triangle button to attack enemies in a combination of light and heavy attacks. Again, standard fare. Holding either button charges the attack for a more powerful swipe. As players fight, a special attack bar, known as the Musou Gauge builds, and once reached to max level, the Musou attack can unleash a devastating attack that keeps going, so long as the player continues fighting. In the Musou attack, players can defeat hundreds of soldiers in a few short swipes, and cause a massive amount of damage to hardened enemy units. Fans of the genre will feel right at home with the controls and combat.
Long into the game, players will gain access to the infamous Berserker armor, that transforms Guts into a living weapon, unleashing a flurry of superhuman attacks that can easily turn the tide of battle. While these attacks are powerful, Berserk and The Band of The Hawk is no cakewalk. Slaying enemies and scattered items on the battlefield will yield health, and the directional pad can utilize special abilities for the character. Players can use the ability to command their comrades in battle as well.
W- Force is excellent at creating games that are instantly available to play and simple to control, and the team succeeds in bringing their trademarked action to the world of Berserk. In Berserk and The Band of The Hawk, Guts, and the ensemble of characters players can play as, are an incredible amount of fun, with each character introducing new abilities and methods to battle. Controlling Guts feels incredibly well, but it is the impact of the action that remarkable for Berserk and The Band of The Hawk. Each attack lands with great weight and impact, with a cacophony of sound effects underscoring the loud and thunderous slam of each swipe of the sword. This is further emphasized in Musou mode, where players witness the obliteration of enemies, their bodies bursting and exploding in blood and sinew, with others becoming decapitated. The sound of bodily fluids and muscle tearing heighten the brutality of war. Visually, W-Force captures the look of Berserk, with character models and environment illustrated well Berserk and The Band of The Hawk. Berserk and The Band of The Hawk captures the hard-hitting brutality of the anime, while making the overall experience accessible for players that are ready for the bloody journey set before them.
Berserk and The Band of The Hawk is a solid action game, only setback by the repetitive nature of its game-play, and the lack of any other content, other than and Endless Eclipse Mode, where players fight waves open waves of enemies as they descend The Abyss. The moment-to-moment game-play can get repetitive rather quickly, as the player endlessly hack and slashes their way through enemies. Berserk and The Band of The Hawk is great for short moments, though it can become tiresome in longer-term. To break the repetitiveness, more boss fights, with intricate mechanics, could have benefited the overall experience. Players can replay missions on higher difficulties, and Forty-six missions is plenty of content, but Berserk and The Band of The Hawk could’ve benefited from a dozen or more additional missions and a highlight in tackling more supernatural enemies. As the manga is still being written, perhaps some of this newer content could have been adapted into the game. Or at least a future title.
Conclusion
Bloody, brutal, but nonetheless enjoyable, Berserk and The Band of The Hawk is a solid and focused effort in adaption the trademark action formula of Dynasty Warriors into the unforgiving landscape of Berserk. Its combat is incredibly accessible and despite its repetition, is still enjoyable and satisfying. The amount of content is worth the price of admission, and the diverse cast of playable characters is fun to use. Berserk and The Band of The Hawk is not for the faint of heart, but for those willing to wield the great Dragon Sword of Guts, it is well worth the experience.
Berserk and The Band of The Hawk is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam.
What even is the intro to this article??? What does it have to do with the review? Or Berserk?
Hello. As I wrote the review, allow me to elaborate.
My introduction to this review portrays the world of Berserk. It is a world of carnage, blood, chaos. it’s Conan The Barbarian, but way worse. It’s a bloody dark fantasy. I wrote that introduction to give the reader of what makes this action game different from other action games like it.
Bud, that’s not the world of Berserk and doesn’t represent Guts. Guts is the farthest from Conan. The game is just like the manga’s storyline and you totally make it seem like Guts is a rage monster. He isn’t.
Good luck writing but but maybe talk about the actual game next time.