10
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- Platforms: PS4 PSV
- Developer: Omega Force
- Publisher:Koei Tecmo
- Release: February 21, 2017
There have been plenty of great adaptations of the Musou formula of various licensed franchises. Gundam and the first Fist of the North Star were fun, as was One Piece. The anime IPs worked well, but developer Omega Force showed them up with the quality of their Musou take on game specific IPs like Dragon Quest Heroes and Hyrule Warriors. Even dismissing the licensed products, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms based Dynasty Warriors2 kicked it all off, and gives the loyal ample of reasons to return. The fact of the matter is that the series, as ridiculously prolific as it is, has plenty of different quality entries for all sorts of varying tastes. That is why the following statement should be taken as salient as intended: barring one glaring omission, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is the best of the Musou games.
The game takes its name from the focus of the Golden Age arc of the anime, a trilogy of movies that chronicles the life of protagonist, Guts, before he became the antihero star of the long running manga and anime series, though it does continue the narrative after the events of those films. When it starts out, Guts is a wandering mercenary who is only in it for the violence and the cash. Even young and relatively inexperienced, he is as much of a force on the battlefield as he is a douche in his personal interactions. Still, the potential he shows in battle catches the eye of Griffith, leader of the Band of the Hawk, who conscripts Guts into service at sword point. This might not seem like a particularly unique set up but, as anyone who has seen the Golden Age Arc can attest, it is a story with real depth, with believable character growth, well made action scenes, and one of the most heart wrenching final acts in to be put to screen.
But from there, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk begins to deviate a little from the tried and tested formula. The standard “Musou” attack is thrown out of the window in favour of a frenzy system, rewarding multiple charges of a gauge with periods of increased damage and range that turn your enemies into a bloody mess. Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is easily the bloodiest action game that Omega Force has ever squeezed out. True to the often gruesome source material, the game doesn't skimp on the red stuff.
There is a reason that the anime is spoken so much in the review for the game: Omega Force has made ample use of the source material to fill in for the cutscenes. This comes across as a copout budget cutting method initially, as they are only using previously created work to tell their narrative. The developer does create some CGI recreations of some sequences though, as well as fill in additional dialogue that was not in the source material, giving characters like Pippin and Judeau a bit more personality. For the most part, this works to create the most coherent and driving narrative that the MusouKirby mass attack. games have seen, with the exception of one edit to the movie that made no sense.
While this doesn’t affect the overall game or the score itself, this particular edit was a bit jarring. Immediately prior, there is an extended scene from the movie where a major character is, ahem, “turning the radio dial” of a fully clothed female that is shown in full. Immediately after, that same character is being whipped by the king. Some might argue that this was done to reduce the amount of editing needed to remove nudity, but the game version of the videos already see any stray “naughty bits” inelegantly painted over, which is more distracting than just going with the initial source anyways. It really was just a singular poor choice that stuck in my craw for reasons that cannot be explained.
Gameplay wise, Band of the Hawk is exactly what fans of the Musou series could want, with much more gore. Using the story to set things up, the gameplay recreates the battles found in the source material with gusto. It’s mostly familiar to action fans, with light and heavy attacks. The Musou gauge is replaced with a Frenzy meter that gets progressively stronger as it is used and refilled in a single battle. The is also a Final Blow move that gets filled by making kills while in Frenzy Mode. Think of it as the $%^& you button, as it can wipe out dozens of enemies, including the tougher officers, at once if properly timed. There is also the return of sub weapons to use with a simple shoulder button tap. There is a range of effects that they can have, like the stunning throwing knives, but the primary purpose appears to be centered around prolonging a combo.
The biggest change might not seem like much, but it’s huge to this Musou vet: there is no more jump button. In most previous series titles, the jump has omnipresent, but rarely used. Jump attacks where impractical if not part of a premade combo, and there is no real platforming. It’s like a rather long vestigial tail; it’s there, it can be wagged, but it’s out of place and kind of weird (no offense to my tailed friends). Now we have a dashing move mapped to the button. Far from being superfluous, it truly opens up the combat. Foes that overuse block are no longer the annoyance that they once were. The block can be broken with a strong attack or circumvented with a dash and back stab. This new move is especially fun to use on the giant bosses. The fact is that it changes up the Musou formula while still feeling well in place.
It wouldn’t be Berserk if there wasn’t blood, and that is something that Omega Force made sure to include by the gallons. Pretty much any hit that lands causes a few gallons of claret to go flying. It’s pretty ridiculous, to the point where the player is left wondering how these people are still standing, seeing as how about five peoples’ worth of sanguine serum was just forcefully drawn from their body. People literally get cut in half, helmets go flying from defeated foes, and the player character is progressively covered with more gore as the battle goes on. It’s incredibly satisfying, and adds to the feeling of being in the midst of a giant battle. It could be argued that the over-the-top unrealistic gore increases this feeling as it sells the chaos more effectively. Accomplishing specific tasks during combat, such as destroying a series of catapults, also convey the success and how it affects the battlefield in a more immediate and convincing way. Bank of the Hawk really does have the best battle system of the Musou lineage.
There is one thing that holds this game back from receiving a perfect score, or rather the lack of one thing. Musou, from Dynasty and Samurai Warriors, and on through the series history, has been a staple of my co-op gaming time. With friends and family, I have achieved victory on untold numbers of battlefields. Berserk and the Band of the HawkTetris plus playstation store. is missing this feature, which is to its detriment. It can be understood that Guts goes it alone very often, so removing this from the primary story is understandable. However, allowing players to team up for the brutal, plotless Endless Eclipse mode to attempt to clear the most floors of the “tower” would have not only been acceptable, but extremely welcome. This isn’t the first time that this omission has been made, but missing this hurts the package as a whole.
Closing Comments:
There are so many reasons to pick up Berserk and the Band of the Hawk. Fans of the series will get a chance to play through their favorite battles and see supporting characters get some additional fleshing out. Musou fans will be able to experience one of the most fully-realized series entries that captures the essence of what makes them great, all while telling a top-notch story. People who have never experienced either will be able to check out one of the most grisly titles to hit the market rendered in an accessible, entertaining way. The lack of multiplayer holds Berserk and the Band of the Hawk back from being the greatest Omega Force title, but players who are okay with this will find an experience that both captures the soul of the source material as well as one of the purest, most hyperviolent, titles to hit the market.
Jason Bohn
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk
Version Reviewed: PlayStation 4
Have you ever played a Dynasty Warriors game and thought “Nope, it’s just not violent enough”? If you have, then one, I hope to never meet you in a dark alley, and two, you should be happy to discover that your needs have finally been met; Berserk and the Band of the Hawk takes the typical Dynasty Warriors gameplay and turns it up to eleven, adding shedloads of blood along the way.Based on the popular manga created by, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk tells the story of a solitary mercenary named Guts who crosses paths with an outfit called the Band of the Hawk. Their leader, the rather feminine-looking Griffith, is a charismatic fellow who bests Guts in combat, forcing him to serve under him. With Griffith’s deepest aspirations unveiled to Guts however, their growing admiration for one another leads to a dire turn of events that no one could have ever thought possible.Those already familiar with the story of Berserk, either because of the manga or its anime adaptations, I’m sure will corroborate its brilliance. It’s got action, it’s got horror, it’s got shocking twists and turns; honestly, it rivals Games of Thrones for those “WTF just happened?” moments that we all love. Those going into Berserk and the Band of the Hawk without any prior knowledge of it need not worry though – the game covers events right from the very beginning to its grisly end, possibly making it even more engrossing for them than existing fans.
Spanning six story arcs, Berserk and the Band of Hawk’s story mode is certainly the game’s main draw. It’s quite a lengthy affair, too. Between watching its fantastic anime video scenes and engaging in other distractions between missions, it’s likely to occupy nearly 20 hours of your time; even more if you go back through to collect any Behelits you may have missed in order to unlock some bonus artwork. To be honest though, it can feel a bit drawn out because of its overly repetitive gameplay.Many missions are unquestionably superfluous, just thrown in there to pad out the running time. You’ll be tasked with killing a thousand soldiers, thieves or demons and a handful of more formidable foes time and time again, especially in the latter half of the game; the environments little more than arenas for you to spill blood in.
Don’t get me wrong; it’s always kind of fun to do so, but it can just get a bit tiring. Perhaps if mission objectives were more varied than just pretty much kill everything it wouldn’t be so much of an issue. And Berserk and the Band of the Hawk’s shallow combat doesn’t do much to help matters either, although it does try.Just like Dynasty Warriors, you’ve got standard and charge attacks which can be used to perform a range of preset combos. But from there, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk begins to deviate a little from the tried and tested formula.
The standard “Musou” attack is thrown out of the window in favour of a frenzy system, rewarding multiple charges of a gauge with periods of increased damage and range that turn your enemies into a bloody mess. When in frenzy mode there’s yet another gauge to fill in order to raise hell – the deathblow gauge – allowing you to perform an utterly devastating attack that effectively destroys all enemies around you. About half-way through the game you also gain access to an extended repertoire of ranged sub-attacks, including a cannon and a repeating crossbow. Their low attack power makes them pretty much useless against anything other than the weakest of foes though.Bosses are a bit more involved than your typical Dynasty Warriors fodder too. Often gargantuan in size due to their monstrous nature, locking onto them is pretty much a must just so that you can keep a keen eye on them – though the lock on system is unfortunately a little loose. From there, you’ll need to actively block and evade their range of unique and frenzied attacks if you want to avoid meeting a quick death. Well, that’s providing you’re not playing the game on the easy difficulty level as prompted to when you initially launch the game.
Mindless button bashing is all it takes for you to reach the end with no challenge whatsoever on that difficulty level. Ultimately, then, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk’s combat does indeed have its merits, but they’re just not enough to make it entirely fulfilling. If you do complete story mode and have somehow not grown tired of the basic hack-and-slash gameplay, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk also comes with the standard Free Mode in which you can tackle missions with a number of unlockable characters including Casca, Nosferatu and Griffith. Likely to be of more interest however, is Eclipse Mode, a layer-based battle for survival that becomes a true test of your skill as you plunge deeper into its depths. It’s safe to say that if you do find yourself engrossed in Berserk and the Band of the Hawk’s action, there’s plenty for you to do to get your monies worth.Presentation wise, Berserk and the Band of Hawk isn’t anything special. The soundtrack is suitably rousing and I didn’t have any concerns over its Japanese-only voice acting, but the English subtitles are rather poor, exhibiting many translation errors.
It’s graphically unspectacular too, though at least the framerate holds up even when there are hundreds of enemies on screen. My biggest bugbear with its presentation though is how the anime story scenes cease at the halfway mark. I understand it’s because they’re taken from the film series which currently doesn’t cover the latter half of the story, but it’s still a little disappointing, and leaves the whole thing feeling inconsistent.With its presentation and gameplay issues then, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is far from being perfect. That said, when played often for an hour or so at a time, it can still provide a great deal of mindless fun. Think of it as a potentially great palette cleanser to play in between games of a more complex nature. Its story is undoubtedly its biggest draw though, as it’s simply phenomenal whether you’re already a fan of Berserk or not. Simple, violent and rough around the edges, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is just like its protagonist, Guts, and equally just as endearing in small doses.Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is available on PS4 and PC.
We reviewed the PS4 version.
- Platforms: PS4 PSV
- Developer: Omega Force
- Publisher:Koei Tecmo
- Release: February 21, 2017
There have been plenty of great adaptations of the Musou formula of various licensed franchises. Gundam and the first Fist of the North Star were fun, as was One Piece. The anime IPs worked well, but developer Omega Force showed them up with the quality of their Musou take on game specific IPs like Dragon Quest Heroes and Hyrule Warriors. Even dismissing the licensed products, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms based Dynasty Warriors2 kicked it all off, and gives the loyal ample of reasons to return. The fact of the matter is that the series, as ridiculously prolific as it is, has plenty of different quality entries for all sorts of varying tastes. That is why the following statement should be taken as salient as intended: barring one glaring omission, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is the best of the Musou games.
The game takes its name from the focus of the Golden Age arc of the anime, a trilogy of movies that chronicles the life of protagonist, Guts, before he became the antihero star of the long running manga and anime series, though it does continue the narrative after the events of those films. When it starts out, Guts is a wandering mercenary who is only in it for the violence and the cash. Even young and relatively inexperienced, he is as much of a force on the battlefield as he is a douche in his personal interactions. Still, the potential he shows in battle catches the eye of Griffith, leader of the Band of the Hawk, who conscripts Guts into service at sword point. This might not seem like a particularly unique set up but, as anyone who has seen the Golden Age Arc can attest, it is a story with real depth, with believable character growth, well made action scenes, and one of the most heart wrenching final acts in to be put to screen.
But from there, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk begins to deviate a little from the tried and tested formula. The standard “Musou” attack is thrown out of the window in favour of a frenzy system, rewarding multiple charges of a gauge with periods of increased damage and range that turn your enemies into a bloody mess. Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is easily the bloodiest action game that Omega Force has ever squeezed out. True to the often gruesome source material, the game doesn\'t skimp on the red stuff.
There is a reason that the anime is spoken so much in the review for the game: Omega Force has made ample use of the source material to fill in for the cutscenes. This comes across as a copout budget cutting method initially, as they are only using previously created work to tell their narrative. The developer does create some CGI recreations of some sequences though, as well as fill in additional dialogue that was not in the source material, giving characters like Pippin and Judeau a bit more personality. For the most part, this works to create the most coherent and driving narrative that the MusouKirby mass attack. games have seen, with the exception of one edit to the movie that made no sense.
While this doesn’t affect the overall game or the score itself, this particular edit was a bit jarring. Immediately prior, there is an extended scene from the movie where a major character is, ahem, “turning the radio dial” of a fully clothed female that is shown in full. Immediately after, that same character is being whipped by the king. Some might argue that this was done to reduce the amount of editing needed to remove nudity, but the game version of the videos already see any stray “naughty bits” inelegantly painted over, which is more distracting than just going with the initial source anyways. It really was just a singular poor choice that stuck in my craw for reasons that cannot be explained.
Gameplay wise, Band of the Hawk is exactly what fans of the Musou series could want, with much more gore. Using the story to set things up, the gameplay recreates the battles found in the source material with gusto. It’s mostly familiar to action fans, with light and heavy attacks. The Musou gauge is replaced with a Frenzy meter that gets progressively stronger as it is used and refilled in a single battle. The is also a Final Blow move that gets filled by making kills while in Frenzy Mode. Think of it as the $%^& you button, as it can wipe out dozens of enemies, including the tougher officers, at once if properly timed. There is also the return of sub weapons to use with a simple shoulder button tap. There is a range of effects that they can have, like the stunning throwing knives, but the primary purpose appears to be centered around prolonging a combo.
The biggest change might not seem like much, but it’s huge to this Musou vet: there is no more jump button. In most previous series titles, the jump has omnipresent, but rarely used. Jump attacks where impractical if not part of a premade combo, and there is no real platforming. It’s like a rather long vestigial tail; it’s there, it can be wagged, but it’s out of place and kind of weird (no offense to my tailed friends). Now we have a dashing move mapped to the button. Far from being superfluous, it truly opens up the combat. Foes that overuse block are no longer the annoyance that they once were. The block can be broken with a strong attack or circumvented with a dash and back stab. This new move is especially fun to use on the giant bosses. The fact is that it changes up the Musou formula while still feeling well in place.
It wouldn’t be Berserk if there wasn’t blood, and that is something that Omega Force made sure to include by the gallons. Pretty much any hit that lands causes a few gallons of claret to go flying. It’s pretty ridiculous, to the point where the player is left wondering how these people are still standing, seeing as how about five peoples’ worth of sanguine serum was just forcefully drawn from their body. People literally get cut in half, helmets go flying from defeated foes, and the player character is progressively covered with more gore as the battle goes on. It’s incredibly satisfying, and adds to the feeling of being in the midst of a giant battle. It could be argued that the over-the-top unrealistic gore increases this feeling as it sells the chaos more effectively. Accomplishing specific tasks during combat, such as destroying a series of catapults, also convey the success and how it affects the battlefield in a more immediate and convincing way. Bank of the Hawk really does have the best battle system of the Musou lineage.
There is one thing that holds this game back from receiving a perfect score, or rather the lack of one thing. Musou, from Dynasty and Samurai Warriors, and on through the series history, has been a staple of my co-op gaming time. With friends and family, I have achieved victory on untold numbers of battlefields. Berserk and the Band of the HawkTetris plus playstation store. is missing this feature, which is to its detriment. It can be understood that Guts goes it alone very often, so removing this from the primary story is understandable. However, allowing players to team up for the brutal, plotless Endless Eclipse mode to attempt to clear the most floors of the “tower” would have not only been acceptable, but extremely welcome. This isn’t the first time that this omission has been made, but missing this hurts the package as a whole.
Closing Comments:
There are so many reasons to pick up Berserk and the Band of the Hawk. Fans of the series will get a chance to play through their favorite battles and see supporting characters get some additional fleshing out. Musou fans will be able to experience one of the most fully-realized series entries that captures the essence of what makes them great, all while telling a top-notch story. People who have never experienced either will be able to check out one of the most grisly titles to hit the market rendered in an accessible, entertaining way. The lack of multiplayer holds Berserk and the Band of the Hawk back from being the greatest Omega Force title, but players who are okay with this will find an experience that both captures the soul of the source material as well as one of the purest, most hyperviolent, titles to hit the market.
Jason Bohn
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk
Version Reviewed: PlayStation 4
Have you ever played a Dynasty Warriors game and thought “Nope, it’s just not violent enough”? If you have, then one, I hope to never meet you in a dark alley, and two, you should be happy to discover that your needs have finally been met; Berserk and the Band of the Hawk takes the typical Dynasty Warriors gameplay and turns it up to eleven, adding shedloads of blood along the way.Based on the popular manga created by, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk tells the story of a solitary mercenary named Guts who crosses paths with an outfit called the Band of the Hawk. Their leader, the rather feminine-looking Griffith, is a charismatic fellow who bests Guts in combat, forcing him to serve under him. With Griffith’s deepest aspirations unveiled to Guts however, their growing admiration for one another leads to a dire turn of events that no one could have ever thought possible.Those already familiar with the story of Berserk, either because of the manga or its anime adaptations, I’m sure will corroborate its brilliance. It’s got action, it’s got horror, it’s got shocking twists and turns; honestly, it rivals Games of Thrones for those “WTF just happened?” moments that we all love. Those going into Berserk and the Band of the Hawk without any prior knowledge of it need not worry though – the game covers events right from the very beginning to its grisly end, possibly making it even more engrossing for them than existing fans.
Spanning six story arcs, Berserk and the Band of Hawk’s story mode is certainly the game’s main draw. It’s quite a lengthy affair, too. Between watching its fantastic anime video scenes and engaging in other distractions between missions, it’s likely to occupy nearly 20 hours of your time; even more if you go back through to collect any Behelits you may have missed in order to unlock some bonus artwork. To be honest though, it can feel a bit drawn out because of its overly repetitive gameplay.Many missions are unquestionably superfluous, just thrown in there to pad out the running time. You’ll be tasked with killing a thousand soldiers, thieves or demons and a handful of more formidable foes time and time again, especially in the latter half of the game; the environments little more than arenas for you to spill blood in.
Don’t get me wrong; it’s always kind of fun to do so, but it can just get a bit tiring. Perhaps if mission objectives were more varied than just pretty much kill everything it wouldn’t be so much of an issue. And Berserk and the Band of the Hawk’s shallow combat doesn’t do much to help matters either, although it does try.Just like Dynasty Warriors, you’ve got standard and charge attacks which can be used to perform a range of preset combos. But from there, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk begins to deviate a little from the tried and tested formula.
The standard “Musou” attack is thrown out of the window in favour of a frenzy system, rewarding multiple charges of a gauge with periods of increased damage and range that turn your enemies into a bloody mess. When in frenzy mode there’s yet another gauge to fill in order to raise hell – the deathblow gauge – allowing you to perform an utterly devastating attack that effectively destroys all enemies around you. About half-way through the game you also gain access to an extended repertoire of ranged sub-attacks, including a cannon and a repeating crossbow. Their low attack power makes them pretty much useless against anything other than the weakest of foes though.Bosses are a bit more involved than your typical Dynasty Warriors fodder too. Often gargantuan in size due to their monstrous nature, locking onto them is pretty much a must just so that you can keep a keen eye on them – though the lock on system is unfortunately a little loose. From there, you’ll need to actively block and evade their range of unique and frenzied attacks if you want to avoid meeting a quick death. Well, that’s providing you’re not playing the game on the easy difficulty level as prompted to when you initially launch the game.
Mindless button bashing is all it takes for you to reach the end with no challenge whatsoever on that difficulty level. Ultimately, then, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk’s combat does indeed have its merits, but they’re just not enough to make it entirely fulfilling. If you do complete story mode and have somehow not grown tired of the basic hack-and-slash gameplay, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk also comes with the standard Free Mode in which you can tackle missions with a number of unlockable characters including Casca, Nosferatu and Griffith. Likely to be of more interest however, is Eclipse Mode, a layer-based battle for survival that becomes a true test of your skill as you plunge deeper into its depths. It’s safe to say that if you do find yourself engrossed in Berserk and the Band of the Hawk’s action, there’s plenty for you to do to get your monies worth.Presentation wise, Berserk and the Band of Hawk isn’t anything special. The soundtrack is suitably rousing and I didn’t have any concerns over its Japanese-only voice acting, but the English subtitles are rather poor, exhibiting many translation errors.
It’s graphically unspectacular too, though at least the framerate holds up even when there are hundreds of enemies on screen. My biggest bugbear with its presentation though is how the anime story scenes cease at the halfway mark. I understand it’s because they’re taken from the film series which currently doesn’t cover the latter half of the story, but it’s still a little disappointing, and leaves the whole thing feeling inconsistent.With its presentation and gameplay issues then, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is far from being perfect. That said, when played often for an hour or so at a time, it can still provide a great deal of mindless fun. Think of it as a potentially great palette cleanser to play in between games of a more complex nature. Its story is undoubtedly its biggest draw though, as it’s simply phenomenal whether you’re already a fan of Berserk or not. Simple, violent and rough around the edges, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is just like its protagonist, Guts, and equally just as endearing in small doses.Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is available on PS4 and PC.
We reviewed the PS4 version.
...'>Berserk And The Band Of The Hawk Review(10.04.2020)- Platforms: PS4 PSV
- Developer: Omega Force
- Publisher:Koei Tecmo
- Release: February 21, 2017
There have been plenty of great adaptations of the Musou formula of various licensed franchises. Gundam and the first Fist of the North Star were fun, as was One Piece. The anime IPs worked well, but developer Omega Force showed them up with the quality of their Musou take on game specific IPs like Dragon Quest Heroes and Hyrule Warriors. Even dismissing the licensed products, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms based Dynasty Warriors2 kicked it all off, and gives the loyal ample of reasons to return. The fact of the matter is that the series, as ridiculously prolific as it is, has plenty of different quality entries for all sorts of varying tastes. That is why the following statement should be taken as salient as intended: barring one glaring omission, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is the best of the Musou games.
The game takes its name from the focus of the Golden Age arc of the anime, a trilogy of movies that chronicles the life of protagonist, Guts, before he became the antihero star of the long running manga and anime series, though it does continue the narrative after the events of those films. When it starts out, Guts is a wandering mercenary who is only in it for the violence and the cash. Even young and relatively inexperienced, he is as much of a force on the battlefield as he is a douche in his personal interactions. Still, the potential he shows in battle catches the eye of Griffith, leader of the Band of the Hawk, who conscripts Guts into service at sword point. This might not seem like a particularly unique set up but, as anyone who has seen the Golden Age Arc can attest, it is a story with real depth, with believable character growth, well made action scenes, and one of the most heart wrenching final acts in to be put to screen.
But from there, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk begins to deviate a little from the tried and tested formula. The standard “Musou” attack is thrown out of the window in favour of a frenzy system, rewarding multiple charges of a gauge with periods of increased damage and range that turn your enemies into a bloody mess. Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is easily the bloodiest action game that Omega Force has ever squeezed out. True to the often gruesome source material, the game doesn\'t skimp on the red stuff.
There is a reason that the anime is spoken so much in the review for the game: Omega Force has made ample use of the source material to fill in for the cutscenes. This comes across as a copout budget cutting method initially, as they are only using previously created work to tell their narrative. The developer does create some CGI recreations of some sequences though, as well as fill in additional dialogue that was not in the source material, giving characters like Pippin and Judeau a bit more personality. For the most part, this works to create the most coherent and driving narrative that the MusouKirby mass attack. games have seen, with the exception of one edit to the movie that made no sense.
While this doesn’t affect the overall game or the score itself, this particular edit was a bit jarring. Immediately prior, there is an extended scene from the movie where a major character is, ahem, “turning the radio dial” of a fully clothed female that is shown in full. Immediately after, that same character is being whipped by the king. Some might argue that this was done to reduce the amount of editing needed to remove nudity, but the game version of the videos already see any stray “naughty bits” inelegantly painted over, which is more distracting than just going with the initial source anyways. It really was just a singular poor choice that stuck in my craw for reasons that cannot be explained.
Gameplay wise, Band of the Hawk is exactly what fans of the Musou series could want, with much more gore. Using the story to set things up, the gameplay recreates the battles found in the source material with gusto. It’s mostly familiar to action fans, with light and heavy attacks. The Musou gauge is replaced with a Frenzy meter that gets progressively stronger as it is used and refilled in a single battle. The is also a Final Blow move that gets filled by making kills while in Frenzy Mode. Think of it as the $%^& you button, as it can wipe out dozens of enemies, including the tougher officers, at once if properly timed. There is also the return of sub weapons to use with a simple shoulder button tap. There is a range of effects that they can have, like the stunning throwing knives, but the primary purpose appears to be centered around prolonging a combo.
The biggest change might not seem like much, but it’s huge to this Musou vet: there is no more jump button. In most previous series titles, the jump has omnipresent, but rarely used. Jump attacks where impractical if not part of a premade combo, and there is no real platforming. It’s like a rather long vestigial tail; it’s there, it can be wagged, but it’s out of place and kind of weird (no offense to my tailed friends). Now we have a dashing move mapped to the button. Far from being superfluous, it truly opens up the combat. Foes that overuse block are no longer the annoyance that they once were. The block can be broken with a strong attack or circumvented with a dash and back stab. This new move is especially fun to use on the giant bosses. The fact is that it changes up the Musou formula while still feeling well in place.
It wouldn’t be Berserk if there wasn’t blood, and that is something that Omega Force made sure to include by the gallons. Pretty much any hit that lands causes a few gallons of claret to go flying. It’s pretty ridiculous, to the point where the player is left wondering how these people are still standing, seeing as how about five peoples’ worth of sanguine serum was just forcefully drawn from their body. People literally get cut in half, helmets go flying from defeated foes, and the player character is progressively covered with more gore as the battle goes on. It’s incredibly satisfying, and adds to the feeling of being in the midst of a giant battle. It could be argued that the over-the-top unrealistic gore increases this feeling as it sells the chaos more effectively. Accomplishing specific tasks during combat, such as destroying a series of catapults, also convey the success and how it affects the battlefield in a more immediate and convincing way. Bank of the Hawk really does have the best battle system of the Musou lineage.
There is one thing that holds this game back from receiving a perfect score, or rather the lack of one thing. Musou, from Dynasty and Samurai Warriors, and on through the series history, has been a staple of my co-op gaming time. With friends and family, I have achieved victory on untold numbers of battlefields. Berserk and the Band of the HawkTetris plus playstation store. is missing this feature, which is to its detriment. It can be understood that Guts goes it alone very often, so removing this from the primary story is understandable. However, allowing players to team up for the brutal, plotless Endless Eclipse mode to attempt to clear the most floors of the “tower” would have not only been acceptable, but extremely welcome. This isn’t the first time that this omission has been made, but missing this hurts the package as a whole.
Closing Comments:
There are so many reasons to pick up Berserk and the Band of the Hawk. Fans of the series will get a chance to play through their favorite battles and see supporting characters get some additional fleshing out. Musou fans will be able to experience one of the most fully-realized series entries that captures the essence of what makes them great, all while telling a top-notch story. People who have never experienced either will be able to check out one of the most grisly titles to hit the market rendered in an accessible, entertaining way. The lack of multiplayer holds Berserk and the Band of the Hawk back from being the greatest Omega Force title, but players who are okay with this will find an experience that both captures the soul of the source material as well as one of the purest, most hyperviolent, titles to hit the market.
Jason Bohn
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk
Version Reviewed: PlayStation 4
Have you ever played a Dynasty Warriors game and thought “Nope, it’s just not violent enough”? If you have, then one, I hope to never meet you in a dark alley, and two, you should be happy to discover that your needs have finally been met; Berserk and the Band of the Hawk takes the typical Dynasty Warriors gameplay and turns it up to eleven, adding shedloads of blood along the way.Based on the popular manga created by, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk tells the story of a solitary mercenary named Guts who crosses paths with an outfit called the Band of the Hawk. Their leader, the rather feminine-looking Griffith, is a charismatic fellow who bests Guts in combat, forcing him to serve under him. With Griffith’s deepest aspirations unveiled to Guts however, their growing admiration for one another leads to a dire turn of events that no one could have ever thought possible.Those already familiar with the story of Berserk, either because of the manga or its anime adaptations, I’m sure will corroborate its brilliance. It’s got action, it’s got horror, it’s got shocking twists and turns; honestly, it rivals Games of Thrones for those “WTF just happened?” moments that we all love. Those going into Berserk and the Band of the Hawk without any prior knowledge of it need not worry though – the game covers events right from the very beginning to its grisly end, possibly making it even more engrossing for them than existing fans.
Spanning six story arcs, Berserk and the Band of Hawk’s story mode is certainly the game’s main draw. It’s quite a lengthy affair, too. Between watching its fantastic anime video scenes and engaging in other distractions between missions, it’s likely to occupy nearly 20 hours of your time; even more if you go back through to collect any Behelits you may have missed in order to unlock some bonus artwork. To be honest though, it can feel a bit drawn out because of its overly repetitive gameplay.Many missions are unquestionably superfluous, just thrown in there to pad out the running time. You’ll be tasked with killing a thousand soldiers, thieves or demons and a handful of more formidable foes time and time again, especially in the latter half of the game; the environments little more than arenas for you to spill blood in.
Don’t get me wrong; it’s always kind of fun to do so, but it can just get a bit tiring. Perhaps if mission objectives were more varied than just pretty much kill everything it wouldn’t be so much of an issue. And Berserk and the Band of the Hawk’s shallow combat doesn’t do much to help matters either, although it does try.Just like Dynasty Warriors, you’ve got standard and charge attacks which can be used to perform a range of preset combos. But from there, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk begins to deviate a little from the tried and tested formula.
The standard “Musou” attack is thrown out of the window in favour of a frenzy system, rewarding multiple charges of a gauge with periods of increased damage and range that turn your enemies into a bloody mess. When in frenzy mode there’s yet another gauge to fill in order to raise hell – the deathblow gauge – allowing you to perform an utterly devastating attack that effectively destroys all enemies around you. About half-way through the game you also gain access to an extended repertoire of ranged sub-attacks, including a cannon and a repeating crossbow. Their low attack power makes them pretty much useless against anything other than the weakest of foes though.Bosses are a bit more involved than your typical Dynasty Warriors fodder too. Often gargantuan in size due to their monstrous nature, locking onto them is pretty much a must just so that you can keep a keen eye on them – though the lock on system is unfortunately a little loose. From there, you’ll need to actively block and evade their range of unique and frenzied attacks if you want to avoid meeting a quick death. Well, that’s providing you’re not playing the game on the easy difficulty level as prompted to when you initially launch the game.
Mindless button bashing is all it takes for you to reach the end with no challenge whatsoever on that difficulty level. Ultimately, then, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk’s combat does indeed have its merits, but they’re just not enough to make it entirely fulfilling. If you do complete story mode and have somehow not grown tired of the basic hack-and-slash gameplay, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk also comes with the standard Free Mode in which you can tackle missions with a number of unlockable characters including Casca, Nosferatu and Griffith. Likely to be of more interest however, is Eclipse Mode, a layer-based battle for survival that becomes a true test of your skill as you plunge deeper into its depths. It’s safe to say that if you do find yourself engrossed in Berserk and the Band of the Hawk’s action, there’s plenty for you to do to get your monies worth.Presentation wise, Berserk and the Band of Hawk isn’t anything special. The soundtrack is suitably rousing and I didn’t have any concerns over its Japanese-only voice acting, but the English subtitles are rather poor, exhibiting many translation errors.
It’s graphically unspectacular too, though at least the framerate holds up even when there are hundreds of enemies on screen. My biggest bugbear with its presentation though is how the anime story scenes cease at the halfway mark. I understand it’s because they’re taken from the film series which currently doesn’t cover the latter half of the story, but it’s still a little disappointing, and leaves the whole thing feeling inconsistent.With its presentation and gameplay issues then, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is far from being perfect. That said, when played often for an hour or so at a time, it can still provide a great deal of mindless fun. Think of it as a potentially great palette cleanser to play in between games of a more complex nature. Its story is undoubtedly its biggest draw though, as it’s simply phenomenal whether you’re already a fan of Berserk or not. Simple, violent and rough around the edges, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is just like its protagonist, Guts, and equally just as endearing in small doses.Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is available on PS4 and PC.
We reviewed the PS4 version.
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