Berserk and the Band of the Hawk

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is mindlessly repetitive, but its combat is still somehow addictive enough to be an enjoyable action game with a dark-fantasy story that stays true to its source, most suitable for fans of Berserk. It even left me craving to try out new characters in Endless Abyss Mode. But it desperately needs more challenge and variety to carry it through its campaign, especially considering you can't bring a friend with you.

Anime's most well known hack-and-slashing mercenary joins gaming's most prolific hack-and-slash series with mixed results.

Do you want to slice some demons into little meat chunks as a troubled badass, and perhaps missed out on the great Dreamcast and PS2 renditions of Berserk? Get Band of the Hawk. Seeing the story continue past the Golden Age is enough for an enthusiast to buy in. Otherwise, wait for the price to match what's being offered.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk's fate is to be branded as yet another not-so-great initial effort from Omega Force. While the release does get a decent amount right – the story mode is nicely done in places and the fundamental combat mechanics are super satisfying – it stumbles on several fronts. Again, we're left with a Warriors game that's begging for a much improved sequel. Fans of Berserk will enjoy bathing in the blood for a good few hours, but it's hard to ignore the cracks at this sword's core.

This title is a good entry point to first experience Berserk for any newcomers to the series. Longtime fans may be annoyed by the reuse of scenes from the Golden Age movies and wish other arcs past that point received more attention - I know I did. But the game's addictive and satisfying combat ensures Berserk and the Band of the Hawk will remain installed on my PS4 throughout 2017.

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.

Perhaps the source material is too dark and violent to really tout this game, however, if you're a fan of the series you should absolutely consider picking it up. Some minor performance or gameplay issues don't really mar the experience – which is to say Berserk is one of my all-time favorite pieces of fiction.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is OK for devoted fans of the original work, who rarely play games. For everyone else this is another dull project in the series - with the same type of missions and depressing monotony of the gameplay.

Berserk and the Band of the Hawk its one of the simpliest Musou games that Koei Tecmo has made. It is not a bad game by any means but it also doesn't offer anything different or new from what we have saw in any other titles from the genre and one that, sadly, doesn't fully capture the escence of the story that its based on. Simply put, is one game that fans from the original manga or anime will enjoy, but also one that other players will forget really quick.

If you’re a fan of gory sword-and-sorcery anime, you may have seen Berserk, either the 90s version or the more recent CGI movies and series.