Berserk and the Band of the Hawk

 PlayStation 4
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Mixed or average reviews - based on 53 Critic Reviews What's this?

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7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 96 Ratings

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  • Summary: This story is set in a time of chaos, in a land where the Midland Kingdom and the Chuder Empire have been locked in a widespread war for over one hundred years. During one battle, a lone mercenary, Guts, attracts the attention of the mercenaries of the Band of the Hawk, and is ambushed byThis story is set in a time of chaos, in a land where the Midland Kingdom and the Chuder Empire have been locked in a widespread war for over one hundred years. During one battle, a lone mercenary, Guts, attracts the attention of the mercenaries of the Band of the Hawk, and is ambushed by some of them on the road. After losing in a duel to the leader of the Hawks, Griffith, Guts is forced to join their band, where he acquires many new comrades, including a woman named Casca, a Unit Commander in the band. With Guts fighting as the Raiders Captain, the Band of the Hawk continues to come off victorious in all of their battles, and finally earns recognition from the King of Midland himself. Fighting now under the Midland banner, the Band raids a castle occupied by a legendary swordsman and rumored immortal named Nosferatu Zodd. Zodd defeats both Guts and Griffith, but in the last moment he notices the Crimson Behelit that Griffith wears around his neck, and leaves without killing them. The Band of the Hawk continues to gain fame on the battlefield, and in the end, using only 5000 men fighting with their backs to the river, manages to capture the impregnable Fortress of Doldrey. This victory brings the end to the war between Midland and Chuder. [KOEI]… Expand
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 53
  2. Mixed: 34 out of 53
  3. Negative: 1 out of 53
  1. TheSixthAxis
    Feb 21, 2017
    90
    Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is the pinnacle of musou games, as far as I’m concerned. Omega Force and Koei Tecmo have experimented with the formula for years, and everything they’ve learned and perfected has led up to this game. Berserk Musou gives you the addictive, outrageous hack-and-slash combat musou games have had for ages. It gives you the unique characters and varied mission structures that musou games have only had in the last few years. And on top of that it gives you a gripping, mature, and masterful narrative that a musou game has never had. Until now.
  2. Everyeye.it
    Feb 21, 2017
    80
    Although it is not without some flaws typical of the kind of game, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is an unmissable product for all gamers who grew up reading the immeasurable dark fantasy epic of Miura genius: the title manages to translate perfectly in pure action as appreciated in the pages eponymous manga.
  3. IGN Italia
    Feb 21, 2017
    79
    A standard musou experience, graced by an impressive narrative universe that makes it unmissable for the fans... and rather boring for anyone else.
  4. Arcade Sushi
    Feb 21, 2017
    70
    Berserk and the Band of the Hawk could have been more than a simple re-issuing of the same Warriors formula that Omega Force has perfected over the years, but instead this is merely a re-telling of the Berserk story with a lot of emphasis on the Square and Triangle buttons.
  5. 4Players.de
    Feb 24, 2017
    68
    I can’t think of another franchise, whose hero is so well suited to be the star of a musou game than Guts of the Berserk manga. Having said that mechanically this is a step back, while in terms of storytelling, no musou game has ever been this atmospheric and tense – mainly thanks to the extensive inclusion of original anime scenes.
  6. IGN
    Feb 21, 2017
    63
    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.
  7. Metro GameCentral
    Feb 27, 2017
    30
    An astonishingly shallow and repetitive game even by Dynasty Warriors standards, and one that’s unlike to satisfy even the most hardcore fan.

See all 53 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 14
  3. Negative: 3 out of 14
  1. SpookyScaryWuf
    Feb 22, 2017
    10
    A brutal experience for any fan of the Black Swordsman. A truly faithful adaptation to the manga and the animes (with actual scenes from theA brutal experience for any fan of the Black Swordsman. A truly faithful adaptation to the manga and the animes (with actual scenes from the Golden Age arc). If you've got a weak stomach, stay away from this game.… Expand
  2. FGTdamned
    Jan 7, 2023
    10
    fking awesome i liked it i dream about it im bussing rn fr help meee im gonna die
  4. raineye
    Feb 22, 2017
    10
    It's no cut!

    and Berserk!! Better then Japan type. Good Graphics and good actions, good animation of character good weapons , good    It's no cut!

    and Berserk!!

    Better then Japan type.

    Good Graphics and good actions, good animation of character
    good weapons , good voices,
    It's good game.    … Expand
  5. peck324
    Apr 8, 2017
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Here's my review of Berserk and the Band of the Hawks (Spoilers):
    Story: The story is pretty long, but in a good way. Took me 13 hours to beat the game in which it included missions from the movie and in the manga later on. The story takes place where your introduced Guts as a mercenary to where you team up with Zodd to fight against the Thunder Demon (Forgot his name lol). I admit this was my first time seeing Berserk and I love it thanks to this game!
    Gameplay: Like most One Piece games its still categorized as a simple bet 'em up game. But this fits perfect for Berserk as Guts uses his Giant Cleaver (Dragon Slayer as its named) sword to slaughter so many demons (As told in the Manga, he literally slays more than a thousand demons just to get his revenge on Griffith.) and the combos are pretty intense on multiple enemies. As for character selection it depends how the story goes, but after completing the game, you are free to choose whoever you want beside Guts (My favorite is Judeau). The items/accessories that are shown in the game are useful in any difficulty. The Berserk armor is a BAMF, just wanted to put it out there lol!
    Mechanic: Again like any other beat 'em up game, executions are great and no lag inputs. Only problem is the camera function because I'm always thinking that pressing L3 would revert the camera behind Guts/The Character but for some reason it does not have that input.
    Conclusion: Story was intense, Combos are fun and easy to use, and the camera mechanics still needs some work. This game fits in the category for this anime. If you don't know or if your really interested in it. I recommend getting this for experience wise or search for the anime series and then get the game for again, experience purpose.
    Final Verdict:
    7.5/10 - Its a great game, but it gets repetitively boring from time to time.
    Buy or Not Buy:
    Buy - If you are a fan of this anime.
    Rent:
    No - If you want to pay the rent fee for it.    … Expand
  6. djinvasion21
    Jul 13, 2017
    7
    Even after playing a few chapters of this game and of course knowing about the anime story behind it. I really wanted to see what Koei TecmoEven after playing a few chapters of this game and of course knowing about the anime story behind it. I really wanted to see what Koei Tecmo has done to the story line. I see a mixture of the story and cutscenes from the anime put your heart in the right place. Talking to Koei Tecmo they also developed the Dynasty Warriors franchise so you will definitely see some cross between the game play and mechanics with Berserk. I noticed it a lot more on Easy difficulty which allows you to play the story line easier and faster. What do I mean by faster meaning just like Dynasty Warriors I can walk up to a group of enemy shoulders and they probably wouldn't hit me for a few minutes.

    This is truly a hack and slash game. Not a lot of different "finishers" if you would like to call it that. Not very complex combo moves which can be a hit or miss to many who play. But I do like that you can have enhancements that are picked up to make your character whether its Guts or Griffith better at defeating enemies... OR help you pick up drops more effectively.

    Not a $60 game which is why I rented it instead but probably should fall short of that based on the playability. Would I play this again probably not once the story mode was completed. But they do offer a Free Mode (Free roaming) and other side-games that you can entertain yourself with.

    Also for any parents out there that are already letting your child play a mature game, they have a Gore option - you can turn it off, but you can't turn off the weird "hell" bizarre things that happen in this game towards the beginning and end.

    Take it how you see it, I like both Berserk and Dynasty Warriors and what a great way to vent after a crap day by playing a hack and slash that combines your favorite anime with a long time favorite series.    … Expand
  7. SuperkenGaming
    Feb 24, 2017
    6
    Berserk and the Band of the Hawk
    Mindless Hack and Slash
    Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is a Dynasty Warriors style hack and slash game    Berserk and the Band of the Hawk
    Mindless Hack and Slash
    Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is a Dynasty Warriors style hack and slash game based on the Japanese manga Berserk..
    It tells the story of a lone mercenary named Guts as well as the leader of the Band of the Hawk Griffith who is promised a kingdom by an egg shaped necklace he obtains as a boy…
    The whole story is centered around this prophecy which leads to many unexpected twists and turns.
    This game is about 14 hours long and is spread across 46 main missions...
    Unfortunately this game is extremely repetitive saved only by its story…
    The game is told through a mixture of still dialog, a few animated 3d scenes, and my favorite of the mixture an anime style..
    There is unfortunately no English dub here, so if you don’t speak Japanese you do have to play the game with subtitles on…
    And as the game goes on it sadly ventures away from delivering the story with anime cut scenes… which is when all interest in the game and its characters disappear... you’re essentially left only with reading dialog…
    And it’s a shame because the gameplay here isn’t enough to keep the game interesting…
    From start to finish its all the same…
    Get thrown into a mission.. go to the points of interest on the map and kill your targets there until there’s a new point of interest, rinse and repeat…
    And the level design is so bland and uninteresting that it eventually starts feeling like a grind despite the quick pace of you being able to slice through most enemies like warm butter…
    You can play a few missions as other characters as well as unlock new character to play in free mode and endless eclipse mode, but everyone feels practically the same so it doesn’t matter…
    in combat you have a light and heavy attack… you also have ranged weapons, and consumable slots to temporarily boost stats..
    You slice through enemies to fill up a bar to then do more damage while you’re invulnerable for a few seconds to fill up another bar to unleash a power attack killing most enemies in the surrounding area…
    rinse and repeat...
    at the end of each mission you get your spoils of war to equip accessories on your characters as well as upgrade items and their stats by using stones or unwanted items…
    So you can slice through the spongier enemies a little easier…
    they’re also a few bosses thrown in here that are really well designed…
    but rarely feel anything more than normal enemies with larger health bars…
    These rare encounters are the only time you’ll find yourself dodging or blocking..
    Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is carried by its interesting story and characters that I genuinely loved…
    I just wish there was more to the game than the same mission copy and pasted 46 times for 14 hours with some story sandwiched in between them.
    I give Berserk and the Band of the Hawk
    a 6.5/10    … Expand
  8. shootingstars99
    Sep 5, 2019
    0
    What happens when you cross Dynasty Warriors with baby's first seinen manga series? Apparently a dumpster fire worse than the worst KingdomWhat happens when you cross Dynasty Warriors with baby's first seinen manga series? Apparently a dumpster fire worse than the worst Kingdom Hearts game...

    I guess if you are a Berserk fan, your mind can only handle hitting one button repeatedly while fighting the same enemies throughout the same three backgrounds. At least this game serves as a containment of sorts from keeping brain dead idiots from getting into anything of substance and keeps their grubby, Cheeto powdered hands off of actually good franchises... If you like your Tolkien knock offs with rape, rape and more rape, you haven't quite figured out games with two button combat, and you like your main characters that carry around 7 foot long swords because they are compensating for having a short sword where it counts, this might be your game of the year.    … Expand

See all 14 User Reviews

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