Throughout most of the game, Velvet is at odds with the company she keeps and finds herself stuck between two very different worlds. The foil creates an uneasy tension, and, at times, adds a much-needed reprieve from Velvet’s cruelty.
The other half of the experience comes in the form of combat. The trademark Tales real-time battles return in “Tales of Berseria,” but not without some changes. Encounters take place in an open 3D space where the gamer is free to move, attack, and block at his own pace.
“Tales of Berseria” removes the Technical Points bar and replaces it with the Soul Gauge, which is similar in that it dictates how long the gamer can chain together combat and spell arties.
However, unlike in previous games, the gamer can steal souls from his opponents by knocking them out or stunning them.
The Soul Gauge doesn’t change the flow of combat too much, but it does add a bit more fluidity to it.
The combat of “Tales of Berseria” allows for plenty of experimentation. The game offers a wide variety of artes (abilities) across all six party members, and as long as the gamer has enough souls, he can chain any of them together to create unique combos.