Colonies

Overview

Colonies are the surviving human settlements in Beast of Reincarnation, scattered across the game's post-apocalyptic Japan in the year 4026. These are the last pockets of human civilization, isolated communities that have endured two millennia of Blight corruption by walling themselves off from the outside world. The journey from one colony to the next forms the backbone of the game's linear progression structure.

Isolation and fear

Each colony operates in relative isolation, with limited contact between settlements due to the dangers of traveling through Blight-corrupted territory. The spaces between colonies are filled with Malefacts and corrupted landscapes, making overland travel extremely hazardous for anyone without the means to fight through or navigate around the threats.

Within these communities, there is a deep-seated fear of the Blight and anything associated with it. This fear explains the treatment of Emma, who grew up feared and shunned within her colony because of her Blight affliction. Her vine-like hair, sprouting flowers, and other physical manifestations of the Blight mark her as something between human and corrupted in the eyes of colonists, leading to her isolation and eventual departure.

Structure and journey

The game is not open-world. Director Kota Furushima has described the world structure as "one long, very wide path," with Emma and Koo traveling from the east of Japan toward the far west, heading for Kyoto. The journey is broken up into district levels, evoking the real-life mountainous trek from the Kanto region to Kyoto.

Each district is divided into Zones, each containing a powerful Nushi. Defeating the Nushi in a Zone unlocks advancement to the next one, gating progression through boss encounters. Zones vary in layout: some are wide open areas, others are densely packed, and some feature significant elevation changes. While the paths are described as "straight, but wide," each Zone provides room for side exploration using Emma's plant abilities like vine grapples and wall climbing.

Colonies serve as narrative waypoints between Zones where the story develops through interactions with NPCs, including characters like Brad and Kagura. These settlements provide the human context for the game's themes about the relationship between civilization and the natural world that has overtaken it.

Thematic role

Colonies represent what remains of humanity's attempt to control or resist nature's reclamation of the world. After 2,000 years of Blight corruption, the remnants of human society have retreated behind walls, creating small habitable zones while the vast majority of Japan has been consumed by corrupted wilderness. The contrast between the safety of colony walls and the dangerous beauty of the blighted forests outside them is central to the game's visual and thematic identity.