What Tales of Berseria is
Tales of Berseria is an action RPG played from a third-person view, with fast hack-and-slash combat and a heavy focus on story. You take the role of Velvet, a young woman whose kind nature was buried under anger and hatred after a traumatic event three years before the game begins. The story frames itself as emotion against reason, and it follows Velvet as she works through what happened to her and what she has become.
Velvet joins a crew of pirates and sails the sea, visiting the many islands of the sacred kingdom of Midgand. That gives the game an open-world feel as you travel between locations rather than staying in one place. Cutscenes are animated by ufotable, and Velvet herself was designed by Mutsumi Inomata, veteran character designer for the Tales series.
Playing it with friends
The Steam features list Remote Play Together, so someone who owns the game can invite others along through that feature. The store tags also include Co-op, Local Co-Op and Multiplayer, so there is group play available rather than only a solo run. Check how your group wants to set this up before anyone commits to a long session, since the story is a big part of the experience and the co-op side sits alongside it.
Before you start
This is a long, story-rich JRPG, so expect a substantial time investment if you want to see Velvet's journey through. The tags include Sexual Content and Nudity alongside the anime and fantasy presentation, so it is worth knowing that the game does not hold back on mature material. It also carries a great soundtrack and animated cutscenes that carry much of the emotional weight, so playing with sound on and watching the scenes rather than skipping them matters if you care about the narrative.