Bleach Rebirth Of Souls Review

I’ve been a big Bleach fan since the anime hit it’s peak popularity in the mid 2000s. Back in the anime’s heyday, I spent countless hours battling it out in the Bleach DS games, and for years, I kept hoping we’d see the series return to the world of video games. Now, after over a decade, Bleach: Rebirth of Souls has arrived on PS5, marking the first console Bleach game in 14 years. Naturally, I was both excited and a little wary—anime tie-in games are notoriously hit or miss. But once Bandai Namco started putting real marketing muscle behind it, my hopes began to rise.

Thankfully, Rebirth of Souls delivers. Not only is it a fantastic Bleach game, but it’s also a genuinely fun and engaging fighting game in its own right. From its story content to its combat mechanics, it’s clear a lot of love went into making this a high-quality experience.

One of my biggest surprises with Rebirth of Souls was just how much effort went into its story mode. This isn’t a quick, surface-level retelling of the anime’s highlights—it’s a fully fleshed-out adaptation that takes you from the very start of Ichigo Kurosaki’s journey all the way through the end of the Arrancar arc.

The story isn’t just told through static text boxes either. There are full in-engine cutscenes for most of the major moments, complete with impressive cinematography that brings classic scenes from the anime to life. Even when the game does resort to static-image flashback sequences, they’re done with a unique artistic flair, featuring fresh and stylish artwork. It never feels lazy—everything about the presentation screams quality.

Best of all? The game is fully voiced, with the original cast from the anime reprising their roles. Hearing Johnny Yong Bosch as Ichigo again instantly transported me back to the days of late-night Bleach marathons. The performances are top-tier, adding an extra layer of authenticity and quality to the experience.

Clocking in at around 25 hours, the story mode is meaty enough that even newcomers to Bleach can get a solid grasp of the series’ characters, world, and major events. It also serves as a fantastic refresher for longtime fans like myself. It’s rare for anime-based games to put this much effort into their campaign, but Rebirth of Souls makes it clear that very few corners were cut.

Beyond the main campaign, there’s also a Secret Story Mode, which was another unexpected highlight. Instead of just rehashing events from the anime, this mode features original stories, giving us new interactions between characters and fresh scenarios to explore. 

It’s always a risk when games introduce original story content, but everything here feels authentic to Bleach’s tone and lore. It’s a welcome addition that extends the single-player experience even further, offering something new even for die-hard fans who already know the main story inside and out.

Outside of the story, Rebirth of Souls packs in several other gameplay modes. The Offline Battle Mode includes local versus play, offline missions that offer serious challenges and the training area. These missions reward points, which can be spent at Urahara’s store to customize characters and boost their stats. There’s also an Online Battle Mode that lets you take on players from around the world. I haven’t spent too much time here since I typically gravitate toward single-player content, but from what I played, the netcode seemed stable, and the battles were intense.

At launch, Rebirth of Souls features 33 playable characters. That may seem small compared to some anime fighters that boast massive rosters, but in this case, less is more.

Rather than bloating the selection with clones and filler characters, every fighter in Rebirth of Souls feels carefully crafted and unique. Each character has distinct playstyles—some excel at close-range melee, others are mid-range specialists, and some dominate with long-range projectile attacks. This diversity makes the gameplay feel fresh, as you constantly have to adjust your approach depending on your opponent.

If you’re the type of player who loves mastering multiple characters, there’s a lot of depth to explore. But even if you prefer to main just a few fighters, battles never feel stale, thanks to how differently each matchup plays out, and it will pay to understand the capabilities of all fighters, that way you can approach that combat with a suitable strategy.

Speaking of battles, Rebirth of Souls isn’t just a button-masher. The combat system is surprisingly deep, with mechanics that reward strategy and skill.

At first, the game throws a lot of complex terminology at you, which can be overwhelming. Thankfully, the earlier missions in story mode do a solid job of teaching you the basics. There’s a learning curve, but once you get a handle on the flow of combat, it all starts to feel natural.

Fights follow a structured rhythm—building up energy, executing powerful special moves or awakenings, and managing defensive options to turn the tide of battle. The game leans more towards PvP battles and single-player progression rather than being a hardcore competitive fighter like Tekken or Street Fighter. If you were hoping for the next esports-level fighting game, this might not be it. But for a fun and engaging Bleach fighting experience, it’s just about perfect.

Rebirth of Souls absolutely nails the Bleach aesthetic. The menus are sleek and stylish, the character models look fantastic, and the original artwork used throughout the game is top-notch. While some character models can look a little stiff in cutscenes, this is a minor nitpick in an otherwise a pretty visually impressive game.

Then there’s the soundtrack, which is a banger. Bleach has always had a distinctive musical identity, blending hard rock with hip-hop beats, and Rebirth of Souls continues that tradition beautifully. There’s even an Extras mode where you can listen to tracks from the game’s score, and I found myself replaying certain songs. Hopefully the original soundtrack makes it way to streaming platforms soon, because it will go right into my regular rotation.

While Rebirth of Souls is a fantastic package, there are a few areas that could be touched up. Some cutscene character models feel a little stiff when it comes to specific animations. It’s not a massive issue by any means, but is quite noticeable when it occurs. The story mode also doesn’t cover the full Bleach saga, stopping at the Arrancar arc, which is a tad disappointing. However, the season pass has already been announced, so it’s possible we’ll see future expansions that bring in later arcs like Thousand-Year Blood War. There have also been numerous performance issues reported on PC version of the game, though I had zero issues on PS5. Hopefully, future patches will smooth out any technical hiccups.

Fortunately, none of these issues are fundamental design flaws. The core gameplay, story, and combat systems are all rock-solid, meaning any needed improvements can be handled through patches and DLC.

Final Thoughts

After 14 years, it’s surreal to finally have another Bleach game to sink my teeth into—and Rebirth of Souls doesn’t disappoint. It’s a love letter to the series, packed with great storytelling, fun combat, and an impressive presentation that captures everything I love about Bleach.

It might not be the next competitive fighting game juggernaut, but for Bleach fans and anime fighting game lovers, it’s a must-play. And if it performs well, maybe—just maybe—we won’t have to wait another decade for the next one.

A PS5 review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.

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