Getting Started in Beast of Reincarnation

Treat parrying as the core skill to learn first -- successful parries not only avoid damage but fill the FP Gauge that powers Koo's Bloom Art commands, so a purely dodge-focused playstyle leaves you with far fewer tools.
Watch both gauges on an enemy: the health bar and the separate Down Gauge. Filling the Down Gauge opens a powerful takedown window, so don't just chip health -- landing consistent hits to build the Down Gauge is often the faster kill.
Each Nushi (boss) you defeat expands both your narrative progress and your combat options -- their power is absorbed as new Bloom Arts for Koo, so bosses function as the game's real skill-gating system rather than pure difficulty walls.
The game supports three distinct playstyles confirmed by the developers: melee aggression, stealth assassination, and ranged bow/crossbow play -- experiment early since equipment (katanas, bows, charms, Spirit Stones) meaningfully changes which of these fits your combat feel.
SSD installation is not optional -- both the minimum and recommended official specs require it, and the developer has warned that installing on an HDD will cause severe asset streaming issues given how the world's environments are built.