Phantom Blade Zero has been a long time coming. In the vein of other recent games with a long development cycle (like Black Myth Wukong), S-GAME has been taking their time to make sure the game is done right. At Summer Game Fest, my very first appointment was giving Phantom Blade Zero a try. Although you can see a few rough edges that most certainly can be attributed to the delay to October 29th, the core gameplay feels tight and well-executed; fans of this genre are going to be delighted in the fall.
I didn’t get any narrative information during this demo, as the team had us focused on the combat and feel of the gameplay. For those unfamiliar with the game, you take on the role of Soul, an assassin who is trying to find the person who murdered the leader of the organization you work for. I’m sure things won’t be as they seem, as a conspiracy almost certainly exists below the surface.
As much as players will want to understand the ins and outs of Soul’s motivations, action RPGs are about… well, the action. This was on display immediately — the path to the camp I was heading towards was packed with bad guys. Each enemy type has its own set of moves, so learning the cadence is paramount to defeating them. There’s a certain butthole on a horse that I absolutely hated the few times I came across one; his attacks are rather annoying along with the prancing around.
Taking on an opponent will require your utmost diligence. While not as brutally difficult as a Soulsike, it’s still pretty dang hard. Similar to Dark Souls, if you end up taking on too many enemies at the same time, you’re going to have a tough time. It’s easy to end up in a loop, stuck as three baddies slice or strike away at you. On the plus side, it feels incredibly good to one up a foe, again, just like the satisfaction you get from a kill in a Soulslike.
One of the coolest parts of Phantom Blade Zero is your kit. There is a ton of variety, with things like daggers, a regular sword, or a longsword in your primary slot, with heavy weapons like axes, a bow, and more in the secondary slot. Each has its own windup and timings to learn, and they’re quickly swappable in the menu in between combat encounters.
Combat itself is a blend of God of War brutality and Dark Souls precision. It’s fast, with a wealth of combos to enjoy, but still requires you to think through your strikes in order to be effective. Dodging and parrying specific attacks gives you the most capacity to really hammer an enemy, as the stagger opens them up for big combos. Phantom Blade Zero rewards patience by allowing you to wreck somebody, and it's simply epic.
When you get an enemy’s health down enough, a bloody and brutal finisher is available, which is a blast to do. Beyond this, your charged strikes and super strike ability is flashy and over-the-top, and deals a great deal of damage. If you don't want to fight head on, you can sneak up behind and get a heavy blow in. It doesn't always kill them, but it does make the fight easier. You can also just run away as I did, avoiding a swath of soldiers altogether.
If you're concerned by my mention of how tough Phantom Blade Zero can be, you shouldn't be. Thankfully for someone like me who doesn't vibe with Soulslikes, there are quite a few omissions to the usual formula, and one big addition. As far as I could tell, hitting a checkpoint doesn't respawn enemies. Besides that, dying doesn't put you back at square one or require you to locate your body. You just reload and try again. Lastly, there are three difficulty settings, which should open up the game to more players. If that doesn't convince you to give it a try, I don't know what will.
My time with Phantom Blade Zero felt very well spent. There is definitely polish needed – some of the visuals and frame rate were rough. That said, the core gameplay is here and there's a lot of depth to be found, even in an early build. If S-GAME keeps on pressing in their journey to release, they are going to make awards season that much more packed. Phantom Blade Zero launches October 29th, 2026. You can pre-order now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series consoles.
