I’ve been in this job for seven years now. During that time, I have never previewed a game more than once. Phantom Blade Zero, though? I previewed it four times, with my latest coming from China earlier this month. I saw great potential in it and was highly optimistic, but previews can be misleading, with developers controlling which segments we get to play.
Any minor fears I might have had, however, have now been washed away. Over the course of a week, I spent 45 hours exploring every nook of the world S-Game created, and I can say with great confidence that it announces the studio to the world with aplomb, as Phantom Blade Zero really does have the sauce.
Framed For A Murder That You Did Commit
You play as Soul. A former member of The Order and a man framed for killing his former master and the group’s leader. What unfolds is a huge conspiracy as a villainous clan forces the Transcension on the world around them, turning people into faceless, soulless puppets— literally and metaphorically.
It blends a grounded kung-fu tale, bristling with likable characters, each with their own human motives, with the surreal and supernatural, occasionally sprinkling in a little bit of cyberpunk. With so many moving parts, it could easily get messy, trying to tie three distinct storytelling genres into one, but S-Game sticks the landing. Never was I confused about why something was happening, never did anything feel forced, and the last 30 minutes had me beaming from ear to ear.
An ending can make or break any piece of media, and Phantom Blade Zero’s absolutely made it. Having completed every task required to get the “true” ending, everything wrapped up perfectly. It was an epic culmination of everything that had happened so far. Small moments came back to have a giant impact, and it harkened back to some of the best moments the game had thrown my way.
These small interactions showed humanity in a world so devoid of it.
While Soul is the central character in Phantom Blade Zero, S-Game clearly wanted to make a world that, despite facing impending ruin, felt alive. Memory flowers, collectibles that increase your HP pool, tell the stories of those who have lived and died, and letters and items scattered around further enhance the narrative. I’m often guilty of skipping these in games; I read every single one here.
The stories made for some nice reading, and I fell in love with some of the characters I met on my journey. Old Man Gen just wanted to see his wife one last time; Young Master Lan showed honorable intentions; and, my favorite, a masked figure tried to reverse the effects of the Transcendence, with a tale that reaches a wholesome conclusion. These small interactions showed humanity in a world so devoid of it.
Combat Taken To A Higher Plane
Phantom Blade Zero has drawn some Soulslike comparisons. It’s anything but. Enemies don’t respawn, you don’t lose your currency on death, and combat is much faster-paced and combo-driven. Sure, parrying and dodging are key, but it’s way more Devil May Cry than it is Dark Souls.
Having seen the lengths the S-Game team and its mo-cap actors went to make things feel authentic, with the help of the legendary Donnie Yen, I was excited to see how that translated into the core Phantom Blade Zero experience. I’d felt exceedingly positive about things based on my previews, but the weapons I got to use during those previews were often pre-selected. I wanted to experiment on my own.
The game offers 30 core weapons, each falling into a different category: One-Handed, Two-Handed, and Dual Wield, each coming with its own distinct set of strengths and weaknesses. Dual Wield weapons often offered much faster attacks at the cost of power; Two-Handed weapons were the opposite, and One-Handed weapons struck a balance between the two.
Most impressively, each weapon had its own set of animations and finishing moves. The effort put into this must have been gargantuan, and it paid off, giving Phantom Blade Zero some of the coolest, slickest combat I’ve ever played. I never got tired of decapitating my faceless foes or cleaving them with my polearm.
It’s not a case of style over substance, either. Phantom Blade Zero has both in abundance. Everything looked and felt great, but each weapon could also meaningfully evolve as the game went on, and I never felt shoehorned into using one weapon for the whole game.
Weapons could be leveled up to 30, gaining new skills at certain milestones. These could turn the most basic of swords into complete killing machines, and there is no meaty punishment for respecing. If you decide to give a weapon a shot and use your Remnant Dust and materials to upgrade it, but it doesn’t work out, you can revert it and get back everything you used. One of Phantom Blade Zero’s ethos seems to be respecting your time and not creating unnecessary friction.
Phantom Edges deepened combat. These secondary weapons, usually gained from defeating bosses, have limited uses but can turn the tide in battle. Also upgradable to level 30, these weapons ranged from chain sickles, thunder-infused spears, and humungous axes to giant cannons, a lion-headed flamethrower, and even a horse-drawn chariot.
Builds could then be further enhanced with a range of accessories, each offering a unique perk, a skill tree, and a variety of medicines with different benefits, making certain ones useful in different situations. You’ll need to put everything into practice with some of Phantom Blade Zero’s bosses.
Phantom Blade Zero has some of the most memorable boss fights of any game I’ve played, occasionally rivaling my favorite game of all time, Elden Ring. Never lacking creativity, these bosses, often multi-phased, ranged from rapid shoguns and crazed puppets to hulking behemoths and fire-breathing lion dancers.
There was a touch of the Souls with the way the boss fights played out, but as was the case with my whole playthrough, I could see the path S-Game was carving. Epic fights, great arenas, and one of the coolest soundtracks to date.
Another way in which S-Game respects its players’ time is by restarting boss fights at later phases after death. This may be a controversial move, but there’s nothing more frustrating than dying at the end of a boss’s second phase and having to do the whole thing again.
The music adhered to Phantom Blade Zero’s Chinese setting, using a base of traditional sounds and instruments, but songs were often blended with contemporary Western genres. Being a metal enjoyer, hearing the fusion of deathcore screaming and Chinese instrumentation will stick with me for a long time, but mixtures of trap, EDM, and dance had me bopping.
Anxiety-Inducing Exploration
Although the bosses had shades of Souls games, Phantom Blade Zero most closely resembles them in its intricate level design. Phantom Blade Zero spans several diverse biomes: a vast wooded area, a crimson forest, a dilapidated village, an abandoned city, a great lake, and two mountainous areas. The game is linear by design, but its environments beg for exploration.
The critical path is never far away from a hidden alleyway or disguised path, often leading to secret bosses, crafting items, or powerful equipment. It was almost anxiety-inducing how much there was to do outside of the main story, but I was so engrossed in the game, I didn’t want to miss a thing.
The Phantom Edges that you’ll be using in combat also often double up as exploration tools. The chained scythes become nifty grappling hooks for crossing large gaps, your giant axe can destroy blocked paths, and the lion-headed flamethrower can clear overgrown areas. On your travels, you may notice areas that are locked behind a Phantom Edge you don’t have yet, and in a typical game, you’d be expected to remember where they were so you could return. S-Game’s determination to respect your time returns here.
As you discover these locked, currently inaccessible areas, a mark will be put in the general location on your map. Some will argue this is babying players, but it’s far less of a “yellow paint” situation and more of a gentle reminder of where you should return. As somebody invested in seeing as much of the game as possible, I appreciated this touch.
Phantom Blade Zero took a slightly bizarre turn when I reached the lake, and it felt almost Wind Waker-inspired. Multiple islands bustling with activity were scattered around, and I had to hop between them by boat. Initially, I turned my nose up at this — why am I driving a boat in a game like this?— but after hitting my first couple of islands, it clicked, and it was a nice change of pace from roaming on foot. I was excited to see what friends and foes each one held.
While there was a bit of early jank, and I had to play on Performance Mode on my base PS5 because Graphical Mode struggled a little with frame rates, Phantom Blade Zero evoked shades of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Not in how it looked, felt, played, or even sounded, but in how S-Game took an established genre and put its own spin on it with refined and masterful craftsmanship. The early jank was quickly forgotten as I explored its stunning world, ripping and tearing through puppets and transcended alike.
It has some all-time great boss battles, a phenomenal soundtrack that fuses Chinese sounds with contemporary genres, and a story that tugged on the strings of even my cold, tainted heart. Phantom Blade Zero is a genuine Game of the Year contender and is one deserving of a place in action-game folklore.
