S-Game’s Phantom Blade Zero boasts unreal-looking action. Slick, slicing sword-based action is a small sip of the combat-heavy aura. The initial gameplay videos and trailers have showcased some very familiar gameplay patterns and stylings, but Phantom Blade Zero’s creator is downplaying the Soulslike label.
It seems everyone is making a Soulslike now, and why not? The genre is popular. Elden Ring firmly catapulted the format into the mainstream, and everyone wants a slice of the cake. Phantom Blade Zero certainly has a big emphasis on action, but its creator doesn’t think it falls into one genre.
“Phantom Blade Zero is Neither a Soulslike Nor a Traditional Action Game”
The official Phantom Blade Zero X page recently featured a developer’s letter from the CEO of S-Game—Soulframe Liang—who talked about the upcoming action title.
“When Phantom Blade Zero was first announced, people thought it was a “Soulslike.” Later, after we released some combat demo, people noticed that the pace was clearly much faster than Soulslike titles—it must be a “hack and slash” game like Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden,” they explained.
Liang talks about genres and stereotypes and how people are always eager to classify a piece of media with a label. They then clarify: “Phantom Blade Zero is neither a Soulslike game nor a traditional action game.“
Liang believes the game is closer to an “ARPG” and thinks it could be its own genre: “Wuxia Action Games.”
So What Is Phantom Blade Zero? A developer’s letter from Soulframe — CEO of S-GAME, Creator of Phantom Blade Zero
It could be classified as a dancing, musical action game right now. The main thing is that it looks very good. The game still doesn’t have a release date, so we’ll keep waiting for more information. Are you looking forward to it? Drop your thoughts via the Insider Gaming forum.
Square Enix making more turn-based games, and Little Nightmares 3 getting a release date are hot news stories to read.
1 reply
Loading new replies...
Moderator
Join the full discussion at the Insider Gaming Forums →