I’ve now had the chance to spend almost 10 hours with Phantom Blade Zero across two back-to-back preview events. The first came at Gamescom this summer, but shortly after that, I was flown out to China to get a closer look behind the scenes and soak up even more hands-on time with S-Game’s breakout title.
Ten hours is a long time to spend with a game, and both of my previews essentially gave me free rein to explore. I sat down, hit New Game, and, aside from being whisked away to some late-game bosses towards the end, got to freely experience the opening five hours of Phantom Blade Zero—twice.
You’d think that, after replaying the same opening sections almost back-to-back, I’d be dreading playing through them for a third time when the game launches on October 29. The reality, however, couldn’t be further from it.
Phantom Blade Zero is simply an insanely good action game, and for reasons I’ll dive into below, I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I got home.
The Whole Package
There’s an age-old saying that something can have style over substance, quality over quantity, with games often prioritising one over the other. When you play Phantom Blade Zero, however, it’s obvious that S-Game hasn’t held back on either, with its combat oozing just as much flair as it does mechanical depth.
That notion becomes immediately apparent in the game’s opening act, and while I can’t reveal what sets the story in motion, it’s clear from the outset that Phantom Blade Zero is prepared to deliver both blockbuster action and jaw-dropping spectacle in equal measure.
That philosophy carries throughout the rest of the game, too, and I genuinely can’t stress enough how fluid the action feels. I can attest firsthand to how much effort S-Game has put into its motion capture, with kung-fu legend Donnie Yen serving not only as the Gold Masked One, but also as the head of the game’s mocap team.
Every action feels simultaneously believable and supernatural, regardless of which weapon you’re wielding. And there are plenty to choose from, with 30 weapons planned for the game.
I got to try around 10 of them during my previews, and each one genuinely altered my playstyle to some degree, with their own unique animations and movesets. It’s an impressive level of variety, especially when those weapons are combined with Phantom Edges, which serve as secondary weapons, and charms.
There’s a huge amount of potential for build crafting, and Phantom Blade Zero actively encourages you to experiment. Redirecting your resources into different weapons isn’t difficult, either, meaning you’re never locked into one particular setup.
But my favourite part is how you actually obtain some of this new gear: by defeating one of the many bosses.
It’s Not Just A Phase!
The bosses in Phantom Blade Zero are incredible.
In a game so heavily inspired by kung fu, you’d be forgiven for expecting endless fights against samurai and other human warriors. Instead, the variety on display is far more ridiculous—in the best possible way.
During my time with the game, I went from fighting Flame, the Lion Dance Grandmaster who spat fireballs at me, to the Lady of the Twin Serpents, a Poison Ivy-esque woman who used towering snakes to zip around the arena and pummel me.
And perhaps most excitingly, these encounters are incredibly frequent. The team told me that one of their biggest struggles during development was actually stopping themselves from adding more bosses!
The best part is that when you defeat them, you can often acquire the weapons or abilities they were using. Defeat the Lion Dancer, and you’ll get its wearable headpiece, allowing you to shoot fire from its mouth; take down a drunken fighter and you’ll unlock their drunken fighting style, letting protagonist Soul stumble and float through encounters.
And that’s without even mentioning the second phases.
Every boss has two phases, but don’t worry, this isn’t a soulslike. If you die during the second phase, you’ll skip the first when you return, allowing you to jump straight back into the action in true ARPG fashion.
There’s a good chance you will die, because Phantom Blade Zero doesn’t pull its punches. I played on the standard difficulty during my demo, as I didn’t want to lose precious preview time getting stuck on a single encounter. Even then, I was forced to lock in, focus, and give certain fights multiple attempts.
When I finally defeated them, it was always super rewarding, though there were occasions when a death didn’t necessarily feel like it was my fault. The build I played suffered from some noticeable stuttering, and in a game this fast-paced, even a momentary hitch could result in a missed parry and a sizeable chunk of my health disappearing.
I’m putting some faith in S-Game to have those issues ironed out by launch, though, because when Phantom Blade Zero was running smoothly, which it was the majority of the time, it was a seamless experience.
A World Worth Exploring
As jaw-dropping as the bosses were, I also really enjoyed exploring Phantom Blade Zero’s vast world.
I got to see the first area almost to completion, and the feeling of unlocking new gear that opened previously inaccessible areas, alongside completing side quests for unique rewards, was genuinely satisfying.
Partner that with a wuxia-inspired universe and a narrative that doesn’t lean too heavily on Chinese mythological stereotypes, and Phantom Blade Zero is shaping up to be more than just a standard hack-and-slash. The story already seems interesting and approachable, while the world itself feels incredibly rich, with plenty of detail layered into its environments and characters.
Although Phantom Blade Zero is technically a semi-open-world game, exploration is also helped by the fact that enemies don’t respawn after you’ve defeated them. It’s a small touch, but it makes clearing out an area feel a little more permanent as you continue your journey.
Most people will probably come away from Phantom Blade Zero talking about its spectacular combat and boss fights, and rightfully so. But after spending almost 10 hours with the game, I’m just as desperate to keep exploring its world as I am to keep slaying bosses.
I genuinely believe S-Game has something special on its hands here, and I’d even go as far as saying Phantom Blade Zero is going to pick up a host of nominations at The Game Awards this December—and I wouldn’t be surprised if it walks away with a few wins, too.
Let me know on the Insider Gaming Discord server if you’re thinking of picking up Phantom Blade Zero when it releases this October.
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Charlie is one of Insider Gaming's Guides Writers who's been in the gaming industry for a little over a year. Unfortunately for him, he enjoys every video game genre out…
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