Phantom Blade Zero’s bosses have soulslike elements in normal difficulty, but the AI incorporates a popular fighting game mechanic for the most extreme difficulty.
S-Game’s Phantom Blade Zero’s genre has been a concern for players since the first few gameplay trailers. The developers have already confirmed that it is neither a Soulslike game nor a traditional action game, but rather closer to an ARPG, or possibly its own unique genre, “Wuxia Action Games”. Now the developers have revealed more about Phantom Blade Zero’s bosses.
Phantom Blade Zero’s Bosses Can Analyse and Adapt to Different Situations Using a ‘Lucky Draw’ State
Through the latest issue of PC Gamer Magazine (via GamesRadar+), Phantom Blade Zero director Qiwei Liang spoke about one of the boss’s traits on the most extreme difficulty, Hellwalker. The boss in question is Huangxing, who features some Soulslike elements. He has fixed combos that players can learn by fighting him multiple times. However, things take a massive turn in ” a completely different direction” with the Hellwaker Difficulty.
Liang states that the team borrowed “a concept from fighting games” for Huangxing in Phantom Blade Zero’s extreme difficulty and incorporated it into his AI. On the Hellwalker difficulty, this boss analyzes the situation to understand whether it is “to his advantage or disadvantage.” This allows Huangxing to “use different attacks based on the situation.” The developers explained it as a “lucky draw’ state, where the result of the boss’s last attack determines his next move.
In other news, Insider Gaming received a hands-on preview of Phantom Blade Zero at Gamescom 2025. Additionally, the game will receive a release date announcement this year. What are your thoughts on Phantom Blade Zero’s boss AI using this popular fighting game mechanic? Let us know through the official Insider Gaming forums discussion.
For more information from Insider Gaming, read about Sucker Punch’s founder stating that Ghost of Yotei and Tsushima had a ‘very similar’ budget. Don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter.
