I had a pretty good time with Soulslike RPG The First Berserker: Khazan, and as I continue to get my parry on in reactive turn-based JRPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, one game simmers in the back of my mind. I'm looking forward to Wuchang: Fallen Feathers after trying it, I still need to play AI Limit after enjoying the demo, and Elden Ring Nightreign will inevitably be fun. But Phantom Blade Zero stands as a singular fascination for me. I don't see anything else quite like it in the roster of new and upcoming action RPGs, and with every passing parry, I find myself hungrier for it.
I've played Phantom Blade Zero exactly twice. Every time I see it at some industry event or other, it looks and feels better than I remember. Originally revealed at a 2023 PlayStation State of Play show, this Chinese action RPG left me gasping for air after my first helter-skelter hands-on. It's far faster than I originally expected, and its meticulously polished trailers are actually a pretty good representation of how it plays. It is, loudly and proudly, not a Soulslike, which is one of the best things about it – and I say that as a Soulslike glutton.
My latest Phantom Blade Zero session introduced me to the boss from the game's more recent Year of the Snake trailer – seven puppets controlled by a corrupted, faceless swordsman. The fact that the crowded fight didn't piss me off is already impressive – action games with this sort of camera tend to fall apart as soon as you put two bosses on screen – but it wasn't even the highlight of the session. (Also, this might be the first time I've seen a game let you start at the second phase of a boss fight after you die.) I was more in love with the new weapons on display – particularly a combination of swift twin blades, a lithe whip sword, and a positively meteoric axe – and several comments from director and S-Game founder "Soulframe" Liang were music to my ears.
A different era
Glossing over more granular touchstones, Liang says Phantom Blade Zero is styled after two main themes: the golden age of kung fu films, and the golden age of PlayStation 1 and especially PlayStation 2 action games. I'm no kung fu connoisseur, but I have fond memories of the early PlayStation days, and Phantom Blade Zero is speaking my language. Combat felt feast-or-famine at first, stylish highs punctuated with painful segments of me getting ripped apart like abstract art, but the more comfortable I get with the controls, the more time I spend feasting. And when you're on top of your game and Phantom Blade Zero is firing on all cylinders, it is positively exhilarating.
Combos begin with frenetic light and heavy attacks, but by slipping in special weapons called Phantom Edges – like that axe from earlier – you can punctuate your assault or find new openers. Swapping weapons acts as a combo extender, breaking the seal on a second can of whoopass just as bosses think they can take a breather. Reasonably forgiving dodge and parry windows, with embellishing, smoky flourish added to perfect counters, let you react mid-combo if you see a boss spooling up a special attack denoted by a flash of light.
Liang says they've been careful to avoid overcomplicating combos, pushing for Devil May Cry flare without intimidating chains of buttons, but there's a lot of room for customization and skill expression. In the same way that Helldivers 2 doesn't even have to try to look cinematic, I've seen Phantom Blade Zero casually conjure some incredibly framed and timed duels without breaking a sweat, and it plays out at a speed that makes even Khazan look tame.
This game always feels good in my hands, and if anything I'm even more intrigued by all the things I haven't seen from it. I'm told Phantom Blade Zero can push 50 hours on your first run if you go for thorough completion, and there seems to be a mountain of optional content. Liang says the game is quite big on layered and secret-filled level design, despite what some combat-forward trailers may suggest. This is a recurring weakness with this genre, so I have high hopes here. Black Myth: Wukong was a good boss rush held together by Unreal Engine backdrops masquerading as levels, and Khazan's repetitive, oversized areas left me feeling indifferent at best and fatigued at worst.
Hidden in those levels, Phantom Blade Zero has over 30 special weapons and 20 main weapons, and you'll acquire most of them by ripping them out of the cold, dead hands of bosses, including tons of side bosses. (All the ones I've fought are side bosses, and often of a quality that many games would understandably reserve for the critical path.) If there's anything I love, it's a game that rewards exploration and makes gear matter. There's a place for loot systems, but a whole new martial arts weapon is infinitely more interesting than my umpteenth spear with 14 more attack power. Liang says you could play the whole game with your one favorite weapon, but I'm looking forward to assembling and testing a huge arsenal of tricks.
I've immensely enjoyed the uptick in action RPGs coming out of China and Korea, from Zenless Zone Zero and Stellar Blade to Black Myth: Wukong and Lies of P, and Phantom Blade Zero increasingly feels like it could be another big milestone on this trend. It still doesn't have a release date on PS5 or PC, but it lives rent-free in my head after maybe an hour of hands-on time, and it remains near the top of my list of most-wanted action RPGs.
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