{"id":91466,"date":"2026-10-09T08:19:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T00:19:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=91466"},"modified":"2026-10-09T08:19:01","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T00:19:01","slug":"after-4-hours-phantom-blade-zero-just-became-my-most-anticipated-action-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=91466","title":{"rendered":"After 4 Hours, Phantom Blade Zero Just Became My Most-Anticipated Action Game"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Phantom Blade Zero<\/em> looks to carve out its own space among sword-slashing action games. It blends simple controls and intense parries with stylish wuxia animations to create one of the most anticipated non-GTA 6<\/em> games of the fall release calendar. I recently got to play around four hours of Phantom Blade Zero<\/em> on Windows PC at a preview event hosted by developer S-Game in Beijing, China, and experienced the game\u2019s unique take on melee action.<\/p>\n

I played from the very beginning of the game until the end of its first chapter. Afterward, I was plopped into two separate boss fights, defeating one and losing against the other. Trading blows with Phantom Blade Zero<\/em>\u2019s bosses was certainly the highlight of my time with S-Game\u2019s ambitious martial arts game, though the moment-to-moment action in between those boss fights didn\u2019t reach the same highs.<\/p>\n

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\n John Wick meets Wuxia
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\"Phantom\n <\/picture>Image: S-Game<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

I played as Soul, an assassin being hounded by members of The Order, a shadowy organization he used to work for. Maybe it was the jet lag after a 16.5-hour flight, but I didn\u2019t pick up on that context in the preview; I learned Soul was a John Wick-style assassin on the run when director Soulframe Liang mentioned it during a roundtable interview following the gameplay session.<\/p>\n

Soul gets mortally wounded fighting his childhood BFF Zuo Shang, and both dudes stab each other through the heart. Don\u2019t worry, Soul doesn’t die (yet) \u2014 a creepy little guy called the Flesh Sculptor hooks him up with a new heart, but it\u2019ll only last 66 days. Zuo Shang also survives, and now Souls sets off on an action-packed adventure to presumably find and battle his old friend once and for all.<\/p>\n

Nothing about the story really grabbed me in these opening hours, but, to be frank, the stories of action games like Black Myth: Wukong<\/em>, Stellar Blade<\/em>, and Beast of Reincarnation<\/em> didn\u2019t grab me much either, and I still put dozens of hours into those games. The real crux of Phantom Blade Zero<\/em>\u2019s appeal is its combat, which, after the preview session, I look forward to experiencing in full.<\/p>\n

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\n \u2018A playable kung fu movie\u2019
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\"Phantom\n <\/picture>Image: S-Game<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

S-Game\u2019s stated goal is to bring Chinese martial arts to life through Phantom Blade Zero<\/em>\u2019s combat. Soulframe wanted to translate the cinema of wuxia films to action-packed gameplay and to \u201ccreate a playable kung fu movie.\u201d S-Game has recruited movie star and martial artist Donnie Yen to help bring its vision to life as a creative consultant, and he\u2019s even playing and mo-caping a character in the game.<\/p>\n

Yen leads a team of about 15-20 stunt performers and helps choreograph the action, which is full of the stuntmen performing lightning-fast choreography that sometimes involves wirework stunts, like in wuxia movies. Kenji Tanigaki \u2014 best known for directing The Furious<\/em>, widely considered the best action movie of the year \u2014 is a part of Yen\u2019s team as an action director.<\/p>\n

With Yen, Tanigaki, and more martial arts masters on board, S-Game succeeds in its goal, as every animation has an over-the-top flourish. Soul won\u2019t just advance on an enemy and strike, but whirl his sword around, air trials following it, with a certain panache as he attacks. He won\u2019t just climb up a ledge, but dramatically leap upward and do a little spinny spin to land. Everything about Phantom Blade Zero<\/em>\u2019s style is so extra<\/em>, which lends the game a certain charm, even when frightening monster enemies are barreling down upon you.<\/p>\n

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\"Phantom\n <\/picture>Image: S-Game<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

While Phantom Blade Zero<\/em> nails the look of kung fu, at the end of the day I\u2019m still just mashing Square and Triangle, cool animation or not. The more I play, the more I discover the combat\u2019s depth, however. Key to that depth is Soul\u2019s Sha-chi meter, which is like a stamina meter for his most powerful combos.<\/p>\n

In an early boss fight, I learn just how crucial Sha-chi is to the combat. Switching weapons refills the meter, meaning I can exhaust Soul\u2019s Sha-chi with devastating attacks, switch to my other equipped weapon, and keep the party going with a refilled Sha-chi meter. It\u2019s a lot like discovering how transforming your trick weapon mid-combo in Bloodborne<\/em> can unleash a heavy blow.<\/p>\n

Boss battles are certainly the highlight of Phantom Blade Zero<\/em>. Though the cadence of them isn\u2019t as quick as in a game like Black Myth Wukong<\/em> (which feels more like a boss rush game at times), they still come fast and furious. The combat really shines in tough boss battles, whereas encounters with regular enemies can feel too paint-by-numbers and end too quickly. I lost count of just how many bosses I tackled in the preview, from an enemy on a horse-drawn carriage to a foe who conjures additional arms mid-battle, essentially becoming a sickle-wielding General Grievous.<\/p>\n

The session concluded with two later-game boss battles, both of which were quite tough. The first was against a woman who flitted on the air and summoned what looked like paper mache dragons from the ground. (I was too busy trying not to die to admire their design.) She was a challenge, and had two phases. Thankfully, an ally joined in for the second phase, and I\u2019m hopeful more boss fights in Phantom Blade Zero<\/em> will have NPCs fighting alongside Soul. I always enjoy having a partner along for the ride.<\/p>\n

I only got one attempt at the second boss fight due to time constraints on my play session, but it had some of the most notable sequences in Phantom Blade Zero<\/em> I saw. I fought against two dancers controlling a lion head puppet; after the first was defeated, the second summoned little enemies, each with their own lion heads. I defeated them, and picked up one of their lion heads to shoot fire at the boss while dodging his blasts and fire by jumping from one raised pole to another. It was immensely exciting, and made me wonder what other creative fights are up S-Game\u2019s sleeve. (You can watch a full fight against this boss at the end of August\u2019s Phantom Blade Zero<\/em> State of Play.)<\/p>\n

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\n Everything else you need to know about Phantom Blade Zero
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\"Phantom\n <\/picture>Image: S-Game<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Now that the September flood of new releases has passed, Phantom Blade Zero<\/em> might be the biggest upcoming game for the rest of 2026 that\u2019s not about committing crime in Fake Florida. There\u2019s a lot to unpack from the game still, so let\u2019s break down what\u2019s left to learn about S-Game\u2019s playable martial arts movie.<\/p>\n