Phantom Blade Zero looks worth it to me, and I think it’s going to be big the same way Elden Ring still is. Phantom Blade Zero unlocks on PS5 and PC on 28 October for $59.99, and critics have it at 88 on Metacritic from 43 reviews. It looks really good. It looks great.
Key takeaways
- Phantom Blade Zero unlocks at 7pm PT on 28 October (02:00 UTC on 29 October) on PS5 and PC, for $59.99.
- Critics rate it 88 on Metacritic. IGN gave it 9/10, and Eurogamer’s 6/10 is the outlier.
- There are four difficulty modes, and the main story takes about 25 to 30 hours.
Is Phantom Blade Zero worth it?
Phantom Blade Zero is worth it if this is the genre of game you want, and the reviews back that up. It’s one I could probably put some time in, but I wouldn’t be a completionist about it. It’s S-GAME’s first console game, and it was wishlisted over 3 million times before launch, according to Wikipedia.
Most critics agree. In TheGamer’s review roundup, TheGamer gave it 5/5 and called it a genuine Game of the Year contender. IGN’s Travis Northup gave it 9/10, and said the combat never came close to feeling old across 50 hours of playing. Performance issues were what kept it off a 10.
Eurogamer is the one that didn’t buy it, with a 6/10. Emma Kent praised the animations, the environments and the flow of the combat when it works, but felt the boss fights slowed the early pace and called the narrative “pretty unremarkable”.
The story is where reviews split most: Output Lag counted 8 of the 19 reviews it read calling it confusing, thin or the weakest part, and several recommended the Chinese voice track over the English dub.
Is Phantom Blade Zero a soulslike?
Phantom Blade Zero isn’t officially a soulslike. S-GAME files it under action RPGs, and director Soulframe Liang has said “maybe it could create a new identity that is Wuxia Action Games?” It still borrows plenty from the genre: you block, parry and dodge, and a resource called Sha-Chi pays for your blocks and heavy attacks.
I’ve played Elden Ring, I’ve played all the Dark Souls games as well, and Bloodborne, and Lies of P, the Pinocchio one that wasn’t FromSoftware. I put a lot of time into Elden Ring, so I can definitely see the appeal of this one.
Parry a brutal move or dodge a killer move just before it lands and you trigger a Ghoststep, and there are more than 30 primary weapons and over 20 Phantom Edges to build around. The games.gg guide on how Sha-Chi, Parry and Ghoststep work goes through every core system if you want the detail before you start.
Is Phantom Blade Zero hard?
Phantom Blade Zero can be as hard as you want it to be. For the completionist side of these games, I actually just go and watch Iron Pineapple, or other people playing them, because I just don’t have the skill. I’m 38 years old. I don’t think I’m suddenly going to be able to get through these things and do well.
It ships with four difficulty modes: Wayfarer, Pathbreaker, Hellwalker and 66 Days. Wayfarer makes enemies less aggressive rather than just weaker, Pathbreaker is the standard challenge the game is built around, and Hellwalker gives bosses new skills and attack patterns (every difficulty mode explained).
66 Days is the challenge-run mode. It uses Hellwalker’s enemies and gives you 66 deaths for the whole run, and when the counter runs out it’s permadeath, the same 66 days Soul has left to live in the story. Output Lag reports that the other three can be switched at any time, and that dying carries no penalty.
How long is Phantom Blade Zero?
Phantom Blade Zero’s main story takes about 25 to 30 hours, and 40 to 50 hours with most of the side content, according to Output Lag’s read of the reviews. That lines up with IGN’s reviewer, who put 50 hours in, and with the director’s own estimate of 25 to 30 hours for the story.
There’s more after that if you want it. The story has eight possible endings, depending on how the side quests play out, and New Game Plus opens once you finish a playthrough, according to Wikipedia. So the 25 to 30 hours is only the first run.
Will Phantom Blade Zero be the next Elden Ring?
I think if this is the genre of game people want, Phantom Blade Zero is going to be big, the same way Elden Ring is. Elden Ring still has a lot of focus on the internet. When you’re looking at reels or videos, people are still showing all the different challenges they’re doing through Elden Ring. I think Phantom Blade Zero offers that.
I think it’s going to be something people pick up from day one, seeing how mental they can go to get through it and what type of stuff they can outskill. Reviewers were happiest with the bosses: TheGamer said it has some all-time great boss battles.
Is Phantom Blade Zero out yet?
Phantom Blade Zero unlocks at 7pm PT and 10pm ET on 28 October, which is 02:00 UTC on 29 October (release times and preload). The PS5 version is about 135 GB, so it’s worth starting the preload early.
It’s on PS5 and PC only. Steam lists it for Windows with full controller support, no Xbox version has been announced, and physical PS5 editions aren’t due until 2027, according to Wikipedia. If you were planning to play it on Steam Deck, Output Lag called it a hard no: under 30 FPS on the lowest settings.
FAQ
Is Phantom Blade Zero a soulslike?
Not officially. S-GAME calls it a wuxia action RPG, but it has blocking, parrying, dodging, hard bosses and four difficulty modes.
Is Phantom Blade Zero on Xbox?
No. It’s on PS5 and PC, and no Xbox version has been announced.
How long is Phantom Blade Zero?
About 25 to 30 hours for the main story, and 40 to 50 hours with most of the side content.
