Review Praises Phantom Blade Zero Ahead of PS5 and PC Launch

Phantom Blade Zero is developed by Chinese studio S-GAME and built with Unreal Engine 5. The game uses what the review describes as a kung fu punk aesthetic, combining traditional wuxia culture with mechanical fantasy. Players control Hun, a swordsman who is framed and left with 66 days to live, as he uncovers a larger conspiracy.

The review said combat is built around enemy attacks that flash blue or red; precise defense or precise dodge at the right timing can avoid damage and create counterattacks with elaborate animation. Instead of a conventional stamina bar, the game uses a sha qi meter that governs actions and can also be spent on powerful attacks. Enemies and bosses have the same meter, and depleting it can break their defense; a player who only defends can be broken in the same way. The review described the resulting rhythm as closer to martial arts choreography than simple attack and defense.

Character growth is tied to key story items rather than visible experience points, the review said. The skill tree expands by meeting conditions during play, while weapon upgrades add more attack options. The game lists 55 weapons and secondary arms in total when weapon transformations are included, the review said, and secondary arms can open mechanisms or routes and expand maps. Equipment and medicines form build choices, and upgrades can be rolled back at any time so players can reallocate limited materials, according to the review.

The review said the game's scale was larger than expected. A previous preview spent five to six hours exploring most of the first level. On the normal difficulty, the reviewer's save file passed 30 hours when finishing the main story, and about 10 more hours brought completion close to 100 percent; Steam recorded more than 55 hours of play. The game has no clear chapter divisions but expands its map as the story progresses, the review said, and more than 80 percent of play was spent discovering new content. The bestiary lists more than 100 enemy designs, with some bosses changing form two or three times, and execution animations differ by weapon and enemy.

Enemies do not respawn after being defeated. The review said this design was necessary because the maps are large, new content is plentiful and upgrade materials are sufficient, so players do not need to farm old areas. It added that maps are multidimensional but do not deliberately confuse players, save points appear where needed and rewards are placed in side areas.

The story is set in S-GAME's wuxia punk world and is accessible without cultural background, the review said. Side quests and non-player characters add to the world, while the art combines traditional Chinese weapons with steampunk elements. The review cited a lion dance boss, opera and a traditional arts sequence lasting more than 20 minutes, and music that changes with map cursor position and battle stage. Donnie Yen appears more than once and challenges the player's martial skill, according to the review.

The review also said the game has some inconsistencies in systems and character settings, and the media review build had bugs that could block quest completion and minor performance optimization problems. S-GAME confirmed these would be fixed in the final version, the review said.