In the wake of Elden Ring, the soulslike genre is arguably bigger than ever. From Lords of the Fallen and Lies of P to brand-new releases like Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, everyone wants a piece of FromSoftware’s bloodstained pie. On paper, it looked like Phantom Blade Zero was the same, championing perfect parries and channeling the moodiness of Bloodborne and Sekiro. Yet after chatting to game director ‘Soulframe,’ it’s apparent that developer S-Game is taking a very different approach to its upcoming “Kung Fu punk” adventure.
Set in a macabre world inspired by Chinese folklore and Wuxia, Phantom Blade Zero thrusts you into the shoes of Soul, a mysterious assassin who works for the shadowy organization known as ‘The Order.’ After being mortally wounded, he’s suddenly revived and hurled back into the fray – but he only has 66 days to enact vengeance before his injuries return.
That’s all we know so far story-wise, but when I took it for a spin at Summer Game Fest, I was pleasantly surprised by what I played. While at first glance Phantom Blade Zero appears to be another soulslike game, it plays more like an action-focused hack-and-slash chimera. As I note in my Phantom Blade Zero preview, the combat is slick and speedy, and it’s an awful lot of fun.
In the wake of my playthrough, Soulframe and I venture outside into the summer sun, pitching up at a little table beneath a huge parasol. I ask him whether the deviation from the tried and tested soulslike formula was intentional, and he nods emphatically.
“There’s a rhythm to [Phantom Blade Zero’s] combat, but in general it’s much faster than the average soulslike. We were actually inspired by the old-fashioned combo-driven action in games like Ninja Gaiden and Metal Gear Solid Rising, which not many people play anymore. Those games are our favorites, but nowadays, younger players might find these games too hardcore, so we needed to add extra accessibility.
“We put those fast-paced combos into a soulslike map, which is a new combination,” he continues. “But that also created a lot of challenges for us, like the camera angles. I think it’s gone pretty well. We love the idea of doing something really new and unique that incorporates all of the basic elements from the classic games that we love.”
The conversation naturally moves into a discussion of difficulty, the element that, of course, acts as a blessing and a curse for the soulslike genre. I ask if the team wants to truly test your mettle with Phantom Blade Zero.
“From the beginning, we decided we weren’t going to do another soulslike game,” Soulframe tells me. “We think the difficulties and frustrations you experience in a normal souls game can’t be the main part of the game. So we wanted to remove the frustrating parts, and add more positive feedback; every dodge, every perfect parry will reward you with fancy animations and Ghoststeps.”
The game also features difficulty options, which aren’t available in many other soulslikes – “this means you don’t have as much punishment when you die,” he tells me. “We want our players to enjoy the pure combat, the story, and the world; that’s the point.
“As a new studio, I don’t think we have the privilege of FromSoftware to make you frustrated while you’re playing. We’d rather keep it accessible to everyone so that everyone can enjoy it.”
S-Game is on track to release something a little different with Phantom Blade Zero, and I can’t help but feel that its shedding of genre expectations was the right call. The game’s release date is still unclear, but we do have a list of all the best action games to keep you busy in the meantime. If you’re into the classics like Soulframe, we also have a list of all the best old games to peruse.
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