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From its Wuxia roots to its unique difficulty settings, here's everything you need to know about Phantom Blade Zero. Phantom Blade Zero is set in the Phantom World, an alternate version of the Ming Dynasty where the historical era is combined with steampunk, dark fantasy, folk horror, and more. The game belongs to the Wuxia genre, where "Wu" means martial arts and "Xia" means noble hero. Players take on the role of Soul, an agent for a mysterious organization known as the Order. Soul is accused of murdering the leader of the Order, and is now being hunted by his former comrades.
One of the members of the Order is Zuo Shan, who manages to mortally wound Soul. However, his life is saved by a mysterious healer known as the Flesh Sculptor. But the medicine only works for 66 days, after which Soul will die. In the time that remains, Soul tries to find a way to finally heal the wound and uncover the conspiracy against the Order, at the center of which he finds himself. Phantom Blade Zero is being developed by Beijing-based studio S-Game, founded in 2011 by Liang Quye, also known by the nickname Soulframe. Que began developing his first game, Rain Blood Town of Death, while studying architecture at university. It was created using the RPG Maker engine and introduced many of the concepts and characters that appear in Phantom
Blade Zero. S-Game created two more games in the Rain Blood series, expanding the world and lore, before renaming the series Phantom Blade and moving into mobile game development to take advantage of the market in the mid-2010s. They released Phantom Blade Executioners, which was released not only on mobile devices, but also on PC and consoles in 2023. That same year, S-Game announced Phantom Blade Zero, which took the franchise from 2D to 3D using Unreal Engine 5. The game is intended as a reboot of the franchise and a modern reimagining of the original Rain Blood. Although the announcement took place in 2023, active development began in 2022, and the first concepts of the game appeared back in 2017. The game was originally intended to
be significantly smaller than what players would see in the final release. The game's presentation at PlayStation Showcase 2023 proved so popular that the team expanded the scope of the project. The studio was working on another project in a new sci- fi universe, but the team put its development on hold to focus all efforts on Zero. S-Game collaborated with many martial artists, gunsmiths, and actor Donnie Yen as consultants to make the game's combat system as authentic as possible. Yen also plays the character Mo Yuan in the game. Additionally, the team brought in renowned stunt coordinator and film director Kenji Tanigaki to direct the game's action scenes. Phantom Blade Zero is an
action RPG based on a fighting style that S-Game calls " kung fu punk," which combines traditional martial arts with mechanical forms. Playing as Soul, you use primary and secondary weapons with dozens of variations for each, which dramatically changes your playstyle depending on your chosen melee or ranged gear, or combinations thereof. Different weapons and fighting styles are better suited to certain types of enemies. Weapons can be upgraded, unlocking new forms and techniques in addition to new skills that Soul learns independently of his arsenal. The game's phantom world consists of several interconnected open areas. Players have
hand-drawn maps to guide them, but they will have to explore the world on their own to progress through the story and unlock a wealth of additional content. In various locations, players can find bells that allow them to quickly navigate large world maps. The game has several difficulty levels to choose from. Wayfarer is the equivalent of the story mode, while Pathbreaker is the base difficulty level. In Hellwalker mode, the difficulty increases: enemies adapt better to your playstyle and stop following predictable attack patterns. 66 Days", is unlocked after completing the game at the Pioneer" or "Hellwalker" level. This is the same difficulty as Hellwalker, but to convey the 66 days of Soul's life, the player will only have 66 lives to
complete the entire game. If you use up all 66 lives, the game will end. Phantom Blade Zero will be released on PlayStation 5 and PC on October 29, 2026 for $60. However, on this date, the game will only be released digitally, with physical copies for the PS5 coming in 2027. For an additional $10, players can purchase a deluxe edition of the game, which includes two additional outfits for Soul, as well as a digital artbook and soundtrack. edition of the game will unlock another costume, as well as an accessory for Soul, which increases the amount of currency for upgrades at the start of the game. However, both of these items can be obtained later in the
story, even if you did not pre-order. When the physical editions are released in 2027, there will also be an " ultimate edition " of the game, which includes a steelbook. Although at the time of writing there is no information about the price or additional content of this edition. And that's all there is to know about Phantom Blade Zero. For more on the game, including our upcoming review, stay tuned to GameSpot.
