With only ten days until Phantom Blade Zero’s release, many questions linger. Will protagonist Soul survive his ordeal? Can he overcome his failing health and ultimately live life on his own terms? What secrets does Wulin hold? It’s a kung fu odyssey, and the sheer attention to detail in its world, combat and visuals has us excited.
Thankfully, several new details are available ahead of its October 29th launch on PS5 and PC. Whether it’s about acquiring weapons or exploration, S-Game’s action RPG has a lot going on. Let’s start with its unique approach to enemy deaths, namely that…
Defeated Enemies Stay Dead
S-Game has spoken vociferously about how Phantom Blade Zero isn’t a Soulslike, and true enough, Sha-Chi, your primary resource, functions differently from stamina. But once enemies are vanquished, they won’t respawn. What is not dead can indeed die. In a group interview with 4Gamer, director Qiwei “Soulframe” Liang explained that this is because, “We want everything in the game to be valuable. I don’t want them to experience the same content over and over. Another reason is to focus on advancing the story and on this world itself.”
Of course, it also means you can’t just get stronger by grinding through the same enemies. Exploration, pushing through unknown territory, uncovering secrets, and even side content are all necessary to get stronger.
Eight Massive Regions
On that note, the world is broken up into eight maps, which are meticulously hand-crafted Chinese ink wash paintings. As you explore the regions and unlock new fast travel points, the maps will offer more information on where you are, but don’t expect extensive handholding. Their purpose is to provide a “rough sense of direction,” and only the map completion percentage really indicates how much progress has been made. A “never knowing where you’re going until you know where you’ve been” kind of thing.
Settlements and NPCs
You don’t necessarily become a master assassin in The Order without a few enemies or former allies turned foes, but thankfully, Soul can make some new friends. Besides these gorgeous (and foreboding) landscapes, he’ll also explore smaller settlements where NPCs, each with their stories and reasons for venturing to Wulin, gather. They may even ask for your help and dole out a side quest or two. Who knows? Helping them out may affect Soul’s destiny in a few ways.
Boat Travel
While you could, and very likely will, stylishly trek through most of Wulin on foot, bounding ladders and wall-running, there is a dedicated means of transportation: a “peculiar high-speed vessel,” as showcased in the game’s dedicated State of Play. Granted, its purpose is to navigate a massive lake, so anything beyond that remains to be seen, but it should help break up the monotony.
Stealth to Thin Out Enemy Groups
As combat-heavy as Phantom Blade Zero is, one area we haven’t heard or seen much of is stealth. No, you won’t be going prone or using the Threat Ring to detect nearby foes, but you can sneak and tactically thin the herds. Of course, you’re not obligated to. If running headlong and slicing through enemies full force is your style, then go for it. Just beware of…
Coordinated Enemy Attacks
You’ve probably seen the gameplay in recent hands-on previews, but if not, it’s hard to overlook. Soul is attacked on different sides by different enemies. More importantly, he remains unphased (assuming you nail those parries). It not only highlights the incredible kung fu choreography and motion capture, but also shows how certain enemies attack in semi-coordinated fashion to overwhelm you. How you break through that, or outright embarrass them, is up to you.
Cancelling Attacks Into Defensive Actions
As important as perfect dodging (aka Ghoststep), parrying, counter-attacks, Sha-Chi, and whatnot can be, there’s also attack cancelling. Whether you’re in the middle of a combo or ready to follow up, you can cancel an attack into a parry or dodge, seamlessly transitioning to defense when opportunity calls. Mindfully hacking and slashing, if you will.
Checkpoints Between Boss Phases
Souls-like or not, Phantom Blade Zero doesn’t shy away from a time-honored tradition across many genres: Multi-phase boss fights. You might have skillfully outfought The Hunt, but if you fall to his second phase – and we wouldn’t blame you, because four arms with four axes is metal as heck – don’t worry. Recent previews indicate you can restart from the second phase, so you’ll have time to learn it without suffering through the first every single time.
Earning Weapons From Defeated Bosses
As harrowing as a boss fight can be, there’s plenty of motivation to win, because you get their weapons. With 30 primary weapons and 25 Phantom Edges, and “at least” 50 bosses with more seemingly teased, there’s plenty of opportunity to experiment with different techniques, fighting styles, and more.
Hidden Boss Dialogue
Far be it from S-Game allowing for different builds that may be better against certain bosses, there’s another reason to mix up your arsenal: Hidden dialogue. Depending on the boss, bringing weapons they’re familiar with can trigger unique lines. Maybe you’ll learn something that they wouldn’t reveal otherwise. Which is probably one of the reasons behind the…
Wooden Sword
What did you expect? It’s a wooden sword. From Soul’s childhood, sure, but still a wooden sword. However, Liang noted to WCCF Tech that this represents a “philosophy in Chinese kung fu: when you develop your skill to the extreme, you no longer need great weapons. You just need wood to beat everyone.” Which is cool enough on its own, but when Soul encounters and fights his father, Mó Yuan (played by Donnie Yen), the wooden sword could stir something in him, even if he won’t pull any punches.
A Mix of Music Genres
If there’s one thing to take away from Phantom Blade Zero in almost every sense, it’s the harmony of opposites. Traditionalism and modernism. Ancient weaponry and more contemporary firearms. And unsurprisingly, that applies to the music. As Liang told RP Gamer, the first phase of the Dancing Lion fight uses traditional drums (recorded by an authentic team). But in the second phase, it turns to rock and roll, perfectly capturing the mayhem apparent.
Cinematic Set Pieces Retain Normal Combat Controls
When an action title takes a more cinematic view of a battle, it usually simplifies the controls. Not so in the case of Phantom Blade Zero. It may shift the camera angle, like with the opening fight against The Hunt on a runaway horse cart, but the combat system remains the same. Liang also revealed to RP Gamer that any QTEs required for executions are short, snappy, and keep you in the action.
66 Days Mode
Hardcore permadeath runs are nothing new in video games, but what about one that mirrors the exact experience of having only 66 days to live? That’s what 66 Days Mode is. Each time you die, you lose a day, and when all 66 have passed, it’s game over, and you need to start afresh. Besides dealing with enemies on Hellwalker difficulty, the highest, any decisions are permanent, so messing up a quest means you can’t just go back to an earlier save.
New Game Plus
Of course, you could also go into New Game Plus. It offers some impetus to put those late-game weapons, which Liang estimates to be at least ten, to good use. There’s no exclusive content or Trophies/Achievements tied to it, though – instead, it’s purely for your own enjoyment (and maybe cleaning up any content that you missed the first time around).
