Complete The Main Story

Starting with the obvious one: make sure you’ve finished the base game’s main story. Not only does this give you the best understanding of the characters and conflicts that have shaped Pywel, but it also clears the way for each of the three protagonist’s new DLC storylines. In Charting the Unknown, Kliff, Oongka, and Damiane get their own narrative paths for you to follow, and they’re not diversions you can pick up midway through the campaign. It’ll be interesting to see how Oongka and Damiane’s arcs evolve in the expansion given their stories were arguably underserved in favour of Kliff in Crimson Desert. And, just another note: the new tough-as-nails Garden of Trials boss-rush mode can only be attempted once the main story has been completed, too.

Complete Luke’s Request in Chapter 3

While completing the main story is necessary to see the continuation of Kliff, Oongka, and Damiane’s stories, Charting the Unknown doesn’t lock all of its content until the DLC’s endgame. No, you can access the expansion’s upgraded housing system much earlier in the campaign; you’ll just need to complete Luke’s request under the Grounds of the Sunrise Greymane Faction quest in Chapter 3. It’s unlikely you’ll overlook this 38-stage quest either way, seeing as progressing through it gives access to essential camp upgrades, workstations, vendors, and more. But, if you want to get a start on Charting the Unknown’s freeform construction straight away – designing layouts, laying walls, fabricating windows – make sure Luke’s request is done.

Finish Chapter 3

Actually, you’ll need to finish chapter 3 in its entirety before the DLC arrives anyway. Yes, complete the Howling Hill sequence and establish your Graymane camp; in doing so, you’ll unlock the expansion’s sea-faring, island hopping activities, including the ability to construct a ship. Given a huge part of Charting the Unknown takes place across the open ocean, a galleon of your own will prove rather important. And, with purportedly plenty to discover both above and beneath the water’s surface, making sure you can dive into it right away could ensure the DLC feels worthwhile even if you haven’t yet finished the main story.

Level Up Oongka and Damiane

Even though Kliff might be the face of Crimson Desert, and the Greymane plight the game’s narrative pillar, there’s still sentiment out there amongst the community that Oongka and Damiane could have served bigger roles. As such, there is a reasonable chance these other two characters haven’t received the same amount of attention when it comes to leveling up and improving their abilities. Now, before the DLC drops, is a good opportunity to address any imbalance. Developing their combat capabilities should leave you better prepared to face whatever the expansion’s endgame story throws at you.

Finish All Camp Upgrades

You’re going to need all the help you can get, what with island strongholds, castles, and house construction. The most sizeable workforce will serve you well, so you should make sure you’ve finished upgrading your camp and recruited every available Greymane. It’s also worth completing their individual quests rather than leaving potential recruits and their associated tasks sitting in your journal. After all, with the wealth of construction and expansion projects that Charting the Unknown promises you wouldn’t want to find yourself without support.

Stockpile Crafting Materials

Yet, despite all the promise of grand manors and impressive galleons, the one thing that can bring the excitement of a new adventure or project to a grinding halt would be discovering that you don’t have enough materials to construct what you want. With the expansion bringing shipbuilding, housing, dive suits, and additional new items to refine, it’s more than sensible to build up your reserves ahead of time. The exact requirements for every new item may not be clear until you’re actually playing the DLC, so going in with a healthy stockpile of crafting materials should give you the freedom to begin prospecting right away rather than return to resource gathering.

Build Up Your Gold Reserves

And, just like crafting materials, you’re going to need gold in abundance too if you’re going to take advantage of all the new construction possibilities straight away. See, sea-faring vessels can be built, yes, but they’re also available for purchase. Fleet managers can be hired, strongholds can be upgraded, and furnishings can be bought to make your drafty castle feel just that little bit more homely. These don’t sound like free activities. No, they’re going to put a dent in your savings, so best to consider setting some money aside before the DLC drops.

Stock Up On Healing and Stamina Items

Exploration might be unpredictable. You are charting into the unknown, after all, so it’s probably best to ensure you have adequate supplies before heading out. It makes sense to stock up on high-tier healing foods, Golden Apples, and stamina-restoring items. During extended voyages and ventures into unfamiliar territory, there’s no doubt a generous selection of restorative items will be useful. Again, like crafting materials and currencies, ensuring you have plenty of healing and stamina items in stock now means you can get straight into exploring new lands rather than spending time on preparation.

Acquire the Water Stride Ability

With much of your time spent on or near water throughout the DLC, acquiring the Water Stride ability seems like a no brainer. A skill where you can sprint across the surface will obviously prove useful, but there are a few caveats to bear in mind: Water Stride burns stamina, and once that stamina runs out you’ll drop into conventional swimming. You’ll need to have unlocked the Spirit Skill tree using Abyss Links, too, and purportedly if you venture too far away from shore you increase the chances of encountering one the expansion’s more unsavoury sea creatures.

Install the Latest Update and Play The Enhanced Version

Finally, ending with another semi-obvious one, but you should make sure you’re running the most recent version of Crimson Desert before jumping into the DLC. Important performance fixes aside, the developer has worked tirelessly refining, improving, and adding through a string of updates, but the Enhanced Edition itself brought the updated Abyss Skill system, UI changes, camera modes, and more. The Abyss Skill system, in particular, will prove especially useful if you need to level up Oongka and Damiane as per our earlier recommendation, but the host of changes Enhanced brought will make practically everything else on this list more feasible. It’s best to do it now if you haven’t already, just so you’re acclimatised to its systemic changes ahead of time.

All details and footage referenced in this article are sourced directly from officially revealed information. This piece is a curated wishlist of personal expectations for GTA VI.

Turn Vehicle Combat into Dynamic Chase-Shootouts

One of my biggest frustrations with GTA 5’s drive-by shooting was how tacked-on it felt. It was more of an imprecise aside than something baked into vehicle handling itself. For GTA 6, it appears Rockstar is evolving vehicle combat into a fluid sequence of decisions: drive, shoot, switch characters, take the wheel or stick your head out of the rear-passenger window – whatever you feel is best in-the-moment to keep the chase moving.

During a chase shown in the extended gameplay footage, we see the player switch from Lucia’s driving to Jason’s shooting and vice versa, giving the impression that dynamism in these moments is in your hands. Rather than fulfilling one role throughout, I’m looking forward to switching characters during a getaway; destroying a stubborn pursuer then steering into an unconventional escape.

Find my Ideal Free-Aim

Through GTA 6’s refined free-aim system – replacing GTA 5 and RDR2’s auto-lock gunfire – I’m hoping that a specific balance between deliberate shooting and cinematic momentum can be struck. I want enough assistance to keep encounters moving, but I don’t want to feel like I’m playing a military sim nor blasting my way through a static shooting gallery. Gameplay footage does show a degree of target assistance – a sort-of soft-lock once your reticle is near-enough to an enemy – but, according to Rockstar’s Rob Nelson there are options to fine-tune this system.

What I’d like is to experiment with different settings; gradually reducing assistance until aiming feels deliberate without upsetting momentum. In other words: a sweet spot between precision and spectacle. Depending on the breadth of these settings, deciding where that balance sits could vary, and be explorable player-to-player too.

Use the Focus Ability to Shape My Ideal Firefight

GTA 6’s footage shows a focus-style, bullet-time effect, which underpins my desire for cinematic spectacle during shootouts. But, this style of slomo-aiming could also offer the control I said that I wanted in free-aiming, so I’m hopeful I can use this ability to shape my ideal firefight, too. And, seeing as this system is firmly inside Rockstar territory already – Red Dead’s DeadEye, Michael’s Area Kill… freakin’ Max Payne – GTA 6’s version appears to be its most refined, with colour-coded targeting shaping how the system operates.

While there’s obvious appeal in slowing down the action to make otherwise chaotic exchanges feel choreographed, I’m looking forward to testing whether different targeting choices affect the overall experience. Will GTA 6’s bullet-time make favouring incapacitation over lethal-force feel more satisfying? Will it make me feel like an unstoppable killing machine without becoming, say, too easy?

Make Handguns My Go-To Weapon

For me, Red Dead Redemption gave handguns a better shot at viability than Grand Theft Auto. I was never particularly attached to GTA 5’s pistols and the like, but I’m optimistic GTA 6 is set to change that. See, footage shows handguns being carried and concealed differently compared to earlier entries, alongside NPC reactions which appear to scale depending on your firepower’s visibility. What this suggests, to me, is that handguns will feel like the more appropriate firearm for a broader array of criminal activity.

Hold-ups, robberies, perhaps even heists, will be grounded in handgun effectiveness far more than an arsenal of machine guns in your back pocket. I am intrigued by these NPC reactions though, and I’d like to start a standard hold-up with a gun in hand versus entering a store with it holstered, just to see if things play out differently. I’m not expecting stealth runs, but I do think a higher dependence on handguns will give GTA 6’s gunplay more tactical variety than 5 ever managed.

Experiment With a Deliberate Loadout

I like the idea of having to think about my arsenal before each mission, and GTA 6’s restricted loadouts appear to support the notion that your decisions matter. I’m not outfitting Jason and Lucia for a military operation after all, and while we cannot argue that GTA will ever be 100% realistic, it’ll boost my immersion at least to approach each problem without the benefit of carrying every possible solution.

So, to that end, with weapon choices feeling more consequential this time around I’m looking forward to living with my choices before a fight even begins. Although, as per gameplay footage, there might be a few things dotted around that I can improvise with should the operation go south – more on this later.

Shoot Without Relying on a Minimap

Despite reshaped loadouts, refined aiming, and handgun viability, one of the simplest ways to change how I approach a gunfight might be to minimise the information available on the minimap.

During police shootouts, we see in gameplay footage that the minimap removes any indication of enemy location, forcing you to read the environment and be more present in the encounter, rather than rely on indicators. Whether this extends to every gunfight remains to be seen, but tension akin to Red Dead Redemption 2, where you check corners and look for enemy cues over following icons, would be welcome in Leonida too. If the game allows it, I’ll probably disable all HUD assistance during gunfights.

Engage in Close-Quarters Fighting With On-Screen Prompts

All this talk of shooting, and I’ve completely overlooked fighting with fists. Watching gameplay footage, it’s evident close-quarters brawling will play a significant role, and I’m excited to see what GTA 6 will bring as this is another area I felt earlier GTA’s struggled with. Lucia we see punching, dodging, and blocking with aplomb, but it’s also the on-screen prompts which pique my interest.

One in particular is the satisfactorily gruesome high-heel through the eyeball of an assailant pinning Lucia down, and it seems during this standoff that you have a choice whether to fend off Lucia’s attacker or opt for the environmental weapon. I doubt this kind of interaction will appear in every fist fight, but it does suggest brawling could be as dynamic as shooting.

Switch Between Lucia and Jason During a Fight

GTA 6’s character switching could be more than a convenient way to change perspective, with Jason and Lucia appearing to be two working parts of the same operation. The extended look, for instance, demonstrates character switching where the inactive protagonist continues to operate organically under AI control. And, I don’t mean they continue pushing forward with suppressive fire, but they’ll hold up opponents, complete objectives, and foster getaways.

Even though missions are likely heavily scripted, these perspective changes mask the code working underneath. Plus, switching perspectives to find a better position or more appropriate weapon feels a more useful benefit to the system than GTA 5 managed.

Use The Cover System to Reposition

GTA 6 also appears to change how using cover works, with the goal now closer to using cover between moving, repositioning, and reacting to pressure. Footage shows all this, alongside peeking around corners and suppressive fire, and I’m hoping to use cover as a way to assess the situation before firing back and repositioning rather than staying rooted throughout the exchange. Rockstar’s gunfights have often leaned on using cover as a central means of surviving a gunfight. Now, I want to see how dynamic GTA 6 makes these encounters feel.

Improvise When Things Go Wrong

Even the best laid plans can fall apart, and Grand Theft Auto has a habit of weaving in the unexpected during missions. This time, however, it appears that even the opportunities for improvising can emerge dynamically rather than being baked into linear mission design.

When running low on ammo, when I need a different weapon, or even needing to abandon my original idea, it seems as though GTA 6 provides some flexibility in how I’ll make it through these situations. Case in point: Jason and Lucia are seen picking up dropped weapons, which could well be a starting point for wider improvisation. Again, arsenals are limited, but GTA 6 looks to ensure combat remains interesting and decisive whether you’re packing an entire garrison of weapons or a simple handgun.

See, the upcoming expansion doesn’t necessarily need to persuade millions of people to start an unfamiliar open-world RPG from scratch, but it does need to give existing players a compelling-enough reason to return – that is, if they even left in the first place. So, while we can assume the pool of newcomers is relatively small compared to Crimson Desert’s current players, there is another, arguably bigger challenge facing Charting the Unknown beyond convincing players new and old that there’s more to see in Pywel. And, that challenge is the competition for players’ time.

Right now, we’re smack-bang in the middle of a packed release calendar. Launching on October 29, Charting the Unknown arrives alongside the hotly anticipated Phantom Blade Zero. Then, World of Warcraft: Forever and Ocarina of Time’s remake follow in November. And, with the irresistible atom bomb that is Grand Theft Auto VI looming later on in the month, you have plenty of options for where your time and money goes.

This puts Crimson Desert’s upcoming expansion in an interesting predicament; it might just find success by bringing existing players back into the fold, with any potential for introducing players who missed it the first time around of less significance. This DLC can absolutely compete for attention alongside the gamut of other releases, but the appeal is concentrated among those who have already invested in the base game. And, to be fair, this appeal is shared across the upcoming titles just mentioned, the all-new Phantom Blade Zero notwithstanding.

World of Warcraft has millions of active players, while Ocarina of Time is arguably Link’s greatest adventure with decades of goodwill behind it. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t played a Grand Theft Auto title, and while the hype for GTA 6 might not be resonating with everyone, Rockstar reportedly aren’t having any trouble convincing players to pre-order. Charting the Unknown, then, must lean on its existing audience as the competition already has audiences of their own.

But, an established audience can only provide a headstart. It is by no means a guarantee. Yet, for Crimson Desert, there is, at least on paper, a substantial playerbase to draw from. The developer confirmed back in June that the game has sold six million copies worldwide, following the two million launch-day sales. Those numbers are undeniably impressive for a new IP.

However, sales figures only tell part of the story. The more pertinent question for Charting the Unknown is how many of those players remain invested in Pywel, and how many can be persuaded to return.

Steam’s concurrent player figures offer an indication of how the game’s audience has changed since launch, although this, of course, shouldn’t be mistaken for the entire picture given total sales are reportedly split down the middle between PC and console. That said, Crimson Desert peaked at more than 276,000 concurrent players on the platform, while its most-recent activity has tapered gradually. This decline, however, doesn’t indicate anything beyond players moving on after launch, but it does support the notion that Charting the Unknown might need to do more than simply exist if lapsed players are to come back.

Interestingly, and sticking with Steam data, the game’s completion figures suggest there could be scope for players to re-engage. According to the Steam achievement percentages in SteamDB, 76.9% of players have completed Chapter 1, but only 28.9% have reached the end of Chapter 7. Just 10.7% have completed all the main quests, demonstrating that owning Crimson Desert and finishing its main story are two different things.

This information is noteworthy because Charting the Unknown doesn’t make all of its content available immediately. According to the developer’s breakdown of the expansion’s prerequisites, the sea-faring storylines become available after completing the Howling Hill quest, while the individual narratives for Kliff, Oongka, and Damiane require the main story to be finished. In other words, you can access some of the expansion’s content without completing the campaign.

And, anecdotally, given the community chatter across services like Reddit, there are plenty of you who have invested hundreds of hours into Crimson Desert’s diversions instead of focusing solely on the main quest. If understood in earnest, there’s a potential upside which contradicts our earlier point. See, for Crimson Desert’s already captured players, Charting the Unknown’s existence could well prove enough incentive to finish the main story before diving into the DLC.

If you have spent time away, leaving before the Enhanced Edition brought new mechanics, gameplay, abilities, and so on, a new learning curve might just establish itself. But, this isn’t a new multiplayer season; Pywel is vast, and can be unhurried if you like. There’s no deadline on remembering everything apart from the one you impose on yourself. Any hesitation, it seems, skews squarely onto new players.

See, the game, in some ways, is morphing into a life sim. The sheer scale of activity could put newcomers off. There’s plenty of things to ‘manage’, for instance; farming, harvesting, building, trading. Away from combat and exploration, these tasks could feel like a full-time job. While the game’s breadth is inarguably its selling point, it’s also a barrier to entry. And if you are put off by Pywel’s many commitments but you want a swashbuckling open-ocean adventure… well, there are alternatives for that. Likewise if you want to play a medieval open-worlder. So, in summary of our original argument – that Charting the Unknown’s appeal is concentrated among existing players – its ringing truer.

That said, no matter which demographic picks up Charting the Unknown, the expansion has potential to maintain interest beyond launch day if players find enough unexpected experiences to share. New storylines, oceanic exploration, customisable housing, castle ownership; there are plenty of avenues to anticipate and discover. And here, instead, is where the developer has an advantage over competing titles: the already established community provides the foundation for conversation to spread, sustaining its visibility.

There is a conversation on price we could be having here, too, and this could be another one of Charting the Unknown’s advantages during the crowded release calendar given expansions typically ask for less cash than a brand-new game. Again, newcomers face a different calculation as they’ll need to purchase Crimson Desert itself before buying the additional content. While the combined cost could prove attractive compared to buying multiple new releases, affordability alone isn’t a guarantee of interest. Circling back to time, players must still decide whether they’re willing to commit what Crimson Desert demands, whether the game is filled with meaningful substance or not.

So, all in all, Charting the Unknown could well end the year as one of its biggest releases, but that success hinges on how effectively its existing audience engages. There are, however, countless reasons to believe current and returning players will find something worthwhile, while newcomers not put off by the odyssey ahead of them will be tempted to experience the complete package. There’s no denying though: that same substantial time commitment together with competition elsewhere could limit Charting the Unknown’s reach – at least, initially.

Enough reminiscing, though. Here are the ten biggest things you need to know about Update 2.5, and why you should jump back into Cyberpunk 2077, starting with the most obvious new addition…

Edgerunners 2 Prequel Quest

While Update 1.6, aka the Edgerunners 1 Update, offered a quest that clued you in on the fate of David and his team, 2.5 is going far beyond that, instead serving as a prequel to Edgerunners 2. In Clampdown, V will work with King’s team – Meshuga, Miguel and Emily, all reprised by the show’s voice actors – in what’s their last job. Of course, if you watched the first episode of the new season, that last part is a bit fuzzy. Regardless, the development team is staying relatively mum on what to expect…except that it somehow has to do with entering Night City PD.

You’ll need to complete The Heist and two of Wakako’s gigs (which you should do anyway for Byakko) to access Clampdown, but the rewards, including a new gear set based on King, look to be worth it. V even wields his iconic handcannon, though one has to wonder how it ended back with its owner.

Night City Tours ft. Richard Night

Another side quest awaits, but this one leans more towards the…unusual. Instead of hunting down a target or taking on a job, V will embark on a tour of Night City, narrated by none other than the founder, Richard Night. You know, the one who was murdered, leading to the city receiving its name. CD Projekt RED describes this as a lore-focused quest, where you’ll learn from a digital version of the man himself about Night City’s culture and creation. Observing the environment, especially since there’s a mystery to solve, is important, but it’s a far more relaxed outing compared to V’s other escapades.

Edgerunners-Dedicated Radio Station

You’ve hung out with companions and had “I Really Wanna Stay at Your House” blaring over the speakers, reminding you of broken promises and early demises. Occasionally, it comes on 98.7 Body Heat Radio. But what about a dedicated station for other Edgerunners songs, both Season 1 and 2? That’s exactly what HKGN 102.0 FM aims to offer, packing a whopping 16 songs. While the full tracklist has yet to be revealed, “You Can’t Run From Me” is confirmed to be included.

Dual-Wielding Pistols

Aside from the Edgerunners content, however, arguably the biggest new addition with Update 2.5 is Double Trouble, a new perk in the Cool tree that lets you dual-wield pistols. An homage to Jacky, if you will, complete with the ability to wreak absolute mayhem.

Now, there are penalties – each weapon deals 37.5 percent less damage when dual-wielding – but the benefits include 15 percent less recoil and 15 percent less bullet spread. At level 2, your Quick Melee is replaced with Heywood Hurricane, which fires both guns simultaneously for a second with 50 percent more bullet spread. The kicker is that any ammo spent on successful shots – which likely means hitting and not necessarily killing a target – is refilled.

Combine this with other perks like Deadeye, which grants 25 percent headshot damage and weak spot damage, along with no bullet spread at level 3 when you’re above 85 percent stamina, and V can become a menace befitting of a John Woo action flick. The fact that each weapon’s effects are retained, and you can mix and match different types, including Iconics, makes it all the more appealing.

40+ New Arm Cyberware Cosmetics

You’ve created perhaps the best melee build to leap at people with the Mantis Blades and dismember them before they can blink. But what about actually painting that cyberware and really making it your own? That’s where the new Glamdocs come in. Five brand-new characters, each with unique voiceovers and animations, will sell different skins for the Monowire, Projectile Launch System, Gorilla Arms and Mantis Blades. You can even choose from different brands, including Arasaka and the Mox, to really distinguish them, and a painting tool similar to the one used for vehicles. With 40+ new variants, you’re sure to find something nice to look at while running riot through Night City.

New Outfit Sets

Of course, you can match these new cyberware looks with some new threads. To that end, new outfit sets from Maxiwear, Jinguji, NetWatch and IconAmerica will be available to purchase. You can also finally purchase the NUS Infiltrator set, previously exclusive to Phantom Liberty’s Twitch drops, in Kabuki and Japantown. CD Projekt RED also teases another set that will arrive in Night City “soon,” and your guess is as good as ours, but we’re still excited.

Cross-Platform Mod Support

The Cyberpunk 2077 modding scene may seem small, but it’s a dedicated bunch – beyond all the improvements at launch, they’ve resulted in a third-person perspective, even more customization for V, and more. Update 2.5 isn’t just sharing that functionality with Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and Mac users through cross-platform mod support – it’s also adding a dedicated menu for players to navigate and install mods within the game itself. Beyond readable shards, cats in every apartment, and new quests, it may seem a little sparse now, but CD Projekt RED will add more mods over time and expand functionality.

FOV Slider on Consoles and DLSS 4.5 Support

As great as Cyberpunk 2077 runs on consoles – imagine saying that in 2020 – it’s always lacked one particular quality-of-life feature that fans have demanded for a long time: A field-of-view slider. Whether you’ve wanted to see more or less to reduce motion sickness, it’s finally coming to consoles in Update 2.5. But there’s also good news for PC players: DLSS 4.5 is officially supported, complete with Dynamic and 6X Multi Frame Generation, and the 2nd Generation Transformer Model, which the development team says removes all noise.

12 New Minor Arcana

Remember that side quest that involved hunting different Arcana? They served as hints for what’s to come in the story, and you can even use them to get a reading from Misty. Beyond the Major Arcana, this update adds 12 new Minor Arcana, with a unique reward to unlock upon scanning them all. What insights could they provide? You’ll have to collect them all to find out.

New Hairstyles Previously Exclusive to NPCs

Rounding out the character customization features are new hairstyles, or, more specifically, hairstyles that only NPCs could have. Well, they’re finally available for V, and even with some restrictions, it’s a welcome addition all the same. And if these aren’t enough, you can always download mods to expand your choices.

Keep in mind that all of this doesn’t cover minor quality of life changes and additions, including save files now being grouped by different playthroughs, item filters for your apartment and vehicle stashes, new dual-wielding poses in Photo Mode, ray tracing and PS5 Pro improvements, and more. While the team hasn’t confirmed whether this is the final, last update for really real, it’s another excuse to revisit Night City. And for the low, low price of free, that’s good enough for us.

There’s something about Liberty City, a place where we’d already been quite busy thanks to the franchise’s first outing, but to see it brought to life in the way that GTA 3 managed is certainly among anybody’s favorite memories of the franchise. It was also quite good at pulling you into a gameplay loop that could see you stealing cars and listening to the radio on a lazy afternoon before putting you in dangerous situations where jobs gone wrong could lead to some intense getaways.

Of course, all of that’s now been refined and distilled into the formula we know and love today, but is it still worth returning to a title that’s so historically significant while also being a lot of fun to play? Join us and find out.

A Real Eye-Opener

Let’s think about where the franchise was at by the time GTA 3 came along. It had two titles under its belt, and a reputation as a very enjoyable crime sandbox where a top-down perspective and some nice animations and presentation made things addictive, if not as immersive as what would be on offer in later years.

That began with GTA 3, which carried that formula over to a world where fully 3D models replaced animated sprites, and the streets and buildings were now part of a city that combined driving, combat, missions, and free roaming so well, and in a way that was so fun to engage with.

Stealing vehicles, abandoning them for one you found more fetching, perhaps triggering a police chase in the process. You never knew which action you took could be the catalyst for a chain reaction that you would then have to navigate, resulting in many hours of unscripted chaos and unalloyed fun.

GTA 3’s lasting appeal is aptly thanks to how it is one of the earliest versions of the franchise’s formula, fine-tuned to work with a city that’s smaller than what you might be used to it you’re going to it from one of the franchise’s more recent offerings. But if you’re a newbie thinking of working your way through each title, you’re going to appreciate how each activity you get to indulge in can, and often does, interact with something else in interesting ways.

In a way, Liberty City being among the smaller maps on offer benefits from that, since it facilitates such interactions while making them part of a progression loop that feeds you the impression that your actions matter and are unlocking new corners of the city for you to further engage with. It’s also how Liberty City brings some variety to its streets, thanks to Portland, Staunton, and Shoreside Vale having distinct geographical design cues and varying layouts that reward gaining familiarity with them.

Discovering shortcuts, bridges, safehouses, and other useful locations felt rewarding, each one making life in Liberty City easier in one way or another. Stumbling across a place that has the potential to change how you would approach a section of the map’s activities never gets old, and is part of GTA 3’s lasting charm.

But those smaller streets aren’t the only way it remains memorable to this day. There’s also its unique vibe.

Liberty’s Special Strengths

It’s equally important to understand how Liberty City’s new 3D avatar lent a new ability to immerse you in its industrial streets with overcast weather; its alluring nighttime lighting, working well with the sounds of traffic and, of course, the chatter on the radio, gives you a world that feels alive alongside you and waiting for you to wander further into its fold.

It’s also a world that’s quite unique, with subsequent entries finding their own rhythm, which only ensures that GTA 3 is a title whose world feels like it’s entirely its own. From its lighting to the way litter is strewn about its streets, this is an early blueprint of Rockstar’s usually elaborate and insanely interconnected worlds, and is one that has certainly managed to withstand the test of time.

The game’s Definitive Edition might have messed with that vibe a bit with disastrous effects, but with an update ironing out a lot of its issues, it’s certainly worth considering as an option. That’s something we’re tackling a little later, but it’s a good idea to see if what you get to do in Liberty City is actually worth a trip to the past in the first place.

It’s a good thing that the gameplay loop on offer is still as satisfying as ever, with taking up jobs, finding the appropriate vehicle, figuring out your route, and executing your plan and the subsequent getaway being very entertaining indeed. This is a franchise that has always hinged its entertainment value on being a sandbox with a lot of freedom, and that’s certainly on display here.

The vehicles you drive might not handle as well as you’re used to in modern games, but they’re definitely useful enough to be viable in dicey situations, while a simple collision or a damaged car could, in theory, alter the outcomes of your actions. For instance, a damaged car that’s not running as it should is going to make getting away from pursuing cops harder than it should be, and you’re almost always better off trying to switch rides.

Those details matter, and the fact that you can be as meticulous as you like, or just wing your way to success in the game, is what makes that gameplay loop so entertaining. But there are caveats: strict timers, clunky combat, and more than a few missions that are going to have you trying them out several times until you manage to get past them do take away from that freedom and immersion.

The mission where you help 8-Ball  put down some explosives on a rival’s ship. Getting the 100,000 dollars you need to even start the mission could be a bottleneck that feels limiting in terms of having the freedom to approach missions in any way you want. There’s also the matter of 8-Ball himself acting like a man who’s never heard of a strategic approach in a mission that clearly needs one.

It’s an annoyance, and since his death means a failure condition, it’s a mission that takes away the control you’re given in most other situations to create a linear approach that feels out of place in comparison to the rest of the experience. Other missions such as this one exist, and that’s definitely going to hold this one back from true greatness, no matter what the Definitive Edition did to change things for the better.

A Story To Remember

With the world and gameplay having their own strengths and weaknesses, does the story on offer in GTA 3 manage to bring it all together well enough to make it worthwhile today? Claude’s definitely an interesting one, and his betrayal at the hands of people he should have been able to rely on is an interesting opening act.

It sets the tone for the rest of the story, which sees so many twists and turns alongside nuanced interactions between the many stakeholders in Liberty City’s criminal underbelly. Although the storytelling on offer could be considered a tad too sparse in comparison with everything else that GTA offers today, you could argue that it helps keep the pacing tight.

But with Claude being a mute protagonist and the possibility that the more seasoned ones among you might see its plot twists coming from a mile away, the story in GTA 3 might not be one that has your attention throughout its runtime. It’s a good thing that the side content on offer brings some much-needed variety into the mix to balance things out.

From operating as a taxi, helping people out in emergencies using your vehicles, finding hidden packages, doing stunts and collecting new rides, and just exploring Liberty City, there’s a lot to keep you occupied once you fall into a pattern of ignoring your next story objective in favor of just enjoying a city that feels like it wants you prowling its streets looking for adventure.

Each activity is a reason to learn the city’s routes, which helps when you’re trying to find a quick direction between two destinations in a taxi, or perhaps try out different vehicles to find one that’s better-equipped to let you pull off a stunt that’s been giving you pause. There are mechanical connections to in-game activities that are developed by engaging with the world, and it’s a loop that feeds itself so well it becomes very addictive very early.

Chinks In GTA 3’s Armor

You’re probably thinking that GTA 3 still has a lot left to give you, and you’re right. But getting to the good stuff might be a tad harder than you think. The combat system’s still too clunky for many of you to look past it, and that’s a shame considering how much of it you’re going to be doing as you join Claude on streets that are just waiting to throw a fight or two his way.

The camera and character movement aren’t going to feel as refined as what’s on offer today, and the shift can be quite jarring and perhaps even something that forces you to drop off if you can’t ignore it enough. The missions can get repetitive despite Rockstar trying its utmost to frame each one well enough to make it stand out. Not being able to swim is a bummer, too.

If you’re a newcomer to this one, these are issues that are going to stick out like sore thumbs to you, and in the absence of the goodwill that a returning veteran might bring, it’s hard to see those problems not affecting your overall enjoyment of the experience on offer. There’s also the question of whether the original title or the Definitive Edition should be what you choose to experience it with.

As far as the former is concerned, there’s an argument to be made in favor of the visual style, atmosphere, and presentation that come with it. Of course, that means dealing with its issues, and the PC version might have an edge thanks to community fixes that could help iron them out.

However, with the Definitive Edition out there, it’s hard to ignore that it brings better controls, targeting, weapon and radio wheels that feel very intuitive to use, better navigation, and the welcome option to restart missions. With the option to use the classic lighting system from the original also on offer, it’s definitely worth considering and is probably the one we’d recommend to you if you’re thinking about diving in. It’s going to present the least friction, and that immediately influences how much you’re going to enjoy the game.

There are still issues- yes, the lack of a more robust checkpointing system is our biggest gripe- but the Definitive Edition’s modern touches and convenience make it a better choice today. Either way, GTA 3 is still worth playing, with a compact world that sells its chaos and vibe very well. Its age is definitely showing, ahead of a new instalment that’s looking more likely to become a new benchmark for the franchise and other studios with each passing day.

But it’s still very, very good at bringing Rockstar’s penchant for unpredictability to life. And that’s something many other games from its era just don’t have.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

We’re not criticizing the premise, far from it. That lends a layer of tension and urgency to everything we do, something that seems like it’s baked into the very pace of the game’s fights and traversal. But we did think of one way it could actually interfere with the immersion, being as well woven into the game’s fabric as it is. That’s in the game’s side quests, which often require taking detours to help others, which might sound a tad too counterproductive for a man like Soul.

Why would he spend a minute of the 66 days he has left before a bitter end to his quest to clear his name and restore his heart helping others in the Phantom World? Can that clock somehow add to the weight of the game’s side quests instead of taking something away from them? Can it simply be a narrative premise and not an actual mechanic unless you choose it to be? We’ve come at this one from many angles, and we think you’re going to enjoy them all.

Matters of the Heart

We think it prudent to start with the reassertion of our happiness with the game’s premise. Soul, a very high-ranking member of The Order, an organization of elite assassins that includes his blood brother amongst its ranks, is framed for his mentor’s murder, stabbed through the heart, and left for dead.

That’s a morbid beginning, even without him subsequently being given a metal heart and only 66 days to uncover the real killer and take a stab at restoring his own heart. That’s weighty stuff, and it’s a quest that’s going to tax even the most seasoned and disciplined warrior. We love it.

But the weight of those problems, and the consequences they invite for a warrior unable to solve them, are reasons enough for Soul to have his eyes fixed firmly forward, with no room for diversions of any sort until he gets to the bottom of things. We wouldn’t really blame the guy for that, but we know that the Wulin is going to put some interesting characters in his path, many of them needing his assistance in exchange for rewards of their own.

But stopping to help is definitely not something a ticking clock that’s going to count out just 66 days to uncover a fairly tangled conspiracy doesn’t make sense at all, does it? We’d agree, but we already know that director Soulframe Liang’s assertion that you’re not going to be looking for someone’s lost cat or helping them with the worst of their household chores. That’s an indicator that S-GAME realized its side content needed to hit just as hard as the main story, and has perhaps done what it can to make diversions in Soul’s path relevant to his end goals.

That might spell out a world in which side stories are fewer in number, but all the more potent for it. But that’s good for us, but still not good for the hero we’re guiding along. Why should he stop to help a stranger in a situation where he could use a little help himself?

Building Connections

It’s important to remember what a few previews of the game have said about the Wulin, and how the game’s world is one in which competing factions are often at play while martial arts are a part of life instead of a set of skills specific to a few elite warriors. That paints a world in which anybody Soul meets is potentially as good at fighting as he is, and perhaps a way for him to learn new skills to unleash against his enemies.

We already know of a Phantom Edge being at the end of one side quest, and while it could be unrealistic to expect such a reward at the end of each one, weapons aren’t the only way in which Soul could be given a new trick to add to his repertoire. We’ve been told revenge and the darker parts of the world are going to be a part of side quests, and there could be a sort of emotional resonance with Soul’s own circumstances to act as a narrative frame to justify deviations from the main path.

There’s also the possibility of meaningful connections to the main story, with Soul uncovering pieces of the truth behind the events that set him on his path. It could allow him to better understand why he was betrayed, give him insight into an opponent, or lend more context to the conflict and why The Order has seen such an upheaval in its ranks.

It could be a balance between all of these elements that wins the day on the side content front, and we suspect it’s what S-GAME is doing as far as justifying their presence on the narrative front is concerned. However, how that plays out for the man himself is equally deserving of further examination.

Limited Life, Unlimited Tension

If the side stories in Phantom Blade Zero are done well enough with worthwhile rewards waiting at the end of them, it’s safe to assume that whatever Soul is presented with matters enough for him to put his own goals on hold for a little while to stop and help. Given the high stakes that the narrative sets up for him, that’s a very tall order.

He hasn’t got all the time in the world, while the ones needing his help certainly have more of it on their hands than he does. And yet, they ask, which points to his prodigious skill being a part of the equation. But how much of his limited time should he devote to lending his aid? Those detours could address these questions directly if they feature dialogues written for that very purpose, revealing a little more of his personality and ambitions along the way.

We already know he’s an unrelenting force on the battlefield thanks to the main premise and setup we’ve already been given. But is he a wise-cracking, slightly arrogant man, or a somber, serious warrior whose discipline has allowed him to rise to where he is? Does compassion drive his actions, or a strong sense of right and wrong? All of these facets of his personality could be teased out over well-written side stories that use the pressure of his limited time to showcase how he reacts to the weight of it all. Fires forge the best heroes, after all.

They’re also an opportunity to send you out exploring the deeper corners of each handcrafted map you explore, many of which are off the main path and are designed around rewarding your curiosity based on what was said about them in that memorable State of Play showcase.

It’s also important to remember that your first playthrough isn’t actually going to feature that 66-day clock as an actual mechanic, since even the game’s hardcore difficulty doesn’t count you down. It’s meant to come into play after your first time beating the game, letting you take on the intense challenge of Hardcore with a mechanically and narratively relevant twist to justify that second playthrough.

Stories To Remember

We’re especially interested in how our first time engaging with everything the Wulin has to offer isn’t going to have the threat of a ticking clock hanging over our heads. That’s a great way to let curiosity dictate where we’re going instead of urgency and tension. But can that dilute the tension that the narrative aims to build?

That’s a risk, and definitely one that S-GAME would be bold for taking. It’s drawn a line in the sand by deliberately locking a very important narrative device behind a second playthrough, but an optimistic take would be that it’s quite confident in the story it has crafted because of that choice.

It could mean strong reasons to get Soul involved in any side stories in the first place that appeal to his actual heart and not the mechanical one that beats in his chest during our time with him. There could be natural connections with his own journey, and perhaps even consequences tied to his actions. Of course, too many of them in the picture could weaken the main story’s premise.

It’s a fine line that the game’s walking, but like the supreme balance that the Wulin’s inhabitants exhibit as a part of their every moment, there’s no reason to believe that Phantom Blade Zero isn’t going to handle its main story and side content as deftly as Soul handles the many weapons he wields.

The strongest possible outcome of the Wulin might just be the stories that have us remembering why we stopped to help a stranger despite dire circumstances of our own. They could be what makes Soul human in a world where it can be quite easy to lose sight of the sentiment.

Of course, we’re going to have to wait for a little over a week before we get to answer questions bout whether those stories are able to make us feel like they were worth spending the precious time we had to spare on them. We can’t deny it’s looking good, though.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

A Semi-Open, Linear-Style Adventure

The original Ocarina of Time followed a more structured, linear adventure compared to Link’s most-recent excursions Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. So, it should come as no surprise that the upcoming remake traces a similarly guided, semi-open path, where specific regions, story beats, and dungeons spoke out a central hub. Progression, then, is more-closely curated, with open-world Zelda’s freeform sandboxing left to its modern titles.

You Don’t Need to Have Played the Original

If you never dipped into Ocarina in the years since – or, indeed, played any Zelda game full stop – then you’ll be pleased to know that Ocarina of Time tells a self-contained story. The remake is being positioned as an excellent entry point into the series, although there are some playful nods to the original that newcomers and veterans alike should appreciate – loading screens between areas, for instance, are included to preserve the essence of the original.

Dungeons and Environmental Puzzles Shape Gameplay

Dungeons are a major part of what makes Zelda games tick, and Ocarina of Time is no exception. These locations combine enemy encounters, labyrinthine exploration, and elaborate environmental puzzles, establishing the game’s mechanics while directing you to boss battles and temple-specific item rewards. The iconic, somewhat divisive Water location is set to return alongside firm favourites like the Spirit, Shadow, and the atmospheric Forest locations.

Hyrule Field is Your Central Hub

Filled with rolling pastures, lush forests, and shadowed by the volcanic Death Mountain, Hyrule Field serves as the game’s central hub and gateway to the wider kingdom of Hyrule. You’ll gradually venture further afield as Ocarina of Time unfolds, meeting inhabitants, visiting settlements, and uncovering dungeons to raid. There will be blocked paths and inaccessible secrets along the way, but Link has a rather nifty way to unlock the landscape which we’ll get onto later.

The Ocarina Is More Than a Musical Instrument

Yes, as the title suggests, the ocarina is a central device, but playing its melodies isn’t just a musical diversion. No, certain songs are essential for making progress, opening previously closed paths and even unlocking the door that gives Link access to the Master Sword. If we’re to downplay the majesty of the ocarina, you could say it’s a utility tool, and you’ll need to know specific songs to garner the effect you want. That could be melodies which trigger rain or shift ancient mechanisms to manipulate the world around Link, or motifs for teleporting him to other parts of the map. Tunes like “Sun’s Song” can switch between day and night – we’ll explain why this specific mechanic matters shortly.

You Can Hum Songs into The Microphone

The Switch 2 brings a unique twist on performing ocarina melodies. See, in-game you can press the appropriate Joy-Con buttons, but where’s the fun in that when you can also hum the tunes into the console’s microphone. Singing or whistling presumably works just as well, and it’s a joyful way to interact with one of the game’s defining mechanics. Nintendo is also set to offer an actual ocarina, if you want to go full musical immersion, although the official gameplay overview states other instruments should work too.

The Adventure Spans Two Different Eras

Here’s where the ‘Time’ part of the title comes in. See, in Ocarina of Time, Link’s quest isn’t confined to a single period of his life. The story begins with child Link, whom through visiting specific locations can flash-forward seven years to Link’s Adult Era. The game allows you to alternate between child and adult via an anchor, with different world states, physical abilities, and weapons typifying each era. More so, actions you undertake as child Link can have a direct correlation with how adult Link interacts with the world seven years later, from establishing new paths to resolving playful paradoxes.

Time Passes Organically Throughout Hyrule

The passage of time, and the transitions from day to night bring different activity to Hyrule, with certain friends and enemies appearing at particular times. This means the world isn’t always going to offer you an opportunity for progression if you visit during an inopportune time. If you’re searching for something in particular, you may need to wait for the right conditions. Or, you know, blow the right tune on your ocarina to shift time yourself.

Weapons and Items Can Be Swapped On The Fly

Link has plenty of equipment at his disposal, including era-specific weapons for downing enemies and overcoming environmental obstacles. To encourage frictionless experimentation, Ocarina of Time allows you to swap between equipment on the fly, maintaining momentum whether you’re fighting, navigating, or working through a puzzle.

There’re Plenty of Diversions Beyond Dungeons

Although, as we’ve already alluded, dungeons and puzzles are the game’s major attractions, Hyrule also offers plenty of other diversions to keep you occupied. Side quests, collectable hunts, and optional activities give you additional goals beyond dungeon crawling. Hyrule Castle Town, in particular, is a good spot to find minigames if you’re after a change of pace. Elsewhere, helping Hyrule’s inhabitants can lead to specific rewards, so it’s always worth investigating every location thoroughly away from the main quest.

Befriending a Horse Makes Travel Faster

Hyrule is a sizeable place, and travelling on foot can take considerable time. Befriending a horse as adult Link gives you a much quicker way to cover ground. This will prove particularly useful once you’ve unlocked abilities that encourage you to revisit previously visited regions. Riding isn’t the be all and end all, though; rolling and dashing also gives you an efficient way to get around.

The Remake Supports ZELDA NOTES

Like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom’s Switch 2 Editions, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is supported by ZELDA NOTES, the companion service available through the Nintendo Switch app. For Ocarina, it’ll provide a record of your accomplishments, a tool to challenge your knowledge of the game, and a place to upload and share your very own ocarina melodies. You will need a compatible smart device and Nintendo Account to access the service, although a Switch Online subscription is not required.

Amiibo Will Unlock Special Masks in 2027

Nintendo has announced that two new Amiibo specifically designed for the remake are launching in 2027 – Young Link and Young Zelda – with them able to unlock special in-game masks which transform Link’s face into a low-poly, N64 art style. Elsewhere, all existing Zelda Amiibo are being supported, with the figures already in your collection now able to drop helpful items and resources in-game.

Single Player Only, Requires 27GB Storage

Ocarina of Time remake is as single-player as they come, with the revamped classic adventure designed specifically for one person. So, in other words: no multiplayer, and no co-op. Storage-wise, Nintendo advertises the game’s estimated file size at 27GB – not too shabby!

A Nintendo Switch 2 Exclusive

Set to launch on November 5, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive. So, if you’re the owner of the original Switch you’ll need to upgrade to the latest console if you want to experience the remake. For pricing, you’re looking at $59.99 for the Digital Edition, while the Physical Edition has a recommended retail price of $69.99.

It still does a year later; there’s no doubt about it. But in the interim, a new contender for the gaming world’s metaphorical wuxia throne has entered the fray. Soul’s mission might not be as sprawling and vast as the one on offer in Where Winds Meet, but we’re wondering if that’s the right goalpost for a comparison between these two similar, yet fundamentally different, experiences.

Join us as we see how the two titles can measure up against each other, and whether Phantom Blade Zero can take the top spot as the wuxia experience you should choose.

A Wuxia World For The Win

It’s probably a good idea to begin with everything Where Winds Meet gets right. We’re taken back to our first month with the game last year, and the sheer wonder we felt at the way it was designed around existing in it as stylishly as you could. Self-expression underlined its combat and traversal, working well alongside a world that didn’t shy away from its inspirations, but embraced them to sell us a game that quickly became too hard to put down.

The way traversal mechanics evolve the more you engage with the world around you is a great example. With your familiarity in any given region directly tied to how convenient it is to traverse the vast landscapes it entails, Where Winds Meet automatically convinces you to invest your time in the world that’s been meticulously designed to keep you coming back for more.

Fancy moves from Lightness skills are great ways to make you feel like you’ve earned them, with wall runs, mid-air dashes, Meteor Flights, Cloud Steps, and even walking on water becoming available to you as you keep going. You soon begin to feel like the world is merely an elaborately designed stage that exists to let you pull off every fancy move at your disposal as you make your way to your next goal.

The same goes for combat. Let’s forget about the sheer spectacle of unleashing your Martial Arts and skills with your weapon of choice, and focus on how frenetic most encounters turn out to be when you’re out and about in the world. Early combat encounters might feel like clunky affairs where you rely on your dodges far too often, but nail a few parries and your confidence begins to grow.

That then translates to fights that feel like you’re giving everything you have to survive, with the resulting encounter looking and feeling like something out of a movie. That’s hitting the wuxia nail right on the head as far as the combat is concerned, and it’s helped along by enemies who come at you with intent and a fair bit of strategy in the open world.

Pick a fight with a boss, and you’re immediately tested on your knowledge of the mechanics you’ve learned so far, and how well you can weave your offense and defense together into a cohesive strategy that sees you prevail. It helps that several boss designs tie in very well to the game’s overarching wuxia themes.

Take the Shadow Puppeteer, for example. Sheng Wu’s puppets are a reflection of a traditional art form, twisted into a ruthless yet efficient fighting style that sees him use them to shoot off sweeping attacks that you’re hard-pressed to stay ahead of and respond to. The Ghost Master is equally challenging, although his use of poison and stealth ties to other ancient martial art forms and works well with Sheng Wu to demonstrate variety as well as a solid understanding of the source material and creative ways to draw from it.

Through it all, there is a very high quality of animations that makes each fight and attack very readable, and with a relatively accessible skill ceiling, Where Winds Meet immediately cements itself as a title whose combat is easy to learn, but hard to master. That’s a detail that’s very important thanks to Phantom Blade Zero’s own approach to catering to differing thresholds of challenges.

The weapons you’re fighting with are equally important parts of the experience, and it’s not every day a game lets you use an umbrella in the way that Where Winds Meet does. Its many expansions and content drops have seen it expand the arsenal of killing tools you have at your disposal, and that each one manages to feel distinct and deserving of mastery is an achievement in and of itself.

With all that’s been said about it, it might seem like Where Winds Meet has the advantage of time and its sheer scale over Phantom Blade Zero, but we’re hesitant to write off what’s looking like a more focused, intense take on the genre.

A Fight To Save Your Soul

It’s clear that player expression is an important facet of any wuxia-based experience, and we’re thinking it’s a place where Phantom Blade Zero could pull off a very welcome victory. Of course, it’s important to remember that the new game’s success doesn’t necessarily translate to the failure of Where Winds Meet, which tackles an entirely different genre altogether.

But as far as the combat system in Phantom Blade Zero goes, what we’ve seen of the game definitely has the chops to rival what’s on offer in Where Winds Meet. While the beginnings of your journey in Winds see you learning the ropes of martial arts in the hopes of achieving mastery, a narrative framing tool that works in that game’s context, your time with Soul is different.

He’s already a master Assassin, proficient with the weapons he uses and the ones he’s set to gain along the way. He’s angry, and he’s on a mission with high stakes, which means he isn’t going to hold back, and neither should you. As far as lending context to every fight goes, it’s hard not to pick up on the kind of stakes S-GAME has laid out.

But what about the fights themselves, and the ways in which you navigate the world to guide Soul to his next battle? It’s too early to tell, but Soul definitely has style and substance in the ways he interacts with the world, while the game’s animations are looking quite good so far.

If we were to run with the assumption that the final release sustains that level of quality across eight large maps, the result is an experience that is focused, well-paced, and detailed enough to help you not notice that it’s still not as massive and full of life as what’s on offer in Winds.

Soul runs along walls, climbs chains, and does flips and dodges that certainly match the style we’ve already seen from Winds, while Phantom Blade Zero’s novel approach to combat might tip the scales in its favor. The blending of your offence and defence is probably the biggest, and most impactful, departure from Winds.

You see, Winds continues the tried and tested trend of separating offensive and defensive manoeuvres, just as so many of the best combat systems over the last few years have done. Yes, you get to cancel offensive moves in favor of parries or dodges, but your defenses aren’t woven into your offensive tools.

That’s different in Phantom Blade Zero, with so many previews pointing to a combat system that encourages weaving in parries and dodges into combos as your enemy unleashes attacks without foregoing the momentum of the said combo. That you get to weave in defensive moves in the middle of your offence is certainly innovative, and is already making waves as a very entertaining take on wuxia-inspired battles.

Speaking of wuxia inspirations, Phantom could match Winds in terms of how well it’s using the genre to generate scenes and spectacles that stand out. The Lion Dance Puppeteer we saw is a great example to compare to the Shadow one from Winds, a showcase of how traditions and lore have been guiding lights for the art style and visual direction of both titles. Which one you prefer is going to come down to personal tastes, which is a compliment to both of them.

Of course, those same previews have expressed concerns about the difficulty of rank-and-file enemies, which could make the world feel oddly empty once you dispatch them. That’s made even worse by the fact that enemies don’t respawn once you clear them out. Yes, you could choose the Hardcore option to offset those concerns, but that would mean forcing yourself into a challenge that’s looking quite punishing to anybody not using the game’s systems with intent and strategy.

Lastly, it’s quite likely that the arsenal of weapons and Phantom Edges that Soul is going to get his hands on could beat anything that Winds has given us so far. Take the dual blades that function almost independently of each other, or the presence of cannons and flamethrowers for Soul to let loose with.

But there’s still an important question left unanswered.

Can Soul Edge Ahead Of A Well-Established Rival?

We must take into account that Winds has had a lot of time to prove itself and establish a player base that love its offering. It’s done that by offering several facets of a riveting experience that Phantom is yet to prove it has.

Winds has proven it brings variety, useful weapons, and a combat system that gives you everything you need tos tay responsive under pressure, while ordinary encounters can often be as thrilling as the last boss you took on. Phantom Blade Zero could fall behind on the challenge its basic enemies offer, but on all those other parameters, it seems poised to put up a very entertaining fight.

That’s a good thing, and all that remains is to see if it’s able to sustain the level of quality it has shown us over the course of Soul’s adventure, which would allow it to be a very satisfying take on wuxia, and one in which we, the players, are the driving force behind the spectacle of it all.

That’s something you don’t get too often, and we’re glad to have a second offering in a genre we’re very intrigued by.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Yes, Andromeda struggled to find its footing with a new protagonist and storyline, but with three titles that were so influential in modern gaming, and very solid on the narrative and gameplay fronts as well, didn’t Mass Effect deserve its chance to attempt a come back? Sadly, we’re learning more about that new game through the lens of it being an end rather than a new beginning, with even a trailer for it flying around now.

It’s clear that there’s been a disconnect between its team’s vision for it and the game that EA wanted made to match its business interests. The result is a redemption effort that never could get its wheels off the ground, and has now been shot down in the wake of BioWare’s closure. We’re here to say goodbye and look back at how a franchise with so much potential to be a major presence in the future of gaming has now lost its chance to recover altogether.

Mass Effect, Mass Appeal

Mass Effect’s always been up there with the best in modern gaming over the years, with Shepard’s unique trajectories that are shaped by you over three stories being very interesting romps across the galaxy. Of course, a whole universe with a thriving political scene, multiple factions with often competing interests, and some truly weighty decisions that come with consequences attached are all factors that have established the franchise as one of gaming’s classics, and that’s especially true of the original trilogy.

Shepard’s story, as well as the universe it unfolded in, were then factors that didn’t just garner popularity, but an emotional connection that saw fans craving a return to the franchise, and the room to tell more stories in that universe was evident to anybody familiar with it. The end of Shepard’s journey didn’t necessarily feel like the end of the overarching world he was a part of, and Andromeda came along.

Of course, the shift to Frostbite 3 from UE3 meant that the team behind Andromeda was creating new assets from scratch, along with making them work in a newly created world, while a new protagonist took center stage after leaving Shepard, a character whose customizability and presence across three titles meant a very deep connection, stashed away in the franchise’s history.

A very compressed development window meant that there wasn’t enough time to cook and make Andromeda the game it was perhaps meant to be. The result was a title whose story didn’t quite reach the same highs as the ones before it, while technical issues marred the experience in a game that did bring a lot of good stuff to the table.

We still stand by the combat being expanded to a more mobile, intense loop instead of cover-based mechanics from the trilogy, and Ryder wasn’t too shabby as a new playable lead. But you’ve seen the facial-animation memes, and perhaps even experienced the story for yourselves, and know that it wasn’t enough to measure up to what the franchise had done before. All the great ideas were right there, but Andromeda might have been a different title if it had been allowed to simmer a little bit, or perhaps had its new story and direction fleshed out a little bit.

The end of support for the title post its 1.10 update in August 2017 was then a blow, pushing its newly established storyline outside of the video game format to other media, which matters because Andromeda wasn’t given its chance to recover from a shaky start. That’s something that we now know was going to extend to the franchise itself.

The Writing On The Wall

Could we have predicted the recent chain of events back then? Was the franchise’s fate already sealed before it could get its shot at a comeback? We can’t honestly say we’d have believed you if you told us that we’d be where we are today. The Legendary Edition of Mass Effect is probably what we’d bring up if you asked us why, with EA publicly stating that its sales were above expectations.

That showcased the franchise’s lasting appeal and the potential for a new addition to bring it back to heights it was once capable of. Players hadn’t moved on from it, and even a remaster was enough to push past forecasts, an indicator that it wasn’t just fond nostalgia for a memorable blast from the past, but the existence of a base of hardcore fans wanting more.

And it genuinely looked like a sequel was going to happen. It was revealed in 2020, after all, and Liara appearing in its announcement trailer had us wondering if we were going to return to Shepard, or perhaps see a different corner of the universe through a new set of eyes. BioWare then cut 50 jobs in August 2024, assuring us that Mike Gamble’s team was still engaged in pre-production of the new game.

Another restructuring, this time in January 2025, would see more members of the team move to other EA games, and Gamble would then address concerns about it in November 2025, when we were reassured that it was actively in development. Cut to today, and all we’ve got of the game is the testimony from its makers that it was going to be awesome.

We waited a long time, and with bated breath, but with Dragon Age: The Veilguard not living up to EA’s expectations, with approximately 1.5 million engaged players in its launch quarter not meeting the targets that the company wanted, it seems like BioWare’s effort to revive Mass Effect didn’t align with EA’s risk appetite.

EA’s statement on BioWare’s closure mentioned that it was focusing investment on its biggest opportunities and cutting down on large-scale action-adventure projects in simultaneous development. It continues to back projects like Iron Man and the next Star Wars Jedi game, though.

Why couldn’t Mass Effect make the cut, given that it could have achieved demonstrably good results based on existing results from the Legendary Edition’s release? Why wasn’t its potential ever allowed to truly be a part of its return to the spotlight?

Cinematic Supervisor Tony de Waal, who was among the members of BioWare’s Mass Effect team to be affected by its closure, has pointed to a “level of autonomy and choice that no other game has been able to match” being on board. In a world where The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Baldur’s Gate 3 exist, that’s a bold claim to be making. But consider it against the backdrop of what was already on offer in the franchise, and you begin to see it as a real possibility since de Wall also mentioned Larian and CDPR as inspirations.

Derek Kunsken’s reveal about working on the next Mass Effect as a contract writer before becoming a staffer said that what was in the works with big names like Parrish Ley and Mary DeMarle was “really cool”, and that’s accounting for him still figuring out what he’s allowed to say about the project. Catherynne M. Valente has mentioned more than three years of writing for the game, and has stood by the potential it carried as a beacon for the franchise’s revival.

Dantics, a content creator who claims he was part of BioWare’s Mass Effect Council providing developmental feedback, tells us of a setting that was 600 years after the Reaper War, with strained political relations between humans, krogans, batarians, and a few other species, an alliance of Council species, and the Geth as a major presence.

He spoke of an expanded universe beyond the Milky Way and Andromeda, a new protagonist who seemed partial tos stealth and sabotage, new ability designs, missions, and combat with companions. All of those are logical ways to build on a very familiar franchise formula, and might have managed to make it feel very fresh if the execution was on point.

As an evolving project, this might have been the Mass Effect game that cemented its place in a new era of video games. Alas, we’re here instead.

Saying Goodbye

We’re not in support of the idea that everybody who could have made a great Mass Effect game was already away from BioWare. Mike Gamble, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts, and Parrish Ley were still a part of the game’s development as of January 2025, after all, and what we’ve heard about the project signals a game that was taking shape quite well.

Not only that, but it looks like it was building on the original trilogy’s strengths while also being cognizant of what worked in Andromeda and what didn’t. A better summary of the situation would be that there was a talented team in place, but the opportunity to prove itself might have sailed past it thanks to factors outside of its control.

We might never know if what they were working on was a masterpiece in the making, but Casey Hudson’s sadness for both developers and fans showcases a title that could have been one that was made by fans of the franchise for the people who loved it over the years. Heck, EA could still sell the IPs, according to Mark Darrah, and perhaps give another team the chance to bring this game to life. It’s equally possible that Mass Effect remains dormant, fading away into the past as a fond memory.

It’s a franchise whose story rose to great heights, but whose conclusion is one that isn’t rooted in closure, but uncertainty instead. It never got the chance to succeed or fail on the modern stage on its own merits, and that’s a shame given the potential it had to be the franchise’s greatest one yet.

On the surface, S-Game’s gorgeous hack-and-slash action RPG felt like just that, and little else. It’s been over three years since its announcement, even longer since the team started development, and there’s been no small amount of hype. Even if it felt hefty at first thanks to weeks of waiting feeding into already-high expectations, it all melted away as I dove in. Whether it’s remembered for its stunning visuals, both the artistic craftsmanship and technical fidelity that go hand-in-hand, or its excellent combat, some of the finest in gaming yet, Phantom Blade Zero is a fantastic experience.

The story is simple enough: Soul, formerly an assassin for the shadowy Order, is framed for the murder of his master. After suffering what should be a fatal wound, he accepts the Tainted Heart from the Flesh Sculptor – who happens to be around conveniently enough – and only has 66 days to live. Meanwhile, the Order is after him for what’s essentially treason. Other assassins and old friends alike pop up to put him down, even as some question whether he actually did it.

"Past the initial hours, exploration opens up tremendously, going from relatively smaller-scale locations to winding streets, expansive waters and sprawling camps."

But surprisingly, that’s not the precise vibe that the plot kicks off with. When Soul enters the Weeping Creek Valley, he sees the fallout of a mysterious phenomenon and Maskwalkers, former humans who underwent Transcension to awaken latent powers at the cost of their sanity. The Mandate, which the Order previously teamed up with, is on the brink of collapse. Most ordinary citizens have perished in the chaos, and it’s all the rest can do to keep it together. Contrary to the story of a chivalrous vigilante righting wrongs left and right like a typical wuxia, it presents more than a few moral dilemmas for the outwardly gruff Soul. However, it also informs his new sense of freedom. Embarking on side quests and exploration doesn’t really cut away his remaining lifespan, at least on the three available difficulties, but we’ll get to that later.

As exciting as its opening scenes and bosses, the story and overall pacing take some time to kick into gear. You’re fed snatches of history, learn more about the Maskwalkers, and focus on finding a way into Pangzhen. It can feel like you’re on the periphery of it all, especially when reading about the lore of various characters and their deeds, tales of heroism, betrayals, and more. It’s intriguing but still fairly esoteric at this point.

Weeping Creek Valley and Crimson Forest, the first two regions, are solid enough in laying out content and easing players into the experience. By this point, you may think exploration is fairly straightforward, especially with keys and cranks located not too far from where they need to be used. I’ve played these games before, and they tend to peter out before long. Fortunately, S-Game is well-versed in escalation.

By the end of the latter and after entering the Village of Lu, the various plot threads start to connect. Suddenly, the decisive battle between the Order’s elite and the Maskwalkers’ heavy hitters doesn’t feel so clean-cut. And while there’s still a lot to juggle, what with the Thread-Binding Sect, the Discordance, Transcension, the Kunlun Pillars, and whatnot, it all starts neatly unraveling and even ties into the boss fights beyond the usual lore drops. While the overall quality of the storytelling and dialogue won’t rank near the all-time greats, it’s still far from throwaway and genuinely compelling, especially as you learn more about the Wulin and its many tragedies.

Past the initial hours, exploration opens up tremendously, going from relatively smaller-scale locations to winding streets, expansive waters and sprawling camps. Suddenly, not every key is within throwing distance, as some gates will remain locked for hours. Phantom Edges are required to unlock other routes and open up entire new areas. You’ll run around areas, trying to figure out where to go next, with Soul’s supernatural objective-sensing ability sometimes turning up cold. The only way forward is to dive headlong, unsure what you’ll find next.

"The basics are easy enough to grasp: Light attacks generate Sha-Chi, your meter for unleashing Heavy Attacks and Specials, which also drains when blocking damage."

One particular experience took me to the basement of a massive Sha-Chi Tower to face a fire-blade-wielding foe against an impressive backdrop. Initially, I was disappointed that this massive, intricately detailed space wasn’t utilized for much more. That was before I discovered the actual rest of the tower, chock-full of new threats and winding paths.

As odd as it felt in the opening hours to retread familiar ground and not fight respawned enemies, the pacing really shines in the larger locations and with the extensive side content on offer. The feeling of discovery and finding something interesting and fresh is something that Phantom Blade Zero is frighteningly well-versed in. Even when enemy variety occasionally waned, new variants or twists on familiar encounters emerge, thus keeping things fresh (and occasionally frustrating, but never in a cheap way).

Of course, this is also where we must discuss Phantom Blaze Zero’s excellent combat. The basics are easy enough to grasp: Light attacks generate Sha-Chi, your meter for unleashing Heavy Attacks and Specials, which also drains when blocking damage. Perfect parries and Phantomsteps won’t diminish your Sha-Chi, so aggression is encouraged.

However, it opens up in some incredible ways, starting with weapon swapping, as you transition from single-handed sword slices to dual-blade flurries. One of my favorite combinations involved a pair of dual blades that could build corrosion on an enemy, eventually exploding to deal raw damage to their health, then switching to a two-hander that’s best at charging headlong into enemies, sending them flying at the end. And then back, keeping the combo going as long as possible, because weapon swapping immediately restores your Sha-Chi. And that’s before mixing in Phantom Edges, each with unique combos and functionality, whether it’s summons or the good ol’ dual sickles on chains to pull enemies (or you towards them).

Every single weapon, primary and secondary, is unique. The Outlaw Warblade quickly became a favorite for its life-stealing properties, but I was also mystified by the flying sword that tore through enemies at range. One particular set of dual blades, White Serpent and Crimson Viper, lets you set the second blade to orbit Soul, continuously damaging enemies.

However, you can also throw it from afar for quick chip damage, or alternate light and heavy attacks continuously for an extended combo for ever-increasing damage. Primary weapons also benefit from special attacks that can either turn the tables on multiple enemies or offer some incredible utility when you need it. You probably wouldn’t think it’s satisfying every time to sink a two-handed blade into an enemy and watch them fall to their knees as you drain their very blood to replenish your own. And you would be wrong, because every single time, Phantom Blade Zero makes it look good.

"Barring maybe one that felt like a regular encounter scaled up (and with more mobs), every boss in this game is memorable, escalating in quality and sheer audaciousness."

There are even worthwhile options for the defensive-minded, whether it’s sacrificing parrying altogether for blocking or specializing in counter-attacks. Combine this with unlockable passive talents like increased damage when interrupting an enemy’s attack, reduced weapon-swap cooldown and accessories that either buff specific weapon damage or add much-needed utility. Fans of quick, rapid attacks can invest in an accessory that briefly increases melee damage after multiple strikes within a few seconds. Or go full defense with those that reduce Sha-Chi drain on blocking and quickly recover it when guard-broken.

Either way, Phantom Blade Zero’s fights aren’t just about purely deflecting and then landing a few strikes to deplete the enemy’s Sha-Chi to make them vulnerable. Multi-enemy encounters require chaining parries together, as Soul strikes both foes at once. They’re back-and-forth affairs, where sneaking in a hit between an enemy’s combo is just as important as parrying and dodging.

Of course, if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: The combat has to feel as good as it looks. And in Phantom Blade Zero’s case, it’s simply sublime. Watching different strikes emerge when alternating light and heavy attacks in combos, transitioning seamlessly to another weapon to continue dishing out punishment – the sheer responsiveness is incredible. Some nagging complaints emerge, like being unable to execute weakened foes because the prompt hasn’t appeared (despite doing so a second ago) or cancel out of some Phantom Edges, but they’re just that in the grand scheme of things.

I’d be remiss not to mention the boss design, and yet, I hesitate because there’s so much you should really experience first-hand. Barring maybe one that felt like a regular encounter scaled up (and with more mobs), every boss in this game is memorable, escalating in quality and sheer audaciousness. They encourage experimenting with different tactics and utilizing what you already know in unconventional ways. A horse-riding, spike-shield-wielding foe is giving you grief? Swap to the flying sword and watch him struggle to close the distance. Another boss even introduced bullet-hell-like mechanics – otherwise, good luck dealing damage. If any fight can replicate the feeling of a kung fu film, it’s Mo Yuan, played by Donnie Yen.

Mind you, all of this is on Pathbreaker difficulty, aka “Normal.” I dipped into Hellwalker briefly a few times, and even if it’s not quite the same as a real-life fighting game opponent, the adaptability, fake-outs, and straight-up new patterns can humble you real quick, even as you’re spurred to want more. It’s one of the most compelling twists on a greater difficulty I’ve seen in the genre, and well worth experiencing on your second playthrough if you don’t want to risk the permadeath consequences of 66 Days Mode. That said, it is the lore-accurate way to experience Phantom Blade Zero, and truly contextualises the risks Soul takes with his remaining time, especially when it whittles away with each death.

"Performance drops were noticeable in Pangzhen, very likely due to rain effects and increased scale, and things became worse (though thankfully not unmanageable) during a specific boss fight."

If any fundamental issues exist with the combat, it’s actually the weapon leveling. You can level up any weapon to 10 with the requisite materials, and revert it at any point to refund any spent materials. Given how limited materials are early on, and how you’ll want to experiment with different weapons, this is all well and good.

But past level 10, Talismans will be required to reset any weapon – post level 20, you’ll need two. Even in the mid-to-late game when materials and currency practically rain from the skies (if you’re exploration-minded, of course), so you’re free to upgrade a wider range of weapons, the Talismans feel unnecessary. I would also appreciate a loadout feature to quickly switch to saved sets of weapons, Phantom Edges and accessories for certain situations. Thankfully, at least S-Game has a method to keep all your weapons relevant as you progress deeper into the game.

As for my other grievances, many of them revolve around polish. The odd horse-back boss inexplicably Skyrim-climbing on the environment before getting back into the fight, or enemies rarely getting stuck on terrain, were notable but not enough to really drag my impressions down. Neither would the noticeable pop-in for larger environments, ghosting on the edge of faces in cinematics or a few low-resolution environmental textures (don’t look behind the waterfalls).

Instead, it’s a litany of other things. After surviving a life-or-death skirmish against regular foes, you’ll discover a lone foot soldier, still walking around without a care in the world. How did he ignore the earlier turmoil? Probably through the same technique as the enemies who forget Soul is even around as they return to their regularly scheduled loitering, letting you freely execute them from behind. I’m all for the help, especially against overwhelming odds, but this happened enough times to go beyond bizarre and straight into hilarity.

Phantom Blade Zero’s fidelity can sometimes also be its own worst enemy. Performance drops were noticeable in Pangzhen, very likely due to rain effects and increased scale, and things became worse (though thankfully not unmanageable) during a specific boss fight. Which is still better than the occasional one-second freezes that could occur during combat in Meigu Lake. Or sometimes getting stuck on certain environmental objects. It’s one thing if I’m in a camp and backed into the corner of a cart or barricade while enemies wail on me, but on the roof of a building, to the point where jumping over to its other sloping side felt near-impossible?

"It excels in everything fans of fast-paced, hack-and-slash action RPG combat could want, while packing in plenty of fun exploration, interesting characters, and a fully-realised, dark wuxia world that teeters on the brink of hope and destruction."

Even with some technical snafus, I feel like I haven’t said enough about how great Phantom Blade Zero looks. Or runs, for that matter, with silky smooth 60 FPS throughout many of my hours, that too on base PS5. But as gorgeous as the environments can look, or as clean and crisp, the attention to detail is something else. Several interiors are lavishly decorated, right down to teacups, scattered papers, and still-burning incense, not to mention the intricate furniture. Even the damage to various buildings feels deliberate yet natural. Every single note is meticulously crafted, and no amount of words can describe how fluid the animation work is.

The music more than matches it, though. As great as the traditional Chinese compositions sound – the lion dance theme is one of many standouts – the mixing of different genres really takes the cake. One boss phase offered up some truly fitting rock. Another threw in techno. Of course, the background music in each location is also excellent, whether traversing seemingly innocuous isles or facing trouble in Pangzhen’s back streets.

So yes, Phantom Blade Zero lives up to the hype, even if certain issues and shortcomings keep it from being the perfect total package. But aside from S-Game further polishing the game and fixing any lingering issues, it excels in everything fans of fast-paced, hack-and-slash action RPG combat could want, while packing in plenty of fun exploration, interesting characters, and a fully-realised, dark wuxia world that teeters on the brink of hope and destruction.

I can’t say whether it’s for everyone or the best way to pass the time until November’s big releases. But when faced with such unbridled quality and attention to detail and some of the best boss battles you’ll experience all year (if not the past several), such trifles ultimately fade into the background en route to the path of mastery.

This game was reviewed on PlayStation 5.