It’s no secret that we’re quite intrigued by Phantom Blade Zero’s world and combat, but our excitement to begin slashing and stabbing away at our enemies as Soul led us down a very macabre road. We began to think about why a man who’s on a ticking clock with deadly consequences for failure might even entertain any distractions from his goal.
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.
