Developer S-Game has revealed through interviews with Chinese publications that upcoming action RPG Phantom Blade Zero will take players around 20 to 30 hours to finish its main story. It will also feature quite a bit of side content, which the studio has clocked at around 20 more hours worth of play time, according to Mp1st.
While not too long when compared to other open-world RPGs, Phantom Blade Zero‘s gameplay length does line-up with more action oriented titles. Since the game is also going to take influences from FromSoftware’s titles in how its levels are designed, players will also get to spend plenty of time looking for secrets and shortcuts.
Along with this, the studio has also revealed that the game will feature four difficulty levels. Players can take on the challenges of Phantom Blade Zero in either Easy, Normal, Hard, and Extremely Hard difficulties. It will also feature checkpoints for boss fights, allowing players who might have died close to the boss’s death to retry from a mid-point of the fight, rather than having to do the whole thing again from scratch.
The last time we saw Phantom Blade Zero was with a trailer earlier this month. The trailer, titled Year of the Snake, showcased uncut footage of a boss fight, with the player taking on the Chief Disciple of the Seven Stars.
Despite the game’s emphasis on offering players challenging encounters, however, S-Game has been adamant about Phantom Blade Zero not being a Souls-like title. Back in June, the studio revealed through an FAQ that it did not want to make “another Soulslike”. Rather, the studio has compared Phantom Blade Zero to more action-oriented titles like Devil May Cry, mentioning that its combat will be more combo-oriented.
“We did take inspiration from Soulslike games, such as multi-layered maps, multiple approach paths, and hidden nooks and crevices, but the similarities stop there,” said the developer. “There will be difficulty options, and you won’t have to face respawned mobs after you die or interact with checkpoints.”
It still takes inspirations from Souls titles, however, with S-Game revealing that there will be plenty of hidden paths, nooks and crevices for players to discover.
Unfortunately, Phantom Blade Zero doesn’t yet have a release date. Reports from last year have indicated, however, that the studio might be targeting a Fall 2026 release window. The game is currently in development for PC and PS5.
