Phantom Blade Zero Preview

At Gamescom 2025, it’s safe to say there were plenty of action games vying for your precious time. There was Ninja Gaiden 4, Crimson Desert, Onimusha, and Pragmata, just to name a few, but out of them all, it’s hard to shake the feeling of pure joy I got out of my time with Phantom Blade Zero, where I got to experience an hour and a half of one of the game’s early chapters.

First announced in 2023, the game caught my eye immediately with what looked like stylish action combat. I’d been anxious to get my hands on the title and see how it felt to play, and after being invited to a hands-on at Gamescom, it emerged as probably one of my favorite games I played at the show.

This is a game that features a stylish combat system, with what looks to be an intriguing setting. Oh, and it’s most certainly not a Soulslike.

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Some of the Phantom Edges can inflict status effects on your enemies.

I was told repeatedly during my hands-on that they don’t consider Phantom Blade Zero a Soulslike, eager to get away from the constant comparisons, and instead, more of an Action RPG. To make it clear, I’m a massive fan of Soulslikes, taking the opportunity to play any new title that catches my eye whenever I get the chance. But it’s also clear to see that the genre has had a massive influx of games lately, so hearing that developer S-Game doesn’t consider it one was welcome.

After getting hands-on with the game, it’s clear to see why they’ve been so adamant about it, as Phantom Blade Zero most certainly is not one. The level design of the area we had access to still featured an intricate design that you come to expect in that genre, full of surprisingly a lot of verticality. I also came across optional areas that were blocked off for us for the purpose of this demo but promised a bit more exploration. Indeed, I was told that Phantom Blade Zero will feature many areas that promote exploration, so it’s not like this is a title just made up of combat arenas.

One similarity is that of the Shrines; these checkpoints will restore your health and, more interestingly, reveal a portion of a beautifully designed map. While I didn’t have too much time to pore over how useful the map is, the fact that it becomes revealed as you find new Shrines leads me to believe that the developers do intend you to make use of it. I also came across plenty of opportunities and items that provided lore on both the world and the setting, which I’m eager to get more stuck into as the full game releases.

The areas themselves were beautiful, though, and you’re not just running in a straight line. There were parts where I had to wall run, climb up ladders, grapple across gaps, and so much more, all the while I had to deal with regular enemies. There are also collectibles to find that will boost your max health, stamina, and attack, to name a few of them, much like what you would see in a title like Devil May Cry or other character action games. If this is just a glimpse of what we can expect when it comes to exploration in Phantom Blade Zero, it’s enough to quell our fears of this being just a game full of combat rooms.

Still, it’s combat where Phantom Blade Zero shines the most and experiencing that first-hand is a sight to behold. As Soul (the assassin you play as), I had access to a total of eight primary weapons and five Phantom Edges (more on these in a moment) to mix and match during my hands-on, which is frankly, a fantastic embarrassment of riches for combat flexibility. You can equip two of each at one time, and you can change between them with the D-Pad. Indeed, you can cancel your combos into the two weapons, which makes the combat flow even better.

Unlike a Soulslike, where you typically have a light attack and a heavy attack on the shoulder buttons, Phantom Blade Zero’s combat is much closer to a character action, as you utilize combos on the Square and Triangle buttons. Pressing these in a specific order will unleash brutal combos and help build up your Power Surge gauge, which are unique attacks for each primary weapon. You’ll find a nice mixture of one-handed swords, dual blades, and even twin rings to play around with, so combat is never left feeling dull.

On top of the different combos these primary weapons have, they also feature unique traits. Take the Juggernaut, which is powered up by the parries you score, leading up to a charge that allows you to perform a sweeping cleave. The Jagged Steel will fill up a bleeding meter with each hit you perform, eventually triggering Hemorrhage, and the Seamless Death twin rings that add a bit of range to your attacks and allow you to phase out when dodging. There are so many options here, and if there are even more weapons to come, I look forward to discovering what I can do with them.

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Some bosses you defeat may change the makeup of other battles, like Red Wraith here.

This is all before even mentioning Phantom Edges, which act as a sub-weapon, almost. Unlike your primary weapons, these are used with the R2 button and require a resource to use them, but their effects are such, they can truly change the tide of the battle. The Night Owl is a bow and gives you some much-needed long range, which you’ll need, while the Bashpole can be charged up to perform a massive shockwave. There were also instances where I needed to use the Bashpole to reach new areas by breaking through the ground.

When it comes to defensive actions, you can perform both perfect dodges and parry the majority of attacks. There are times when you see either a blue flash (parry) or red flash (perfect dodge) that you need to put these into practice, and they can give you a great opening. The parry window timing felt generous, although I am a player used to games such as Sekiro, so I may have a bit of an unfair advantage there.

Still, when I reached the final boss of the demo (of which we changed by taking out an optional boss earlier in the demo), I was pleased to put everything I learned to use. Up against the Chief Disciple of the Seven Stars, I had to take on multiple enemies at once. If I didn’t kill enough of them, the boss would naturally heal himself. Once you deal with the first life meter, there is a second, harder phase for the boss on his own, and it was here that I had to really make use of my perfect dodging and parrying to create openings.

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We were treated to an exhilarating boss battle against multiple enemies at the end of the demo.

I did fail the first time I fought the boss, but after I returned to the nearest Shrine, I was greeted with the fact that I resumed the battle on the phase I was in. I was told by the developers that this was just another example of how they don’t consider themselves a Soulslike and want players to jump straight back into where they were. There were three difficulty settings to choose from for the demo: the easier Wayfarer, the standard Gamechanger (of which I chose for the purpose of this demo), and a more punishing Hellwalker difficulty.

When I finished with my session of Phantom Blade Zero, I was never more convinced that this is going to be a hit when it releases. This is a title for players who want to have a lot of combat depth, and honestly, I’m already eager to jump in and test out what the Hellwalker difficulty is like with some of the skills I already picked up from the demo.