Phantom Blade Zero Hands-On Preview: 10 New Details We Found After Five Hours in Chapter One
We spent around five hours exploring Phantom Blade Zero’s first chapter at a behind-closed-doors preview event in early September.
The trailer has already shown just how stylish its combat looks, but playing it revealed plenty of smaller design choices that deserve a closer look.
Here are the 10 details that got us most excited about what’s to come.
1. Aggression Pays Off
While some action games encourage you to play defensively and wait for an opening, Phantom Blade Zero strongly rewards taking the initiative.
According to the producer, roughly 70% of the intended drain on a boss’s Sha Chi (Stamina) comes from offensive actions, with the remaining 30% coming from defense.
Parries can create openings, but breaking an enemy’s guard efficiently means going on the attack and keeping up the pressure.
2. Challenging Combat That Mostly Plays Fair
Awkwardly delayed swings, attacks with virtually no startup, and input reading were not common in our hands-on session; overall, combat felt reasonably fair.
Some bosses certainly have a few “cheap” tricks, but these generally follow identifiable mechanics and have counters you can work out through observation.
3. Late-Game Weapons Get More Time to Shine in New Game Plus
More powerful weapons become available as you progress, and you can carry them into New Game Plus. So there’s no need to worry about finding a great weapon just as the adventure ends.
Revisiting bosses with those weapons also opens up strategies that weren’t available on your first playthrough, adding variety to repeat runs.
4. Once You Clear a Path, It Stays Clear
Resting at the game’s “bonfire” checkpoints does not respawn defeated enemies, so you won’t have to repeatedly fight through the same encounters just to get around.
Nor should the inability to farm enemies leave you starved of upgrade materials: following the main story provides roughly 60% of the available resources, enough to fully upgrade your primary weapon setup.
5. Don’t Judge a Weapon Until You’ve Upgraded It
Weapons unlock new abilities at specific levels, and the difference can be substantial. Before your character reaches level 10, upgrade materials can be fully refunded, making it easier to experiment with different weapons and find a combination that suits you.
6. There Looks to Be Plenty to Explore
We spent around 5 hours in the first chapter and reached roughly 70% completion, with some of the remaining content only becoming accessible after progressing further and returning later.
We also learned during the event that some subsequent chapters may be even longer than the first, suggesting there could be a substantial amount to explore.
7. Less Downtime Between Boss Attempts
The game aims to keep the focus of repeated attempts on the fights themselves: respawn points are generally placed close to main-story bosses, and there is no death penalty in the standard campaign.
Once you clear the first phase of a multi phase boss, you can retry directly from phase two after dying, leaving more time to practice and tackle the challenge.
8. Music Is Part of the Fight
The music helps define each boss’s personality and the rhythm of the encounter. The lion dance battle is a clear example: traditional lion dance percussion accompanies the first phase, before giving way to harder hitting electronic music in the second.
With more than 10 hours of original music created for the game, the soundtrack plays a significant role in giving its bosses and battles their identity.
9. A Platinum Trophy in One Playthrough
It is possible to earn the Platinum trophy or unlock every achievement in a single playthrough, without being required to tackle the “66 Days” mode.
Some side quests can become unavailable as the story advances, though, so completionists will need to pay attention to key quests and progression milestones.
10. More Focused Combat Challenges Could Come Later
There is no boss rush mode planned for launch, so repeat playthroughs will be the main way to revisit major boss fights.
The producer did say the team would consider more streamlined, combat focused challenge modes later on, but whether those will happen, and what form they might take, remains to be seen.
Those are the 10 details that excited us most after our behind-closed-doors session with Phantom Blade Zero.
Which one interests you most? Let us know in the comments, and follow us for more news and coverage of the game.
ABOUT—Phantom Blade Zero
Phantom Blade Zero is an action RPG from S-GAME that blends Chinese martial arts with a dark “kungfupunk” aesthetic. You play as Soul, a swordsman navigating a dangerous world of intrigue and revenge.
Fast-paced combat rewards aggression, combining flowing combos, precise parries, and a varied arsenal of weapons. Beyond its cinematic battles, the game features interconnected environments, side quests, and character progression, inviting players to explore a world where traditional wuxia meets mechanical brutality.
This article is also available in Chinese
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