Phantom Blade Zero Impressions From TGS Are Really Positive

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Abdullah Waseem

At T4G, my task is to cover the latest news around the gaming globe ASAP and with the utmost precision. I adore all the games and respect all the devs behind the amazing games that we get all year. So, whether it’s a PC or a Console game, I got it all covered. 

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Phantom Blade Zero is shaping up to be the Chinese developer’s next big action game. Developed by S-Game, it had a playable demo at the Tokyo Game Show 2024. The game’s early impressions seem to be very positive. 

Why it matters: Chinese developers have made a great identity for themselves since the launch of Black Myth: Wukong. With Phantom Blade, it seems that reputation is going to be enhanced even further. 

The playable demo on the PS5 reportedly performed well. Even for a game that’s still in development, there were hardly any frame drops and consistent performance overall. It also has a performance mode, enabling 60 FPS on PS5. 

Phantom Blade isn’t as hard as your traditional souls-like game. It has been kept relatively easy to reach a wider audience. The actual Kung-Fu masters have done the mo-cap, so the combat feels natural and true. 

The demo had a few boss battles that demonstrated the combat well. You can swap your weapons during combat and use them to create chain attacks for combos. The combat overall seems to be inspired by Sekiro and the Ninja Gaiden series. 

In addition, there is a huge variety of weapons as well. While, like other action games, it relies on parrying and dodging, it can be played using stealth as well. Overall, the gameplay seems fluid, and the game looks almost ready to launch. 

The visuals are also very stunning, and the animations are quite well done. However, the release date is still a mystery. A rumor tipped it for a fall 2026 release, but considering the game is in such a great state already, it might launch a lot earlier. 

Unfortunately, the game will skip Xbox at launch just like Black Myth: Wukong. This garnered a lot of controversy when an S-Game employee allegedly said nobody needs Xbox.

Abdullah Waseem

News Reporter

Abdullah is an avid gamer who primarily plays single-player titles. If you can’t find him anywhere, he’ll probably be at his desk playing The Witcher 3 for the millionth time. When he isn’t playing games, he’s either reading or writing about them.