We went hands-on with Phantom Blade Zero at Summer Game Fest and while an unintentionally short demo, we came away more than impressed by its swagger. The game has a confidence about it, knowing it’s in the upper echelon of Soulslikes.
FromSoftware mastered its style of game over many releases in recent generations. Naturally, with the studio’s success, we’ve seen many imitations and spinoffs over the years. While some leave a lot to be desired, others like 2023’s Lies of P, stand their ground as remarkable additions to the genre.
Phantom Blade Zero is next in line striving to join those ranks. After closing out the show during Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest presentation, which I found out was a surprise even for the developers watching along live, the team at S-GAME was on hand in LA to walk media through a demo of the upcoming release.
In just a few brief minutes with the game, it quickly became clear this isn’t just a run-of-the-mill Soulslike, but rather a stunningly realized, deeply authentic iteration. Building on the success of the games that came before it, Phantom Blade Zero is shaping up to epitomize the genre in From’s shadow.
Focusing on the familiar
Just from a glance, you can no doubt tell exactly what Phantom Blade Zero is trying to accomplish. Wearing its inspirations on its sleeve, the upcoming PS5 game pays homage to the lineage of FromSoft titles before it. A third-person action RPG with an emphasis on punishing difficulty, it’s a Soulslike without a shadow of a doubt, and devs aren’t trying to hide that fact.
Grueling boss fights with attack patterns to learn, snappy, precise combat with timing windows to optimize, and multiple weapons to master and swap between on the fly, if you’ve played any FromSoft title before, you’ll feel right at home here.
Where Phantom Blade Zero sets itself apart, or at least tries to, is in its pacing. This is a blindingly fast game. Much like Sekiro, your reaction time needs to be on point to have any hope of success. Enemies can close the distance and attack in the blink of an eye, multiple targets can surround you and make your life hell if you’re not fast to reposition, it’s all about speed.
With an array of powerful weapons and unique combo moves on your side, you can dispatch said foes with the right timing and distance management. Some abilities execute long strings of attacks, staggering targets for heavier strikes, while others may even slice in multiple directions, taking down more than one enemy in a single flurry of blows.
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It’s an exhilarating rush when things go your way, or an exciting learning opportunity when things go awry. However, with my experience, I was able to cruise along and surprise the developers in just a matter of minutes.
Setting records at Summer Game Fest
Typically when it comes to previews at press events of this nature, you have someone guiding you through at least the first few minutes. Sitting down for my hands-on session with Phantom Blade Zero, I didn’t have that, but it didn’t phase me.
Quickly coming to grips with the game’s familiar control scheme, I got to work. Three bosses are what devs had lined up in the demo build, and three bosses are what I quickly dispatched.
Seven minutes later and with just one death throughout, I’d reached the end of the demo without realizing it at first. Multiple devs quickly came over, assuming I’d broken the build or something had set me back to the start. To their shock, the endgame screen showed my completion stats clear as day.
Adding to my gamer credentials, the CEO of the company soon came over asking for a picture with me, as I’d somehow set the record for the weekend. Certainly a feather in the cap.
Far from the most experienced Soulslike veteran out there, if I was able to blitz through the challenges on my first attempts, I can’t wait to see what real seasoned pros make of it later this year. While the difficulty is no doubt paramount, with the right approach, there are clearly ways to style on the dozens of bosses that await.