I was able to play the demo version of Phantom Blade Zero for the PS5 at Tokyo Game Show 2024. The demo, which allowed me to fight three types of bosses, had normal, hard and very hard difficulties. For the sake of this review, I played the demo on normal difficulty. With that said, this semi-open world Souls-like action game is far from easy.
DISCLAIMER: The Tokyo Game Show 2024 demo for Phantom Blade Zero was in Japanese only. The writer is not a fluent Japanese speaker, so some elements of the game may have slightly different names or meanings in the eventual English release of the game.
What is Phantom Blade Zero?
First things first, what is Phantom Blade Zero? In this game, you play as Soul, an elite assassin serving an elusive and powerful organisation known as “The Order”. Soul is framed for the murder of The Order’s patriarch and gravely injured as a result.
A mysterious healer saves his life, but the cure do so will only keep Soul alive for another 66 days. With his days now numbered and nothing to lose, Soul walks the path of revenge against his former organisation.
Based on the demo alone, the fast paced combat and gorgeously rendered world in Unreal Engine 5 makes me very excited to see the full product once it’s ready. The world, the combat, the visuals, there’s a lot to love here. If the whole game is as fun to play as the demo was, we have the next Black Myth: Wukong on our hands.
The Combat
Like most games in this style, the □ and △ buttons are used to attack and can be strung into some incredibly rapid and visually stunning combos. By guarding an enemy’s attack the the right moment, you can parry it and open up a gap in the enemy’s defence to perform a powerful attacking blow.
However, parrying is used more as an emergency last-ditch action. Depending on the colour of the light that appears when the enemy attacks, you must immediately decide whether to guard or dodge at the right time.
For example, when you see the enemy flicker blue you can block and parry. When it glows red it cannot be guarded, so it should be avoided with an evasive action. It may sound complex, especially when the characters look so busy on the screen, but actually playing it felt surprisingly simple and easy to get the hang of. If I ever took a hit from an enemy, I had three bottles of health to use that kept me going.
If you manage to pull off a successful parry or dodge at the perfect time, you can activate “Ghost Step” to quickly move around the enemy to deal massive damage from behind. Consistent attacks against an enemy also accumulate in a weapon gauge that can used to perform a special attack when full. This special attack is unique based on the weapon you have equipped. I mainly used a pair of ring blades and the special attack saw me throwing a short barrage of the blades at the enemy, dealing a hefty amount of damage.
In addition to frontal combat, it’s possible to have a play style that incorporates stealth and makes full use of Soul’s assassination techniques. These are almost always fatal blows performed from behind an enemy or in their blind spot before they have a chance to spot you.
Weapons
Players can equip two main weapons at the same time to switch between, in addition to “Phantom Edges” such as bows, specific arrows, and cannons. Phantom Edges are powerful artefacts with their own unique effects that can be claimed after defeating specific enemies/bosses.
Weapons can be switched out at any time which encourages mastering a variety of playstyles suited to the situation. According to the developers at the booth, there are dozens of unique weapons to play with and more than 30 Phantom Edges that will be available in the full release of the game.
The Experience
I was able to fight three boss enemies in the playable demo: Tesatsu, Oto Taicho, and Kogyoji. One of the devs cleared the normal mode in under ten minutes, but when I tried to beat the game I ended up dying three times to Oto Taicho’s thick sword alone. Combat was very intense, with each boss having their own unique attack pattern to break down and figure out. You can even use the environment in some battles; the third battle gave me the freedom to run up some pillars to strike the boss from above.
Each boss encounter in the demo let me switch between two weapons: one heavy (a giant sword) and one light (dual blades). I found the sword was easier to guard and parry with, whereas the dual blades were perfect for a flurry of strikes to build my combo and weapon gauge up.
When you defeat a boss enemy, the brush stroke kanji for “Slash” appears on screen to the signal the end of the fight in style. At the booth, there was a sheet you could stamp with a “Slash” kanji stamp and write your name and completion time down to rank the best players. With my completion time of just over 20 minutes, I couldn’t even come close to the pre-existing leaderboard of times under 15 minutes.
Phantom Blade Zero’s Demo is Stylish and Challenging
Phantom Blade Zero’s gameplay seemed initially overwhelming and complex, but quick and easy to get used to. With that said, the difficulty was still very much present even in the easiest version of the game.
It was a great experience standing in line getting to see so many players attempting the hardest difficulty let out a cry of frustration the exact moment they were slain by a boss. It’s fast-paced, stylish, and challenging – evidently I witnessed a lot of players enjoying it that felt the same way, and I can’t wait to try out the full version myself when it launches.
