Journalists Spent Almost 10 Hours in Phantom Blade Zero and Are Already Tipping It for "Game of the Year"

Chinese studio S-GAME will try to emerge from Sekiro's shadow: a wide arsenal, optional bosses, and a scattering of hidden stashes. For now, the main enemy is technical performance drops.

Phantom Blade Zero impressed journalists with its dynamic combat system, challenging bosses, and extensive world exploration, with some already calling it a contender for Game of the Year 2026.

The main advantage of S-GAME's action game was its fast and spectacular battles, where parries, dodges, guard breaks, and Sha-Chi management are crucial. One journalist compared the enjoyment of the fights to Sekiro, while another included the game in their Game of the Year contenders list after almost 10 hours of gameplay.

The hero's arsenal includes 30 main weapon types and 25 special Phantom Edges. Boss battles require studying tactics, and enemies can hold the player up for dozens of attempts. However, after defeat in the second phase, there's no need to replay the first.

The world offers branching paths, secrets, hidden stashes, equipment, and optional bosses. The game uses individual soulslike elements, focusing on speed and freedom in combat. The 66-day life limit for the protagonist relates to the story, with harsher rules appearing in New Game Plus.

The main problem remains optimization: during testing, journalists noticed performance drops and momentary freezes. S-GAME is working on improvements for release.