Phantom Blade Zero is speedy, stylish, and absolutely not a Soulslike

It's a bit of a running joke now, really. Everytime a new action game is revealed, it's instantly compared back to FromSoftware's work with the question: "yeah, it looks great, but is it a Soulslike?" It happened with Black Myth: Wukong. And it's happened again with Phantom Blade Zero, so much so the developer had to release a statement refuting the game is a Soulslike. In an interview, it even admitted that, as a new studio, it doesn't "have the privilege of FromSoftware to make you frustrated while you're playing".

That's not to say there isn't an influence, of course. Developer S-Game, in that same statement, described the game's world as "just like the Souls games before Elden Ring". At Gamescom, I was able to go hands-on with Phantom Blade Zero, which I've been intrigued by since its reveal at the 2023 PlayStation Showcase. However, the demo was essentially a series of three boss fights. As such, I didn't really get a sense for its world design - though at the least, regular enemies do not respawn and currency isn't lost at death.

What I did experience, though, was considered combat and a strong parry mechanic that brought to mind FromSoftware's Sekiro, as well as this year's Stellar Blade. Phantom Blade Zero is a fast-paced action game that's speedy and stylish, with a hard mode that could be transformative.

Phantom Blade Zero - Gamescom Demo Gameplay Footage | PS5 Games

I was a bit rubbish at first, though. As with any game of this type, it takes a second to get used to its peculiar rhythm. And control-wise, Phantom Blade Zero puts attacks on the face buttons and dodge and parry on the triggers. After too long playing Elden Ring, the urge to repeatedly hit circle to dodge was strong, which awkwardly (for me) resulted in frequent failure.

However, dodge and parry are key to success. Thankfully, on top of regular attacks from enemies, special moves are telegraphed in a quick colourful flash: blue Brutal Moves are meant to be parried and red Killer Moves to be dodged. The timing for both felt generous and the result is a Ghostep, or slow motion spin behind an enemy ready for a full combo of brutal slices. The coloured attacks are what reminded me of Stellar Blade, though in practice the game felt somewhere between Sekiro and Ninja Gaiden: rhythmic parries provide a clear opening, but light and heavy attacks can be alternated in a variety of flashy combinations.

The other nuance is your Sha-Chi gauge, which works similar to stamina. Combo attacks (involving heavy swings) and constant blocking will reduce the Sha-Chi gauge, but basic attacks, dodges, and parries do not. It's this that negates button bashing and rewards careful management and perfect parry timing. What's more, enemies have a similar gauge that reduces when attacked; deplete the gauge and that's the time for all-out attacks with combos and an extravagant Power Surge of unstoppable swipes and stabs.

The protagonist has quite the arsenal too. He can switch readily between the slightly slower and more powerful longsword, and a pair of rapid short swords, plus he has ranged options too: a silent but deadly bow, or the explosive Tiger Cannon. Both of these can be charged up for severe damage, at the cost of Sha-Chi, and seemed most useful as stealthy crowd control against groups rather than in the heat of a one-on-one duel.

Putting this all into practice, I played through three boss fights against various armoured warriors that all featured washed out, almost monochromatic visuals. It seems Phantom Blade Zero takes itself pretty seriously and I do hope there's space in the final game for some wonder and colour beyond its "Kungfupunk" aesthetic. It may have a wuxia-influenced setting and animation, but so far there's no room for romance. Then again, there's Where Winds Meet for that.

The third, and ultimate, boss fight of the demo was against Huangxing, the Sunken Pillar of Kunlun. Upon entering a small temple held up with wooden pillars, he arises menacingly and flexes his mechanical arm with a sort of chained spiked helmet on the end. He turns to face me and begins spinning the chain - I aim for a perfect dodge but repeatedly fail and, as the helmet slams on my head, I die instantly. My determination eventually wins out, though, and the demo comes to a close.

"Do you want to try hard mode?" I'm asked. Don't mind if I do. I'm expecting an incredibly tough time, my lack of skills blown up on the big screen in front of me embarrassingly for all around to see. Instead, somehow, it all locks into place.

First boss Tie Sha the Frenzy lunges at me with an axe, but I parry with ease and pirouette around before unleashing a hellish barrage of sword swipes. Then I parry back some form of projectile - a sudden reflex that works in my favour - and after more deadly strikes the boss is dead. It happens all too quickly, but I'm locked into the tempo now. I am the master.

Next up is the masked and suitably named Commander Cleave, who runs a hand along a thick serrated blade that looks set to do serious, bloody damage. Instead, I'm the one in charge. I leap away from his spinning swings and quickly emerge victorious with nary a scratch.

Lastly, it's a rematch with Huangxing. Only then am I told it's possible to sprint up the pillars to dodge that helmet attack, before reeling down on the boss like a tornado. With dodges and parries now securely locked beneath my fingers, Huangxing is not long for this world. In all, it took me nine minutes to blast through the demo a second time, beating these bosses on hard mode with ease.

Was it pure luck? Is Phantom Blade Zero actually too easy? Or are these simply bosses from an early portion of the game? Perhaps, all three. But I can't deny the game was a tense rush to play through, with the slow motion, dancelike Ghostep the linchpin of its satisfying combat.

There's a chance Phantom Blade Zero could be the next Black Myth: Wukong: a beautiful and stylish boss rush with little substance in between. But purely in combat terms, Phantom Blade Zero featured some of the best action I experienced at Gamescom. Just... don't call it a Soulslike.