Phantom Blade Zero State of Play Covers Builds, Donnie Yen

Today’s Phantom Blade Zero State of Play made good on the deep dive S-GAME promised back in June, covering weapons, difficulty options, side quests, and Donnie Yen’s role in the dark wuxia action game. We’ve said since the delay announcement that Phantom Blade Zero is one of the most anticipated action games on the radar since its 2023 reveal, and this broadcast finally digs into systems S-GAME has kept under wraps until now.

The showcase centers on the Wulin, the dark wuxia world where protagonist Soul encounters citizens in need along his journey. Completing side quests can open new story paths, and secrets scattered across the world tie back to the events that set the story in motion. On the combat side, players will unlock more than 30 main weapons and 25 secondary weapons called Phantom Edges, with accessories and upgrades layered on top to shape a build around your own style of play. Ranged takedowns and summons are both on the table. Defeating certain enemies expands your arsenal, and if you regret the materials you sank into a weapon, you can reforge it for a full refund and reinvest them elsewhere.

As for difficulty, Phantom Blade Zero ships with a spread of options instead of a single fixed challenge. Wayfarer mode is built for players who simply want to enjoy the story, while Hellwalker turns up the pressure with more advanced and adaptive enemy intelligence. Then there’s Sixty-Six Days mode, which S-GAME says isn’t for the faint of heart, though the studio stopped short of explaining what the mode actually entails.

Donnie Yen’s segment builds on what we covered last week when preorders opened alongside the 11-minute trailer. Yen serves as creative consultant while also bringing Mó Yuan, Soul’s father, to life through facial and motion capture, and S-GAME founder and CEO Soulframe Liang says his likeness, performance, and creative guidance helped bring the essence of kung fu cinema into the game. Liang adds that crossing paths with Mó Yuan will keep players on their toes.

In case you missed it: while the launch date has been listed as October 29, the PlayStation Blog post notes Phantom Blade Zero actually arrives a day earlier, on October 28, in the U.S. and select regions. The game is headed to PlayStation 5 and PC, and as I noted when the trailer was dated, development is already complete.

Phantom Blade Zero – State of Play Gameplay Deep Dive | PS5 Games