Phantom Blade Zero
| Phantom Blade Zero | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | S-GAME |
| Publisher(s) | S-GAME |
| Director(s) | Soulframe Liang [1] |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 5 |
| Platform(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Action role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Phantom Blade Zero (影之刃零) is an upcoming wuxia-themed action role-playing game developed and published by S-GAME. It is set to release for Windows and PlayStation 5. The release date has not been announced yet.
Gameplay
[edit]Phantom Blade Zero is an action role-playing game.[2][3] It is played from a third-person perspective.[2]
The player controls Soul, an elite assassin who serves The Order.[4]
The game is set in a semi-open world.[4][5][6] It has difficulty options.[7]
Synopsis
[edit]Setting
[edit]Phantom Blade Zero takes place in the Phantom World.[4][8]
The game adapts wuxia, a genre of fiction.[9] It introduces specifically kungfupunk, as Liang terms it,[a] to create a distinctive identity for the game.[3][4][6] He described it as a subgenre that combines Chinese kungfu with steampunk and cyberpunk.[3]
Plot
[edit]The assassin Soul is framed for the murder of The Order's patriarch.[4][5][6] He is mortally wounded in the manhunt that ensued, but a mystic healer manages to extend his life by 66 days.[4][5][6] Now, he must uncover the truth behind the conspiracy before his time runs out.[4][5][6]
Development
[edit]Phantom Blade Zero is a game developed and published by S-GAME.[10] It is a spiritual successor to Rainblood: Town of Death (2010), an indie game made by Liang.[4]
During an interview in June 2024, Liang stated that they officially have been working on the game for about two years.[11] Before this official development stage, they have revealed a few early concepts and other preliminary work.[12][13][14][15] This include, for example, the reveal of concept art featuring four characters, designed by Michael Chang, during ChinaJoy 2017.[12]
The game is build on Unreal Engine 5.[4][16]
Kenji Tanigaki serves as the action director for the game.[4]
In January 2025, S-GAME released a trailer, celebrating the upcoming Year of the Snake, showcasing gameplay of a boss battle to highlight the combat system.[17] This particular boss consists of seven swordsmen, each controlled by an individual AI and a shared group AI, allowing them to act independently, work in formations, and interact with each other.[17] The developers aimed to design the game's combat based on Chinese martial arts, drawing inspiration from 1980s−90s Hong Kong martial arts films and working closely with martial arts instructors.[17] The team also designed each of the game's weapons to have unique action mechanics, ensuring they remained novel to use rather than confined by weapon types.[17] They took this direction, because they found that weapons lost their distinctive characteristics if they applied basic action mechanics to them.[17]
Release
[edit]Phantom Blade Zero is set to release for PC and PlayStation 5.[5]
During an anniversary concert for the Rainblood series on 22 November 2016, it was revealed that the series would be remade with an extended plot in a new game codenamed Phantom Blade Zero (影之刃Zero).[18]
During the PlayStation Showcase in May 2023, S-GAME released a trailer announcing Phantom Blade Zero.[6][19] In January 2025, they released a trailer celebrating the upcoming Year of the Snake which revealed that a release date would be announced in 2025.[20][21]
Reception
[edit]Accolades
[edit]Phantom Blade Zero won the Most Anticipated Game and was nominated for Phenomenon of the Year at the UCG Game Awards 2024.[22]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Gerblick, Jordan (26 July 2024). ""Everyone is looking at Black Myth Wukong": Phantom Blade Zero director expects the most-wishlisted game on Steam to be a breakthrough moment for China". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 6 August 2024.
- ^ a b 祝思齐 (10 June 2024). "《影之刃零》夏日游戏节登场，线下巡回试玩开启". Chuapp (in Chinese).
- ^ a b c Hashimoto, Kazuma (21 January 2025). "Phantom Blade Zero is a "kung fu punk" action RPG that wants to follow in the footsteps of Black Myth Wukong: "there's a lot of pressure on us, but I think in a good way"". GamesRadar+.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Liang, Soulframe (24 May 2023). "Phantom Blade Zero: a new beginning in a long journey". PlayStation.Blog.
- ^ a b c d e Edward (25 May 2023). "半開放世界功夫龐克冒險遊戲《影之刃 零》亮相 化身僅剩 66 日餘命的刺客追緝真兇". 巴哈姆特電玩資訊站 (in Chinese).
- ^ a b c d e f Kennedy, Victoria (25 May 2023). "Slick looking action-RPG Phantom Blade Zero blends Chinese martial arts with "punk spirit"". Eurogamer.
- ^ Adam, Khayl (12 June 2024). "Phantom Blade Zero PS5 Not Another Soulslike, Offers Multiple Difficulty Options". Push Square.
- ^ Green, Jake (2023-08-16). "Phantom Blade Zero - everything we know so far". Yahoo! News.
- ^ a b 一柳渡江 (16 July 2024). "游民采访《影之刃零》制作人：不担心被人与《黑神话》比较". GamerSky (in Chinese). pp. 1–3.
- ^ "Phantom Blade Zero". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 7 December 2024.
- ^ Takahashi, Dean (19 June 2024). "How Phantom Blade Zero is an accessible Soulslike game | Soulframe Liang interview". VentureBeat.
- ^ a b 梁萧 (26 July 2017). "ChinaJoy 2017：《影之刃Zero》角色设定图公布 黑魂设计师操刀". GamerSky (in Chinese).
- ^ 小小白 (15 September 2017). "《影之刃Zero》概念图公开 充满黑暗诡异元素". GamerSky (in Chinese).
- ^ 观海 (1 October 2017). "国产单机《雨血》系列新作《影之刃Zero》人设图 左殇、黑伤·魂英气逼人". GamerSky (in Chinese).
- ^ 明镜Mirror (30 November 2017). "国产单机《雨血》系列新作《影之刃zero》建模图 细节精湛、画面进步巨大". GamerSky (in Chinese).
- ^ 彭楚微 (25 May 2023). "在索尼全球发布会上，《影之刃零》选择回归原点". Chuapp (in Chinese).
- ^ a b c d e 祝思齐 (25 January 2025). "《影之刃零》蛇年PV："比好更好"是可以做到的吗？". Chuapp (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 25 January 2025.
- ^ 小熊桑 (22 November 2016). "国产单机《雨血》系列确认重制 剧情延展至"荒城"之后". GamerSky (in Chinese).
- ^ Koch, Cameron (25 May 2023). "Phantom Blade 0 Brings Stylish Swordfighting To PS5". GameSpot.
- ^ "中国武术的绝巅！《影之刃零》新春演示"满屏喊帅"，震惊玩家和同行". GameLook (in Chinese). 23 January 2025.
- ^ Nightingale, Ed (22 January 2025). "Phantom Blade Zero trailer shows fresh gameplay, but it's still without a release date". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 22 January 2025.
- ^ For the nominations, see "UCG游戏大赏2024全奖项提名公开！". Ultra Console Game (in Chinese). 27 January 2024. For the results, see "UGA2024圆满结束！全奖项获奖游戏和厂商公开！". Ultra Console Game (in Chinese). 15 January 2025.