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Phantom Blade Zero is the upcoming action-adventure game from S-Game studio, and it looks amazing. It is a dark Wuxia-themed martial arts game, but will it also be a Soulslike? The devs say that Phantom Blade Zero is no Soulslike and that it is a good thing.
Back in 2022, S-Game started officially developing an action game that takes heavy inspiration from the Chinese Wuxia genre. It looks like the success of Black Myth: Wukong had a positive impact on PB0 as AAA games are getting more and more popular in that part of the world. We already saw the trailers and the fans are more than excited. A lot of action games of today follow the trend of being Soulslike, ie, being difficult to complete where repeated defeats are almost mandatory. However, S-Game has no interest in making Phantom Blade Zero yet another soulslike.
Another Soulslike? Devs Say No!
Phantom Blade Zero is well on the way, and we expect that some info about the official release date will surface soon. But, the hype is real, especially after the latest trailer, and the players’ interest is rising. That brings a lot of questions, and one of them is whether Phantom Blade Zero will be soulslike. On that topic, the devs had this to say:
“As of now, those who have tried the demo should have a solid idea that it’s not a soulslike game. It’s worth stressing again that “making another soulslike” was never part of the plan. We want combo-driven, heart-pumping combat that is hectic, rewarding, and exhilarating.
We did take inspiration from soulslike games, such as multi-layered maps, multiple approach paths, and hidden nooks and crevices, but the similarities stop there. There will be difficulty options, and you won’t have to face respawned mobs after you die or interact with checkpoints.”
This is great news as not every new action game has to be souslike. We have enough of those already. Letting each player tailor their experience to their liking is the best course of action.