Phantom Blade Zero blends influences from a variety of sources to create intense, fast-paced combat and a supernaturally infused Kungfupunk world. It draws on the tough, powerful bosses of Soulslikes, the quick, combo-focused combat of hack-and-slash games, the fascinating stories and characters of RPGs, and the unlockable exploration of search action games.

All those ideas come together to create something familiar and unexpected, reworking common action-RPG elements into beautiful, fast-paced battles across a strange, devastated world.

While Phantom Blade Zero’s combat evokes games like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Bloodborne, it takes a more hybrid approach, channeling Wuxia stories and kung-fu movies. You’re not just using R1 to dodge, holding L1 to block blows, or tapping L1 to parry them; you also need to press attack, using Square for basic attacks and Triangle for more powerful blows to create simple but effective combos and force your opponent to block and parry as well.

It’s all about managing a meter measuring your Sha-Chi. Blocking attacks depletes your Sha-Chi, and if it runs out, you can be staggered and left open to attack — but perfectly parrying, and dodging and landing blows knocks down your opponent’s Sha-Chi instead, letting you cut through their defenses. 

You can quickly refill your Sha-Chi by pressing Left on the D-Pad to swap between your two equipped main weapons. The system pushes you to string attacks together from both weapons, or to swap as you end your strikes so you’re ready to start parrying.

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