I play so many sweaty action games that pit me against insanely difficult bosses and require the most tight reaction times imaginable that it actually takes quite a lot to get me to pay attention these days. I’ll admit that when I first saw the Phantom Blade Zero gameplay trailers, I didn’t immediately get the hype. After all, this sword-wielding parry-happy action game exists in an era where we get at least a dozen of these a year. It only took about five minutes with developer S-GAME’s Phantom Blade Zero to see how it sets itself apart, though, with the most smooth and satisfying action since Sekiro, a surprising number of things to do and secrets to find while exploring each level, and a story that seems like it’ll go harder than I expected it to. After over six hours bum-rushing my way through the first leg of the adventure, I left utterly champing at the bit to play more, and have now joined the ranks of those who count this among their most anticipated games of 2026.

The thing that immediately jumped out at me about this finely honed action game is just how much it effortlessly oozes style. One cutscene has a character played by Donny Yen balancing a baby on the edge of his blade while he fights off numerous attackers, one boss encounter involved me fighting (and eventually taking on the form of) one of those awesome dancing lions you see in Chinatown on Chinese New Year – even the first few minutes have your character choosing which heart he wants to receive from a creepy ghost monster guy just to make sure you know that the game you’re playing is metal as hell.

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