What is it A martial arts action epic
Release date October 28, 2026
Expect to pay £49.99/$59.99
Publisher S-Game
Developer S-Game
Reviewed on Intel Core i5 12400F, Radeon RX 6800 XT, 32GB RAM,
Multiplayer No
Steam Deck Unsupported
Link Steam

Ever since I started Phantom Blade Zero, I've had a scene from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon playing on repeat in my head. It's the sequence when Jen and Shu Lien face-off against each other in the martial arts hall. Jen is wielding the Green Destiny, a sword which can seemingly slice through all other weapons, but as it does, Shu Lien adapts.

She uses blades, spears, hook swords, a metal club, but every weapon she picks up, she immediately wields with martial prowess—it might be a bit of a wuxia trope, but it can't help but encapsulate the experience of playing Phantom Blade Zero. The protagonist, Soul's old comrade, Lei Dang, echoes this sentiment when you meet him: "You truly are a martial prodigy - you can master anything you learn."

In a crowded market of action games often borrowing more from Souls and Sekiro than they rightly should, Phantom Blade Zero sheds these strictures in favour of a martial arts adventure that's more about feeling good than getting good. It's not just the endless array of weapons and Phantom Edges (essentially Sekiro's Shinobi Tools) that Soul wields with effortless martial grace, it's about how the game makes you feel like a master.

Phantom Blade Zero managed to convince me—a Dark Souls veteran with 860 hours in Elden Ring—that perhaps you don't have to struggle against bosses to make them meaningful.

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