2026 officially has a new highest-rated game of the year. Reviews are in for Phantom Blade Zero, the Wuxia-inspired action game from S-Game, and they've solidified it as one of the best-reviewed games of 2026 — a feat that could help its chances at scoring a nomination for the 2026 Game Awards in December.
As of this writing, Phantom Blade Zero is currently sitting at an 88 on Metacritic, which puts it ahead of other glossy action games from 2026 (basically: GOTY bait), like Control Resonant, 007 First Light, and Saros. Though it's still trailing the year's high-octane racing games, Star Wars Galactic Racer (tied at 88) and Forza Horizon 6 (solidly at an impressive 90). Here's what the critics have to say about Phantom Blade Zero.
In a 9/10 review for IGN, Travis Northup was glowing about Phantom Blade Zero's combat, though was less sold on the narrative. "Phantom Blade Zero is one of the best action games I’ve played in a long time, with standout combat that never came even close to feeling old across 50 hours," Northup wrote. "Its tale of betrayal and revenge mostly plays it extremely safe, and some unfortunate invisible barriers and technical hiccups can cause minor frustrations – but the overwhelming majority of my time with this stunning, incredibly well tuned adventure was downright awesome."
Over at GameSpot, in an 8/10 review , Richard Wakeling was of a similar mind.
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