[00:02] difficulty options, here is everything to know about Phantom Blade Zero.
[00:16] World, an alternate reality interpretation of the Ming Dynasty that infuses the time period with elements of steampunk, dark fantasy, folk horror, and more. The game is a wooa. The woo meaning martial arts and the sha being a
[00:31] chivalous hero. Players take on the role of soul, an agent for a secretive organization known as the order. Soul is framed for the murder of the order's leader and as such is now hunted by his former comrades. One of those order
[00:46] members is Zoang who is able to mortally wound soul. However, his life is saved by a mysterious healer known as the flesh sculptor. But the remedy will only
[00:58] work for 66 days, at which point Soul will die. With the time left remaining, Soul seeks both a permanent fix for his wound and to uncover the conspiracy to take down the order that he has been placed in the center of.
[01:18] Beijing based [music] studio same founded by Leang Quay also known by his founded by Leang Quay also known by his internet handle Soulframe in 2011. Huay began development of his first game Rainblood Town of Death while studying
[01:31] architecture at university. It was made using RPG Maker and introduced many of the concepts and characters featured [music] in Phantom Blade Zero. Esgame would make two more Rainblood games, expanding on the world and lore before
[01:46] rebranding [music] the series to Phantom Blade while transitioning to mobile game development to capitalize on their growing market in the mid2010s. The studio made Phantom Blade Executioners, which launched in 2023 for not only
[02:00] mobile, but PC and console as well. In that same year, Sgame announced Phantom Blade Zero, which would transition the franchise from 2D to 3D, utilizing Unreal Engine 5 for development. The game is designed to be a reboot of the
[02:14] franchise and a modern reimagining of the original Rain Blood. While it was announced in 2023, development started in earnest in 2022 with the first concepts for the game cooked up in 2017. Initially, the game was meant to be much
[02:29] smaller than what players will experience in the final release. But the game's reveal at PlayStation's 2023 showcase proved so popular that the team expanded its scope. The studio had another project in the works, one set in
[02:43] a new sci-fi universe. But the team paused development on that title to focus all its efforts on Zero. Esgame worked with multiple martial arts masters, swordsmiths, as well as actor Don Yen as consultants to make the
[02:57] game's combat as authentic as possible. Yen also portrays the character Mo Yuan in the game. In addition, the team brought on renowned stunt coordinator and film director Kenji Tanagaki to serve as the game's action director.
[03:13] serve as the game's action director. [music] revolves around a fighting style that SGA calls kung fu punk, which fuses
[03:25] traditional martial arts with mechanical forms. As Soul, players wield a primary and secondary weapon with dozens of options for each, which drastically change Soul's play style based on which weapons he wields, with options for both
[03:40] melee and ranged combat, as well as combinations of both. Different weapons and combat styles are better tailored for certain enemy types. Weapons can be upgraded, allowing for new forms and techniques on top of new skills that
[03:53] Soul can learn independent from his arsenal. The game's phantom world is made up of multiple interconnected open zones. Players have handdrawn maps to give them a rough sense for direction, but will need to explore for themselves
[04:07] to progress the game story, as well as discover its wealth of optional content. Players can find bells in the different areas that allow for fast travel across its large maps. The game has several difficulty options for the players to
[04:22] choose from. Wayf Farer is the game's [music] equivalent to story mode, while Pathbreaker is its intended difficulty. In Hell Walker mode, the difficulty is taken up a notch with enemies becoming more adaptive to your play style while
[04:37] no longer adhering to predictable attack patterns of their own. The final patterns of their own. The final difficulty, 66 days, is unlocked after completing the game on either Pathbreaker or Hell Walker. It is the
[04:49] same difficulty as Hell Walker, but to simulate Souls 66 days left to live, the player will only get 66 lives to complete the game. If they expend all 66, it's game over. [music]
[05:10] PlayStation 5 and PC for $60 on October 29th, 2026. However, the game will only be released digitally on that date with physical PS5 copies launching sometime
[05:23] in 2027. For $10 more, players can obtain the deluxe edition of the game, which comes with two additional outfits for Soul, as well as a digital art book and a soundtrack. Pre-ordering either edition of the game will unlock another
[05:38] outfit, as well as an accessory for Soul that increases how much of the game's upgrade currency he obtains at the start of the game. but both are obtainable later into [music] its story for those that don't pre-order. When the physical
[05:50] editions launch in 2027, there will be an ultimate edition of the game which comes with a steelbook case. Although no pricing information or details on any additional inclusions for that edition at the time of recording. And that's
[06:05] everything to know about Phantom Blade Zero. For more on the game, including our eventual review, stay right here on GameSpot.