People need to stop calling every third-person game with bosses and checkpoints a “Soulslike.” Phantom Blade Zero is the latest game to get hit with this lazy label, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. S-Game has developed a fast-paced wuxia that’s all about momentum and aggressive martial arts, ditching the slow, stamina-draining slog we’re used to from FromSoftware minds. So, in short, Phantom Blade Zero is not a Soulslike but a kung-fu action without the stamina torture.
Internet forums overflow with endless whining from casual observers who call any title with a dark atmospheric art style a soulslike. S-Game developers have clarified many times since the project’s announcement that the game completely steps away from this genre. Superficial visual similarities—like spooky environments or a boss with a telegraphed attack—just mislead commentators who won’t do basic research.
Under the hood, this game plays more like classic PS1 and PS2 action hits like Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry, and Onimusha with high-octane pacing rather than methodical, stamina-taxing attrition. The design completely skips typical Souls features like health bars, roll spam, harsh death penalties, body recovery, and checkpoint enemy respawns. There are even three difficulty settings, so you don’t have to deal with the massive challenge spikes if you don’t want to.
Controlling protagonist Soul—an assassin on a revenge tour after someone killed his organization’s leadership—demands absolute diligence during skirmishes. You can’t just mash buttons and pray. Every grunt on the map has a different battle style and moves under the belt you actually have to respect. Moment-to-moment combat is a vicious dance of tight spacing, snappy dodges, and sharp parries that shatter enemy posture so you can cash out with fancy finishers.
Loadout variety introduces profound tactical depth. You’ve got daggers, regular swords, or longswords in your primary slot, paired with heavy ordnance like axes, bows, and warhammers in the secondary. Better yet, swapping weapons on the fly dynamically manipulates your energy reserves, fueling a breathless and aggressive offensive loop instead of forcing you to hang back and wait out timers. If you prefer a sneaky style, you can slide up behind bosses for a strong opening blow, or bypass platforming tedium entirely by sprinting up ladders.
Too often, Souls titles in this sphere lock their best narrative and environmental storytelling behind punishing, time-intensive difficulty walls. This release cuts right through that baggage, delivering a fantastic Ming dynasty “kungfupunk” universe and atmospheric soundtrack without reducing me to an exhausted wreck.
Take Coppermaul, a big flabby, bald weirdo wielding an orb-tipped warhammer. To get over him, you must focus and persist, but it won’t leave you banging your head against a wall for hours. When I bit the dust, the game didn’t punish me with tedious map backtracking or force a humiliating corpse-run; I was able to reload right away so I could try again. It nails the great highs of dark action RPGs while respecting player time with no unnecessary frustration.
Don’t launch Phantom Blade Zero expecting a methodical, roll-heavy stamina manager—you’ll be disappointed. This game is fast-paced, with aggressive action, and far more like a classic hack-and-slash than a Soulslike.
