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Phantom Blade Zero Gameplay Deep Dive Reveals Its Biggest Systems
With Phantom Blade Zero now a little over two months away, S-GAME has used a dedicated State of Play to finally pull back the curtain on some of its deeper gameplay systems. The showcase covered everything from exploration and side quests to weapon progression and difficulty options, giving players a much clearer idea of how Soul’s journey through the Wulin will actually work.
Rather than building another traditional open world, S-GAME is dividing the adventure across interconnected areas of different sizes, with optional bosses, hidden paths, treasures and side quests encouraging players to wander away from the main story.
Phantom Blade Zero Packs More Than 55 Weapons
Combat remains the obvious centrepiece, and Soul will have plenty of ways to approach it. Players can unlock more than 30 primary weapons alongside 25 secondary weapons known as Phantom Edges. Each brings different characteristics to combat, while accessories and upgrades allow players to further shape their preferred setup.
Experimentation should also be relatively painless. S-GAME says upgraded equipment can be reforged, returning previously invested materials so they can be put towards another weapon instead. That should make it easier to regularly change builds instead of feeling locked into whatever looked appealing during the opening hours.
Sixty-Six Days Makes Every Death Matter
The most intriguing difficulty option takes Soul’s remaining lifespan and turns it into a gameplay mechanic. Soul begins the story with only 66 days left to live, and the aptly named Sixty-Six Days mode makes that countdown much more threatening.
Every death costs Soul another precious day, putting a finite limit on how many mistakes players can make before reaching the end. It sits above Hellwalker, which already increases the challenge with smarter, more adaptive enemies. At the other end is Wayfarer, intended for players more interested in experiencing the story and cinematic combat.
The different options also reinforce S-GAME’s continued insistence that Phantom Blade Zero should not simply be treated as another Soulslike, despite some obvious similarities in its dark world and demanding combat.
Exploration Can Change How the Story Unfolds
The Wulin is also being built to reward players who investigate beyond their immediate objective. Completing side quests and interacting with characters can open additional story paths and provide more context around the conspiracy surrounding Soul.
Different areas contain secrets and optional challenges, while traversal points gradually make it easier to move around previously explored locations. That freedom extends into progression, meaning players can spend time uncovering more of the world without being forced directly down a single route.
Phantom Blade Zero launches on October 29 for PlayStation 5 and PC, with pre-orders already available. After years of letting its spectacular combat demonstrations do most of the talking, this latest showcase finally gives a better idea of the RPG underneath all those perfectly timed parries.
