When it comes to Soulslikes, the world is currently talking about Shadow of the Erdtree and Black Myth: Wukong. While the former is an expansion to one of the best games of the current generation, the latter is a game people have been waiting on for nearly half a decade.
Both of these titles have received some new media representation regarding them recently, with Red Bull Levels offering exclusive gameplay of the Elden Ring DLC and Summer Game Fest finally giving us a release date for Wukong. However, there was one other title that had many Soulslike fans excited for its release.
Phantom Blade Zero Steals Some Thunder from Shadow of the Erdtree and Wukong
The Soulslike genre has grown exponentially in terms of fans and titles available. FromSoftware may not have known the impact their initial games would have on the gaming industry, but it now seems almost every studio is trying to incorporate some references, features, and mechanics from Miyazaki’s game into their title.
S-GAME, too, is trying to capture the attention of the Soulslike fandom with their upcoming project, Phantom Blade Zero. Revealed back in May of 2023, the game received an all-new trailer during this year’s Summer Game Fest, and it showed enough to stick in the minds of many. The game features fast-paced combat and a unique fantastical world and borrows elements from various FromSoftware titles to feel familiar yet original.
Phantom Blade 0 epic moment is real and it was the best playable game of summer games fest hands down.
— HOT97 | HipHopGamer | AMD | PLITCH | THE G.O.A.T. (@HipHopGamer) June 17, 2024
Best fighting game adventure animations ever period.
Much love to S-Game development team more to come pic.twitter.com/4LHnFMm6cS
The developers over at S-GAME have taken inspiration from a variety of sources, such as Miura’s Berserk, kung fu films from the 80s and 90s, as well as fan-favorite games such as Bloodborne and Ninja Gaiden 2. With such muses guiding the project’s development, it’s no wonder @HipHopGamer and many others felt it was one of the best playable games at Summer Game Fest!
The trailer for Phantom Blade Zero showed that the game is adopting the fast-paced combat system of Bloodborne and the parry mechanics of Sekiro. Animations look beautiful, the set-pieces are stunning and the Wuxia-inspired martial arts will ensure combat looks not only flashy but also impactful.
S-GAME’s Connection to FromSoftware Goes Deeper than Inspiration
The developers at the studio are very open with their inspiration for the game, but the learnings go beyond just observing other games. S-GAME’s Vice President, Michael Chang, was a former developer at FromSoftware with hands-on experience working on the studio’s initial projects, Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls.
Considering these games set the formula not only for FromSoftware but for Soulslikes in general, expectations for Phantom Blade Zero are very high. Another inspiration for the title was Sloclap’s Sifu. S-GAME has stated it felt Sifu was the first title to properly implement Chinese martial arts in gaming, and it has decided to take certain cues for combat in Phantom Blade Zero.
It will match Sifu’s quick combat scheme but will rely more on weapons than being bare-handed. It seems Chinese martial arts are picking up in the gaming industry, as Where Winds Meet is another upcoming project with Wuxia-style combat.
What were your initial thoughts on Phantom Blade Zero? Let us know in the comments below!
