If you want better voice acting
Choose Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It scores 4.9 vs 3.6 for voice acting, with a 4.5 overall score.
Phantom Blade Zero Review
Content guidance
Graphic martial arts violence includes bloody executions, decapitation, impaled bodies, and disturbing body horror. Dark side stories involve child abduction and cruelty.
Official rating
M
Bottom Line
Spectacular martial arts combat, inventive bosses, and genuinely distinct weapons make this a standout action adventure. Confusing storytelling, restrictive traversal, and hardware-dependent technical problems are its clearest limitations.
Action RPG fans, build experimenters, and players who enjoy searching for hidden bosses and meaningful equipment. Completionists have substantial optional regions and encounters to uncover.
Players who dislike timed parries and dodges, or who need straightforward storytelling with little supplementary reading. Steam Deck players face particularly poor performance in the supplied testing.
Verdict
Phantom Blade Zero earns its strongest recommendation through the feel of its fighting. Attacking, defending, and switching weapons flow together into cinematic exchanges, while a remarkably varied arsenal keeps experimentation rewarding. Hidden bosses and substantial optional routes give exploration real purpose, and the distinctive kungfupunk art and eclectic soundtrack reinforce the appeal. The recommendation becomes more conditional elsewhere. Some players find an emotional wuxia story; others struggle with its terminology, flashbacks, and reliance on collectible lore. Difficulty also divides experienced players, from exhausting bosses to insufficient late-game resistance. Collision problems and uneven performance deserve attention on the intended hardware, especially given the strongly negative Steam Deck test. For action and build enthusiasts, the strengths substantially outweigh those caveats.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
104 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.037 (36%)
-
Positive 3.5-4.435 (34%)
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Neutral 2.5-3.425 (24%)
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Negative 1.5-2.47 (7%)
Pros highlights
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Simultaneous attacking, guarding, parrying, and weapon switching produce exceptionally fluid martial combat. The main reservations concern repetitive fodder fights and how much active freedom remains in some boss exchanges.
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The combat systems combine familiar attacks and defenses into an unusually fluid whole. Satisfaction is strongest when enemies meaningfully test those mechanics rather than fall to repetitive inputs.
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Most accounts strongly recommend the game for its combat, bosses, weapons, and presentation. Storytelling, traversal, balance, and technical roughness prevent a similarly uniform endorsement of the whole package.
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Each blade brings its own moves, rhythms, and special abilities, making the large arsenal a major attraction. A few players find the choice overwhelming or favor only a handful of options.
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Distinctive mechanics and elaborate choreography make the bosses the main attraction for most players. Several accounts find some fights too spongy, overlong, or easily overcome once builds become powerful.
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Hidden bosses, equipment, and tool-gated routes make exploration a major strength for most players. Others encounter too many low-value pickups, empty return trips, or unclear routes.
Cons highlights
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The story sharply divides opinion: some find an emotional wuxia epic, while others struggle with terminology, flashbacks, and missing character context. Optional material can substantially change how satisfying the ending feels.
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Many tests are mostly smooth, but rain-heavy locations, water effects, and certain bosses can cause substantial drops. Results range from excellent PS5 Pro stability to severe PC stuttering and unplayable Steam Deck frame rates.
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Optimization is highly dependent on hardware, mode, and build. Strong PC and console accounts coexist with severe stuttering reports, while Steam Deck performance is especially poor.
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Soul’s combat agility does not consistently translate into free movement through the world. Some admire the acrobatic traversal, while others dislike automatic flourishes, low jumps, and invisible boundaries.
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Getting caught on scenery, falling through the ground, and enemies slipping behind boundaries are recurring complaints. Their frequency varies substantially between playthroughs and builds.
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Flexible weapon builds allow considerable expression within combat. Prescribed routes, automatic traversal, and colored response cues can feel restrictive to players seeking greater freedom.
Use Cases
Best for
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Fast combat, inventive boss fights, and distinctive weapons make this a strong fit for action RPG enthusiasts. Its biggest rewards come from engaging with the fighting and experimenting with equipment.
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Distinct weapon abilities, accessories, and refundable upgrades give build enthusiasts plenty to test. Effective combinations can change how a difficult encounter plays out.
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Players who investigate side paths gain valuable equipment, hidden stories, and some of the most memorable bosses. Substantial optional areas make curiosity especially worthwhile.
Not ideal for
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Players sensitive to low frame ratesTiming-sensitive players should take the reported stuttering seriously on the affected configurations. Steam Deck testing is particularly unsuitable for anyone needing consistently smooth combat.
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Timing-averse playersTimed parries and dodges are central enough that players who dislike them are explicitly cautioned away. Easier settings do not change the fundamental combat style.
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other Video Games, this product is above average in marketing accuracy, grind level, combat readability, near average in exploration quality, art direction, below average in collectibles, loot system, multiplayer design.
Comparison summary
100 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher42 (42%)
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Same as average within 0.3 pts30 (30%)
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Below average 0.4+ pts lower28 (28%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| marketing accuracy | 5.0 | 2.6 | +2.4 |
| collectibles | 2.0 | 4.1 | -2.1 |
| grind level | 4.9 | 2.9 | +1.9 |
| loot system | 1.8 | 3.4 | -1.7 |
| multiplayer design | 2.0 | 3.7 | -1.7 |
| photo mode | 2.5 | 4.1 | -1.6 |
| combat readability | 4.1 | 2.7 | +1.4 |
| checkpoint system | 4.6 | 3.5 | +1.1 |
Consider This Instead
If you want better bug frequency
Choose Onimusha: Way of the Sword. It scores 5.0 vs 2.5 for bug frequency, with a 4.1 overall score.
If you want better exploration quality
Choose Donkey Kong Bananza. It scores 4.9 vs 4.3 for exploration quality, with a 4.4 overall score.
If you want better checkpoint system
Choose Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2. It scores 5.0 vs 4.6 for checkpoint system, with a 4.0 overall score.
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
- Similar: swordfighting quality The reviewer says the combat matches the high standard set by Onimusha: Way of the Sword.
- Compared: input complexity The reviewer contrasts its simple commands with Onimusha: Way of the Sword’s higher skill ceiling.
- Worse: overall action experience The reviewer narrowly favors this experience over Onimusha: Way of the Sword.
- Worse: overall action experience The reviewer says the experience narrowly beats the other action games reviewed this year, including Nioh 3.
- Worse: overall action experience The reviewer places Phantom Blade Zero slightly above Nioh 3.
- Worse: aggregate review reception The reported aggregate score exceeds Nioh 3.
- Similar: genre craftsmanship The author compares its refinement of a familiar genre to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
- Similar: craftsmanship The reviewer compares the care and genre refinement to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, rather than its mechanics.
FAQ
Is Phantom Blade Zero a Soulslike?
It borrows checkpoints and demanding bosses, but its faster combo-driven action, adjustable difficulties, forgiving death rules, and saved boss phases distinguish it from a conventional Soulslike.
Does the combat have depth beyond its flashy animations?
Most accounts strongly praise the interaction between attacks, defenses, weapon swapping, and Sha-Chi. Distinct weapon abilities support extensive experimentation, although some players find ordinary encounters too easy or repetitive.
Is exploration worth the detour?
Usually: optional paths can lead to powerful equipment, hidden bosses, stories, and entire regions. Some players find later loot less useful or dislike revisiting cleared areas.
Is the story easy to follow?
Opinions are sharply divided. Flashbacks, unfamiliar terminology, and essential collectible lore can make the opening difficult to understand, while others find the eventual revelations and ending deeply rewarding.
Can I try new weapons without wasting upgrade materials?
Investments can be refunded and moved into other equipment. Some accounts note that resets above level 10 require limited Reforging Talismans, so later experimentation is not entirely unrestricted.
How difficult is it?
Difficulty settings and timing accessories provide flexibility, and boss-phase checkpoints reduce repeated attempts. Experienced players disagree about Hellwalker: some enjoy its adaptive challenge, while others find later encounters too easy.
Does it work well on handheld PCs?
Results depend on the device. The MSI Claw account is positive with XeSS and moderate settings, but Steam Deck testing reports sub-30-FPS play, severe dips, and no satisfactory workaround.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
Video Reviews
Article Reviews
gameinformer.com
Phantom Blade Zero is, so far, an astounding achievement for the action genre, but I need more time to ensure it sticks the landing. - Game...
- Review score
- 4.7
thegamer.com
Phantom Blade Zero reviews just dropped, and they're exceedingly positive.
- Review score
- 4.3
tech4gamers.com
Phantom Blade Zero has scored an excellent 88 on Metacritic, with many describing it as the possible Game of the Year winner for 2026.
- Review score
- 4.7
psu.com
Check out our definitive Phantom Blade Zero PS5 review to see why S-Game’s martial arts epic delivers a staggering kungfupunk masterpiece.
- Review score
- 4.8
gamingbolt.com
Time may not heal all wounds in S-Game's massive action RPG, but it's still the basis for a fantastic wuxia adventure unlike any other.
- Review score
- 3.9
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