Phantom Blade Zero
| Phantom Blade Zero | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | S-GAME |
| Publisher(s) | S-GAME |
| Director(s) | Soulframe Liang [1] |
| Producer(s) | Soulframe Liang [2] |
| Artist(s) | Michael Chang [2] |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 5 |
| Platform(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Action role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Phantom Blade Zero (影之刃零)[a] is an upcoming wuxia action role-playing game developed and published by S-GAME. The player takes on the role of Soul, an elite assassin in the service of a mysterious and powerful organization known as The Order, as he embarks on a mission to uncover the truth behind the murder of its patriarch.
The game is scheduled to release for PlayStation 5 and Windows. The release date has not been announced yet.
Gameplay
[edit]Phantom Blade Zero is an action role-playing game.[4][5] It is played from a third-person perspective.[4] The story campaign is strictly a single-player experience, while certain endgame content is available as multiplayer experiences.[6]
The player controls Soul, an elite assassin serving a mysterious and powerful organization known as The Order.[7] He carries two primary weapons and two secondary weapons.[8] The primary weapons comprise a variety of blades.[9] The secondary weapons are more diverse, featuring canons, lances, axes, hammers, and other types of weapons.[9]
The game is set in a semi-open world,[7][10][11] consisting of interconnected regions.[12] Some areas may initially be inaccessible but can eventually be reached through non-linear processes with multiple paths.[12]
The game has difficulty options.[13]
Synopsis
[edit]Setting
[edit]Phantom Blade Zero adapts wuxia, a genre of fiction.[6][14] It introduces specifically kungfupunk, as Liang terms it,[b] to create a distinctive identity.[5][6][7][11] He described it as a subgenre that blends Chinese kungfu with steampunk and cyberpunk.[5] In response to questions by the Japanese publication 4Gamer about the challenges of introducing unfamiliar cultural themes to the West, Liang shared his thoughts, citing the success of Black Myth: Wukong, that players are open to exploring such themes when games offer both high quality and enjoyable experiences at their core.[15]
The game takes place in the Phantom World.[7][9] It is a universe based on China during the Ming dynasty, with elements of wuxia, steampunk, cyberpunk, dark fantasy, horror, and more.[9]
Plot
[edit]The assassin Soul is framed for the murder of The Order's patriarch.[7][10][11] He is fatally wounded in the manhunt that ensued, but a mystic healer manages to keep him alive with a cure that lasts for 66 days.[7][10][11] With time running out, he must uncover the truth behind the conspiracy.[7][10][11]
Development
[edit]Phantom Blade Zero is a game developed and published by S-GAME.[3] It serves as a spiritual successor to Rainblood: Town of Death (2010), an indie game made by Liang.[7] The game is built on Unreal Engine 5.[6][7][16]
Liang, during an interview in June 2024, stated that the team has officially been working on the game for about two years.[17] Prior to this official development phase, they have revealed a few early concepts and other preliminary work.[18][19][20][21] This included, for example, concept art featuring four characters, designed by Michael Chang, which was shown during ChinaJoy 2017.[18] In May 2017, they revealed that the game would be developed using Unreal Engine.[22] Liang explained that, around Chinese New Year in 2017, with the support from the core team, he decided to shift from using the 2D graphics reminiscent of their previous games to adopting 3D graphics.[22]
Kenji Tanigaki serves as the action director for the game.[7]
In January 2025, S-GAME released a trailer celebrating the upcoming Year of the Snake, showcasing gameplay of a boss battle to highlight the combat system.[23] This particular boss consists of seven swordsmen, each controlled by an individual AI and a shared group AI, allowing them to act independently, work in formations, and interact with each other.[23] The developers aimed to design the game's combat based on Chinese martial arts, drawing inspiration from 1980s−90s Hong Kong martial arts films and working closely with martial arts instructors.[23] The team also designed each of the game's weapons to have unique action mechanics, ensuring they remained novel to use rather than confined by weapon types.[23] They took this approach, because they found that weapons lost their distinctive characteristics with basic action mechanics.[23]
Release
[edit]Phantom Blade Zero is scheduled to release for PC and PlayStation 5.[10]
During an anniversary concert for the Rainblood series on 22 November 2016, it was revealed that the series would be remade with an extended plot in a new game codenamed Phantom Blade Zero (影之刃Zero).[24]
During the PlayStation Showcase on 24 May 2023, S-GAME released a trailer announcing Phantom Blade Zero.[11] Liang, during an interview in June 2023, shared that many years ago, Feng Ji, the producer of Black Myth: Wukong, encouraged him to create a single-player game that could captivate players around the world, but that he still felt concerned about it until he saw the overwhelming response received at the showcase.[25] In January 2025, they released a trailer celebrating the upcoming Year of the Snake which revealed that a release date would be announced in 2025.[26][27]
Reception
[edit]Accolades
[edit]Phantom Blade Zero won the Most Anticipated Game and was nominated for Phenomenon of the Year at the UCG Game Awards 2024.[28]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Gerblick, Jordan (26 July 2024). ""Everyone is looking at Black Myth Wukong": Phantom Blade Zero director expects the most-wishlisted game on Steam to be a breakthrough moment for China". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 6 August 2024.
- ^ a b Kazuhisa (15 October 2024). "［インタビュー］「Phantom Blade Zero」の社長が語る，中国でわざわざコンソールゲームを作るということ―――夢がある人なら，延々とモバイルゲームを開発したいだなんて思わないでしょう". 4Gamer (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 8 January 2025.
- ^ a b "Phantom Blade Zero". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 7 December 2024.
- ^ a b 祝思齐 (10 June 2024). "《影之刃零》夏日游戏节登场，线下巡回试玩开启". Chuapp (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 30 January 2025.
- ^ a b c Hashimoto, Kazuma (21 January 2025). "Phantom Blade Zero is a "kung fu punk" action RPG that wants to follow in the footsteps of Black Myth Wukong: "there's a lot of pressure on us, but I think in a good way"". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 12 February 2025.
- ^ a b c d Palumbo, Alessio (28 July 2023). "Phantom Blade Zero Q&A - Dev Says Bosses are the Game's Highlights, Confirms Hardware Ray Tracing & PS5 Specs". Wccftech. Archived from the original on 27 January 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Liang, Soulframe (24 May 2023). "Phantom Blade Zero: a new beginning in a long journey". PlayStation.Blog. Archived from the original on 12 February 2025.
- ^ 刹翼; 日立 (14 June 2024). "帅到不像实机的中式武侠战斗，真让他们做出来了！影之刃零线下抢先试玩分享【UCG】". Ultra Console Game (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 18 February 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Exclusive Developer Interview ft. Phantom Blade Zero". IGN. 19 October 2023. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Edward (25 May 2023). "半開放世界功夫龐克冒險遊戲《影之刃 零》亮相 化身僅剩 66 日餘命的刺客追緝真兇". 巴哈姆特電玩資訊站 (in Chinese).
- ^ a b c d e f Kennedy, Victoria (25 May 2023). "Slick looking action-RPG Phantom Blade Zero blends Chinese martial arts with "punk spirit"". Eurogamer.
- ^ a b Gerblick, Jordan (24 July 2024). ""It's just like the Souls games before Elden Ring": Phantom Blade Zero director walks us through this action RPG's seamless, non-linear map". GamesRadar+.
- ^ Adam, Khayl (12 June 2024). "Phantom Blade Zero PS5 Not Another Soulslike, Offers Multiple Difficulty Options". Push Square.
- ^ a b 一柳渡江 (16 July 2024). "游民采访《影之刃零》制作人：不担心被人与《黑神话》比较". GamerSky (in Chinese). pp. 1–3.
- ^ Kazuhisa (15 October 2024). "［インタビュー］「Phantom Blade Zero」の社長が語る，中国でわざわざコンソールゲームを作るということ―――夢がある人なら，延々とモバイルゲームを開発したいだなんて思わないでしょう". 4Gamer (in Japanese). Partially translated and adapted in Vjestica, Amber (16 October 2024). "Phantom Blade Zero devs say cultural differences are not a barrier in games but a plus, which is why they don't tone down themes for the West". Automaton. Cited in Randall, Harvey (16 October 2024). "Phantom Blade Zero devs say they don't want to water down the game for foreigners—in fact, quite the opposite". PC Gamer.
- ^ 彭楚微 (25 May 2023). "在索尼全球发布会上，《影之刃零》选择回归原点". Chuapp (in Chinese).
- ^ Takahashi, Dean (19 June 2024). "How Phantom Blade Zero is an accessible Soulslike game | Soulframe Liang interview". VentureBeat.
- ^ a b 梁萧 (26 July 2017). "ChinaJoy 2017：《影之刃Zero》角色设定图公布 黑魂设计师操刀". GamerSky (in Chinese).
- ^ 小小白 (15 September 2017). "《影之刃Zero》概念图公开 充满黑暗诡异元素". GamerSky (in Chinese).
- ^ 观海 (1 October 2017). "国产单机《雨血》系列新作《影之刃Zero》人设图 左殇、黑伤·魂英气逼人". GamerSky (in Chinese).
- ^ 明镜Mirror (30 November 2017). "国产单机《雨血》系列新作《影之刃zero》建模图 细节精湛、画面进步巨大". GamerSky (in Chinese).
- ^ a b 短笛酱 (11 May 2017). "《雨血》新作代号《影之刃zero》 虚幻4打造3D画面 顶尖团队支持". GamerSky (in Chinese).
- ^ a b c d e 祝思齐 (25 January 2025). "《影之刃零》蛇年PV："比好更好"是可以做到的吗？". Chuapp (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 25 January 2025.
- ^ 小熊桑 (22 November 2016). "国产单机《雨血》系列确认重制 剧情延展至"荒城"之后". GamerSky (in Chinese).
- ^ 奕剑者柴王 (9 June 2023). "我们跟《影之刃零》制作人聊了聊，但是没见到兰博基尼". GamerSky (in Chinese). pp. 1–2.
- ^ "中国武术的绝巅！《影之刃零》新春演示"满屏喊帅"，震惊玩家和同行". GameLook (in Chinese). 23 January 2025.
- ^ Nightingale, Ed (22 January 2025). "Phantom Blade Zero trailer shows fresh gameplay, but it's still without a release date". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 22 January 2025.
- ^ For the nominations, see "UCG游戏大赏2024全奖项提名公开！". Ultra Console Game (in Chinese). 27 January 2024. For the results, see "UGA2024圆满结束！全奖项获奖游戏和厂商公开！". Ultra Console Game (in Chinese). 15 January 2025.