Phantom Blade Zero review praises combat and martial arts setting

COGconnected published a review of Phantom Blade Zero on Nov. 4, 2026, calling combat the title’s strongest point and praising its martial arts setting.

Phantom Blade Zero launched on Oct. 29, 2026, on PlayStation 5 and PC after the review embargo lifted early ahead of release. S-Game developed and published the debut AAA action RPG.

The story follows Soul, an assassin revived by a mysterious healer with 66 days to live. Combat uses 30 primary weapons and 25 secondary Phantom Edges, and timing rather than button mashing determines success. “Combat is unquestionably Phantom Blade Zero’s greatest strength,” the COGconnected reviewer wrote.

The assessment is less kind to the story. COGconnected described the narrative as underwhelming and said most cinematics failed to move the reviewer. Polygon found the plot emotionally limited and described Soul as two-dimensional.

The game holds an 88 on Metacritic for PlayStation 5 and PC and averages 91 on OpenCritic. PCGamesN scored it 10 out of 10 and IGN scored it 9 out of 10, while Eurogamer gave it a 60 on Metacritic, citing balance and quality issues. Yahoo Tech calls it the highest-scored PS5 console exclusive of 2026.

Sales and player counts are large. S-Game reported more than four million copies sold within 72 hours of the Oct. 29 release. The Steam concurrency peak reached 833,921 players on Nov. 1, and PCGamesN reports roughly 400,000 players during quiet periods and a third-place spot on Steam’s most-played list, behind only Counter-Strike 2 and DOTA 2. The peak is 10 times the figure for Onimusha: Way of the Sword.

The setting mixes traditional Chinese fantasy with steampunk, including towers exhaling scalding steam. Polygon says Liang sought to recreate the sleek, breathtaking kung fu moves seen in the 1990s films, and actor Donnie Yen serves as a creative consultant and plays a character. “the sleek, breathtaking moves in kung fu movies back in the 1990s,” Liang said.

The main campaign runs about 20 to 30 hours, and Polygon says pressing one button triggers finishers, making the loop satisfying but repetitive. Beebom said on Oct. 26, 2026, that critics played over 50 hours without tiring and said strong scores would boost pre-orders ahead of the end-of-week release. It said there were zero negative reviews across Metacritic and OpenCritic as of Oct. 26, 2026.

Polygon reports four difficulty options are available, while PCGamesN calls it not easy and says players will not beat it in just a few hours. Beebom says reviewers have compared Phantom Blade Zero’s play style directly to Black Myth Wukong, and that players who like difficult action games such as Elden Ring and other soulslikes will enjoy it.