A recent S-Game developer interview has given us a breakdown on Phantom Blade Zero gameplay features.
S-Game Founder Soulframe and Senior Vice President of Publishing Mike Peng spoke with IGN in an interview published today to reveal several interesting tidbits about the upcoming hack n’ slash action game. This interview builds on details we learned from the studio’s Discord Q&A back in May.
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Without further ado, let’s break down the interesting details we learned from the interview:
- The Phantom Blade Universe – Soulframe describes the Phantom Blade setting as a Ming Dynasty-esque China but with all sorts of “steampunk, cyberpunk, dark fantasy, and horror movie” influences. It’s a gritty place where you have to fight your way out to survive.
- Combat Styles – Phantom Blade Zero won’t encourage players to go for specific playstyles in their playthrough. Instead, players can utilize tools like assassinations and combos to stealth through the game, or dive full into using the game’s Kung-Fu combat system that puts heavy emphasis on using the environment to your advantage.
- Primary and Secondary Weapons – Players will have a main and secondary weapon throughout their playthrough. The main weapon will be all sorts of different blades that’ll move differently depending on the length and weight of each. Dual blades are available as well. The secondary weapons, or shachis, range from quick weapons like lances to heavy-hitters like axes and hammers.
- Upgrades and Gear – As the player explores the semi open-world maps between combat encounters, they’ll find gear they can upgrade to increase their overall power. Additionally, they’ll be able to gain skills as they fight their way through each area.
- Upcoming Demo – While a 30-minute demo will be available next year, Mike Peng stated that it’s “invitation only this time.” We imagine this means that press and content creators will have to reach out to the studio to get their hands on the demo.
Everything we’re hearing about Phantom Blade Zero sounds promising. So far, we’ve only seen one gameplay trailer, so whether or not the game lives up to the hype remains to be seen. Regardless, the team is clearly passionate about the project which goes a long way when it comes to game development.
Are you looking forward to hopping into Phantom Blade Zero with a friend? Let us know in the comments.
Phantom Blade Zero releases on PC and PS5 sometime next year.
Source: IGN