I’ve now had all however one among my hands-on appointments at Summer season Recreation Fest Play Days, and as soon as the mud has settled, it is exhausting for me to see greater than a few video games bettering the time I had with Phantom Blade Zero.
Though my demo was brief, roughly quarter-hour, I received to expertise three completely different bosses and a variety of various weapons, and let me inform you. It rips.
Not Strictly A Souls-Like
I feel a standard false impression going into Phantom Blade Zero will likely be that the sport is a Soulslike via and thru. It isn’t. The sport actually leans closely on mechanics made well-liked in FromSoft’s titles like Sekiro, together with, however not restricted to, parrying and dodging; nonetheless, a lot of Phantom Blade Zero’s fight is extra harking back to character motion video games like Satan Might Cry.
As I began the tutorial, I used to be greeted with a bunch of various combo alternatives that I might carry out with mild and heavy assaults, or a mixture of each. These built-in combos made the sport’s fight really feel slick and fluid, though at instances, barely exhausting to maintain monitor of.
The combos I used to be utilizing may be mixed with a variety of particular assaults that helped me shut or create distance between me and my adversaries, although repeatedly, that they had a retort. These specials ranged from an enormous arm cannon to a ranged bow that could possibly be charged up including one other fascinating dynamic into the sport.
The Parrying Predicament
I am not nice at parrying in Souls video games. The place doable, I want to attempt to time my dodges to perfection. Nonetheless, with the parries that I so typically dread, Phantom Blade Zero was both slightly extra forgiving, or I am simply not as unhealthy as I believed I used to be.
The bosses within the sport are very harking back to these from Souls titles. They’re sometimes robust, fast, and sometimes telegraph their assaults, that means dodge or parry home windows repeatedly current themselves. Given this was solely a preview, I figured I would attempt to grasp it, and it did not take lengthy earlier than I used to be deflecting virtually each enemy assault. I felt completed, however parrying actually is not a necessity like it’s in different video games.
That being stated, whereas it is not a necessity, parrying helps create a welcome window in fight. Upon each profitable block of my foe’s robust assault, I used to be teleported behind them, which allowed me to unleash a flurry of assaults, typically knocking them to the ground.
The sport is certainly designed to be performed at a quicker tempo than say, an Elden Ring; however Phantom Blade Zero additionally does a strong job of constructing defensive fight extra approachable for inexperienced persons. As I discussed, Parrying actually feels extra forgiving, and blocking as a complete is easy. Holding the block button will negate all injury from most enemy assaults. It should deplete your stamina, that means you will not have the ability to counter with heavy assaults (mild assaults do not price stamina), nevertheless it means you do not at all times should depend on twitchy blocks.
The Second To Second
I assume if I have been to have one concern coming away from my time with Phantom Blade Zero, it is about what fills within the gaps between the epic boss fights.
Earlier than my first main encounter, I used to be given a small taster of issues as I went head-to-head with 5 or 6 extra generic enemies. Nonetheless, throughout my time with the sport, I did not actually get to see any of the Phantom Blade Zero’s exploration or traversal. I am assuming it is going to be a semi-linear affair, clearing out some genuinely lovely environments earlier than reaching the following boss, however I nonetheless had loads of questions concerning the loot, quests, and story.
Fact be informed, although, I am not notably involved. From what I performed, I am assured that the workforce behind Phantom Blade Zero is aware of what they’re doing, and we could possibly be about to have one of many subsequent massive motion hits on our palms.
You may try all of our protection from this yr’s Summer season Recreation Fest proper right here.
