‘Phantom Blade Zero’ Reviews: Critics Hail S-GAME’s ‘Kungfupunk’ Action Game As A Game Of The Year Contender

Phantom Blade Zero is slashing its way into Game of the Year conversations ahead of its release this week.

Reviews for the wuxia action game from Chinese developer S-GAME went live over the weekend, and critics have been nearly unanimous in their praise. As of Monday, the game holds a Metascore of 88 on Metacritic based on 33 critic reviews, with all but one of them positive.

Phantom Blade Zero launches Thursday, Oct. 29, on PlayStation 5 and PC.

Players take on the role of Soul, an elite assassin for a secretive organization known as The Order, who is framed for the murder of its patriarch. Left with a fatal wound to his heart, Soul is revived but has only 66 days to live, and he sets out to restore his heart and uncover the conspiracy against him.

The game is set in the Phantom World, a setting S-GAME describes as “kungfupunk,” blending classic Chinese martial arts storytelling with dark, steampunk-tinged fantasy. S-GAME built it in Unreal Engine 5 and directed it with S-GAME founder Soulframe Liang.

Critics overwhelmingly singled out the game’s combat. Several reviewers compared its fast-paced swordplay to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Ninja Gaiden and Black Myth: Wukong, though many stressed that it is not a traditional Soulslike. The Outerhaven said fights feel like controlling a martial arts film scene, with attacks flowing seamlessly into one another.

Players can equip two primary weapons and two secondary weapons called Phantom Edges at once, choosing from 30 primary weapons and 25 Phantom Edges. DualShockers praised the arsenal’s variety, saying it encourages experimentation and replaying the story with different loadouts.

Boss fights drew some of the highest marks. Game Rant said it struggled to find a single boss battle that wasn’t enjoyable or memorable, while Insider Gaming called the encounters where the game truly shines.

GamesRadar+ gave the game 4.5 out of 5 stars and called it a Game of the Year contender. Push Square described it as one of the best action games on PS5, and Game Rant went further, calling it a strong contender for the best Chinese action game ever made.

Reviewers also praised the soundtrack, which mixes traditional Chinese instruments with electric guitars and electronic beats, as well as the game’s performance on PC and the PS5 Pro.

The most common criticism was the storytelling. Push Square said frequent flashbacks and tedious lore collectibles slow the game’s momentum, while GamesRadar+ called the narrative inconsistent. MMORPG.com noted the plot becomes clearer and more rewarding later on, but only if players are willing to dig into its lore.

A few outlets also flagged minor bugs in pre-release builds and some repetition among standard enemies.

Phantom Blade Zero was first revealed at a 2023 PlayStation Showcase. S-GAME originally set a Sept. 9 release date at The Game Awards in December 2025, before pushing the game back to Oct. 29.

The game offers three difficulty settings, Wayfarer, Gamechanger, and Hellwalker, and S-GAME says it will not include microtransactions.