Get to the point.
Phantom Blade Zero
It’s a bit of a running joke now, really.
Ithappened with Black Myth: Wukong.
That’s not to say there isn’t an influence, of course.
However, the demo was essentially a series of three boss fights.
I was a bit rubbish at first, though.
And control-wise, Phantom Blade Zero puts attacks on the face buttons and dodge and parry on the triggers.
However, dodge and parry are key to success.
The other nuance is your Sha-Chi gauge, which works similar to stamina.
It’s this that negates button bashing and rewards careful management and perfect parry timing.
The protagonist has quite the arsenal too.
It may have a wuxia-influenced setting and animation, but so far there’s no room for romance.
Then again, there’sWhere Winds Meetfor that.
My determination eventually wins out, though, and the demo comes to a close.
“Do you want to try hard mode?”
Don’t mind if I do.
Instead, somehow, it all locks into place.
It happens all too quickly, but I’m locked into the tempo now.
I am the master.
Instead, I’m the one in charge.
I leap away from his spinning swings and quickly emerge victorious with nary a scratch.
Lastly, it’s a rematch with Huangxing.
With dodges and parries now securely locked beneath my fingers, Huangxing is not long for this world.
Was it pure luck?
Is Phantom Blade Zero actually too easy?
Or are these simply bosses from an early portion of the game?
Perhaps, all three.
But purely in combat terms, Phantom Blade Zero featured some of the best action I experienced at Gamescom.
Just… don’t call it a Soulslike.
