The embargo lifted today and the verdict is unusually lopsided in the good direction. IGN leads on memorable boss fights, compelling combat and sheer swagger. GamesRadar stamps it a GOTY contender whose combat looks as good as it feels, and its reviewer floated "kungfupunk" as a possible new favourite genre. Wccftech files it as one of the best action RPGs of the generation. Polygon's roundup goes further, putting Phantom Blade Zero in pole position among Metacritic's best-rated 2026 games.
The doubt was real, and reasonable. When the game turned up at the May 2023 PlayStation Showcase, it looked too polished for a studio whose previous work was smaller indie and mobile projects. Then came the long silence, and the internet's default conclusion that it was a trailer with nothing behind it. Reviews suggest the nothing turned out to be rather a lot.
What critics keep returning to is feel. Eurogamer's reviewer describes parries that flip into slow-motion somersaults, a kick to the face delivered mid-stab, and a horseback enemy booted off his mount so his own horse can trample him. GameSpot argues the style is baked into the mechanics rather than sprayed on top. Push Square lands the best line of the day: "I got Soul but I'm not a Soulslike."
The caveats are consistent too. GameSpot's headline says the combat is so good you won't care that the story makes no sense, and notes genuine issues keep it out of the genre's upper tier. That's the trade — character-action games rarely tell riveting stories, and this one apparently doesn't pretend otherwise. Game Informer is still running a review in progress but is already calling it one of the best action games it has played.
For a first western-facing swing at AAA from a Chinese studio, that's a statement. Action games have been owned by Japanese and western teams for two decades. The next serious contender apparently came from somewhere else.
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