Is Phantom Blade Zero Good? What Reviews Agree On, Plus Release Time, Price and PC Specs

Critics say yes: Phantom Blade Zero had a Top Critic Average of 89 on OpenCritic at 18:24 UTC on Oct. 28, with 96% of critics recommending it, and IGN, GamesRadar+ and even Eurogamer, the lowest scorer we found, all praise its combat. OpenCritic listed 52 critic reviews at that point. Reviewers split on the story, the difficulty and how polished the game is at launch. The worldwide unlock time is 7:00 p.m. PDT / 10:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, which is 02:00 UTC on Thursday, Oct. 29. The launch platforms are PS5 and PC, through Steam and the Epic Games Store. As of 18:24 UTC (2:24 p.m. EDT) on Oct. 28, the game had not yet unlocked, and US prices on Steam and the PlayStation Store started at $59.99. We have not played Phantom Blade Zero. This page analyzes the published reviews, and every judgment about the game below is credited to the outlet that made it.

What is Phantom Blade Zero about?

Phantom Blade Zero is a single-player wuxia action RPG from Beijing-based S-GAME, built in Unreal Engine 5, in which you play Soul, an assassin framed for his master’s murder and left with 66 days to live. In S-GAME’s description, a wound to the heart leaves Soul alone and hunted across the Wulin, the game’s martial world, as he tries to uncover a conspiracy that has taken hold of it. Eurogamer and GamesRadar+ say reviewers were asked not to discuss the prologue, so this page sticks to the official premise.

According to S-GAME, kung fu filmmaker and actor Donnie Yen has been the game’s creative consultant since 2023. He also plays Mó Yuan, leader of the Bastion of Mó, through facial and motion capture. The game was first due on Sept. 9. In June, S-GAME CEO Soulframe Liang moved it to Oct. 29, a delay he put at 50 days.

What are Phantom Blade Zero’s review scores?

As of 18:24 UTC on Oct. 28, OpenCritic showed a Top Critic Average of 89, with 96% of critics recommending the game, and Metacritic showed 88 for PC and 87 for PS5. OpenCritic listed 52 critic reviews and placed the game in Mighty, its top tier. Metacritic’s PC score is based on 43 critic reviews and its PS5 score on 40, with no negative reviews on either platform. Metacritic’s user score still read tbd, and its page said user reviews were not available yet. All of these numbers will move after launch.

Eurogamer’s 3/5 is the lowest score we found on OpenCritic’s list. PlayStation Universe and Wccftech are among the outlets that gave 10/10. The table below lists the reviews this page draws on, with each outlet’s score and the platform it says it reviewed on. A dash means the outlet did not say, or we could not open its page.

IGN also gave the game its Editors’ Choice badge.

What do reviewers agree Phantom Blade Zero does well?

The combat is the closest thing to a consensus: every scored review we read praises how fluid and cinematic the fighting is, including Eurogamer’s 3/5. IGN, GamesRadar+, GamingBolt and DualShockers each rank it among the best action combat they have played. These are the other points reviewers share:

• How it fights: you parry attacks that flash blue and dodge attacks that flash red. A Sha-Chi meter drains as you block and use heavy attacks, and it refills when you swap between your two main weapons, as Eurogamer, GamesRadar+ and Press Start explain. Polygon, which does not score games, loves how the fights look but finds the inputs simple and the loop repetitive.
• Boss fights: IGN, TheSixthAxis, GamingBolt, Press Start, Dexerto and Shacknews single out inventive, memorable bosses. GamingBolt found only one boss that felt like a scaled-up regular fight.
• Weapons and builds: S-GAME’s Steam store copy promises more than 30 main weapons and more than 20 secondary weapons called Phantom Edges, while S-GAME CEO Soulframe Liang’s PlayStation Blog post put the Phantom Edges at 25. Reforging a weapon gives back the materials you spent upgrading it, which Shacknews, Hardcore Gamer and Dexerto say makes trying new weapons painless. GamingBolt and Eurogamer note that resetting a higher-level weapon costs talismans or tokens.
• Respect for your time: enemies you have killed do not come back, according to TheSixthAxis, Shacknews, Hardcore Gamer and Dexerto, and GamesRadar+ says they almost never respawn. IGN, Eurogamer, TheSixthAxis and Dexerto add that if a boss kills you in a later phase, you restart at that phase.
• Presentation: Hardcore Gamer says the animation may be the most impressive it has seen in any game. Shacknews, GamingBolt and Press Start praise a soundtrack that mixes traditional Chinese music with rock and electronic tracks.
• Exploration: IGN, Eurogamer, TheSixthAxis and Press Start like the hand-painted maps, and IGN notes that they show rough landmarks rather than objective markers. GamesRadar+ and DualShockers found hidden bosses and entire optional regions off the main path.

The most common complaint other than story and polish concerns ordinary enemies. Dexerto, Shacknews and Press Start found them repetitive, while GamingBolt says new variants kept encounters fresh. On pacing, IGN found the first couple of hours heavy with exposition, GamingBolt says the story and pacing take time to kick into gear, and Eurogamer says spongy bosses slow the early to mid game.

Is Phantom Blade Zero’s story good?

The story divides reviewers more than anything else: among the reviews cited here, three praise it and five call it convoluted, inconsistent or secondary to the combat.

• For it: Hardcore Gamer calls the slow-burn, flashback-driven narrative a high point and finds Soul a deeper character than he first seems, though it calls the English script’s dialogue clunky. TheSixthAxis calls the story excellent and says it rewards players who explore. Shacknews played with Chinese audio and English subtitles and enjoyed both the dialogue and the supporting cast.
• Against it: IGN says the story tries to do too much. It piles on mystical jargon and dozens of characters, and its timeline jumps back and forth through the opening hours. Eurogamer found the flood of names, sects and lore scrolls dizzying and the narrative unremarkable. GamesRadar+ calls the storytelling inconsistent. Its biggest objection is to Memory Flowers, which hold Soul in place for minutes of voiced backstory and are tied to health and skill upgrades. Dexerto says the story never reaches the level of the combat. GameSpot’s review headline argues that the combat more than makes up for a story that does not make sense.
• In between: GamingBolt found the plot slow and hard to follow at first, then genuinely compelling once its threads connect. Polygon says the game gives almost no exposition, a style it links to Chinese fantasy fiction. It came away with a sincere, unusual world but a flat hero. Press Start calls the story more than serviceable.

Hardcore Gamer also warns that some of the best story content is in optional quests, which are easy to skip.

Is Phantom Blade Zero too easy or too hard?

That depends on the reviewer: IGN found the challenge about right, Polygon and Dexerto found it too forgiving, and Eurogamer found the bosses spongy. The game has four difficulty settings:

• Wayfarer is aimed at players who mainly want the story, according to S-GAME.
• Pathbreaker is the default, which TheSixthAxis, Hardcore Gamer and GamingBolt describe as normal difficulty.
• Hellwalker brings more advanced and adaptive enemies, according to S-GAME. GamingBolt found its new attack patterns and feints humbling.
• Sixty-Six Days makes each death cost Soul one of his 66 days, and the run ends after 66 deaths, per Eurogamer, GamesRadar+ and Hardcore Gamer.

On the other settings, the 66-day countdown is not a real-time clock. GamesRadar+ says days pass only at specific story beats, and GamingBolt says side quests and exploration do not use them up. Hardcore Gamer says you can change the setting during play.

Here is where each reviewer lands:

• About right: IGN played only on the hardest setting, beat most major bosses in two or three attempts and praised the tuning.
• Too forgiving: Polygon says talismans, a few overpowered weapons and clearly signaled attacks make many boss fights routine, though the early bosses can be punishing. Dexerto says ordinary enemies rarely posed a threat, even on the hardest difficulty available at the start.
• Too spongy: Eurogamer found that a large share of bosses soaked up damage, both on the default setting and on Wayfarer. Press Start played on Hellwalker and found some ordinary enemies spongy.
• A late spike: GamesRadar+ says some secret bosses tied to the true ending are a steep jump in difficulty.

The game was still being changed while critics played it. Eurogamer reports that S-GAME released a 67 GB update two days before the review embargo that changed boss, enemy, ability and weapon stats. When Eurogamer went back to old saves afterward, it found several boss fights, especially early ones, still spongy.

Is Phantom Blade Zero a Soulslike?

Not really, according to most reviewers: it borrows checkpoints and tough multi-phase bosses from Soulslikes but drops most of their punishments. GamesRadar+ says flatly that it is not a Soulslike. TheSixthAxis and Press Start say it isn’t really, or isn’t quite, one, and Shacknews calls it a third-person action game that uses a few Soulslike mechanics. Eurogamer sees clear FromSoftware influence and compares the boss fights to a faster Sekiro, but suggests a lighter label fits better.

Here is how reviewers describe the structure:

• Bells serve as checkpoints and fast-travel points. TheSixthAxis says you can use any shop you have unlocked at every bell.
• Dying carries no penalty by default, per Hardcore Gamer, and TheSixthAxis notes that you don’t drop experience when you die. GamesRadar+ adds that your medicines refill each time you respawn.
• Cleared areas stay clear, which Eurogamer and Dexerto say can make revisiting them feel empty.
• It isn’t open world either. Hardcore Gamer, GamesRadar+ and Press Start describe connected regions that sit between linear levels and an open world, and Press Start found movement through them tightly controlled.

How long is Phantom Blade Zero?

Reviewers report about 15 hours for the main story alone and 25 to 50 hours for fuller runs. Here is what each outlet reports:

• Hardcore Gamer: about 15 hours sticking to the story, and 25 to 30 hours to see every area and the best ending.
• GamesRadar+: 30 to 35 hours to reach the final boss, which led to the bad ending.
• Dexerto: more than 35 hours.
• TheSixthAxis and DualShockers: about 40 hours.
• IGN: 50 hours to the credits, on a run that turned into a completionist one.

The world is divided into eight regions, according to IGN, Hardcore Gamer and Press Start, and there are multiple endings. GamesRadar+, TheSixthAxis and Hardcore Gamer say the best ending requires optional content, and GamesRadar+ says that includes secret bosses.

How does Phantom Blade Zero run on PC and PS5?

Most reviewers found it ran well, but several on both PC and PS5 got snagged on scenery or saw frame drops in specific areas. Every review here came out before S-GAME announced its day-one patch on Oct. 28.

On PC:

• IGN found the frame rate much steadier than in its earlier preview, but it was consistently poor in one part of one map. IGN also ran into invisible walls while platforming. It says roughly half of its nearly 200 deaths came from falling or getting stuck on scenery.
• Hardcore Gamer found performance generally stable except in a handful of areas, mostly around the lake. It also says Soul gets stuck on geometry a bit too often while sneaking around, and it had quite a few crashes when fast traveling.
• Eurogamer saw severe frame-rate drops in some areas, which seemed better after the pre-embargo update. It also saw bosses leave their arenas and attack from behind invisible walls. S-GAME told Eurogamer that its latest patch addressed the escaping bosses and the performance problems, but Eurogamer says it is hard to say conclusively whether everything has been fixed.
• Dexerto played on an RTX 5080 at 4K with maximum settings and reports smooth frame rates. GamesRadar+ got stuck on scenery in two boss fights and hopes for fixes at launch or soon after.

On PS5:

• TheSixthAxis says performance mode ran smoothly. Its main problem was a texture glitch introduced by a pre-release patch, which switching modes fixed, and otherwise it reports only a couple of minor issues.
• GamingBolt, playing on a base PS5, reports a smooth 60 fps for much of its time. It saw drops in Pangzhen and occasional one-second freezes during combat in Meigu Lake, and it sometimes got stuck on objects in the environment.
• Press Start, on PS5 Pro, hit occasional hitches when new areas loaded and during execution animations.
• Shacknews says the camera can slip behind walls and terrain when you fight close to them.

As of 18:24 UTC on Oct. 28, S-GAME had not published official PS5 graphics-mode specs, and the PlayStation Store’s only performance note was its PS5 Pro Enhanced label.

What has S-GAME said about the day-one patch and NVIDIA drivers?

S-GAME’s Oct. 28 letter on Steam announces a day-one patch of about 5 GB and advises NVIDIA users to roll back to driver 617.42, which conflicts with NVIDIA’s advice to install its Game Ready driver for the game. The letter, signed by Soulframe Liang and posted at 14:27 UTC, ends with a postscript that lists three updates from the team. These two matter most for PC players:

• The patch significantly improves ray-tracing and path-tracing performance and fixes several bugs, S-GAME says. If you pre-loaded the game, it asks you to install the patch before launching. New downloads include it automatically.
• S-GAME says it saw some performance instability with NVIDIA’s latest driver, 621.01, and found that 617.42 currently gives the best experience. It recommends that anyone on a driver newer than 617.42 roll back with a clean installation. S-GAME asks players to stay on 617.42 until NVIDIA’s next driver, which it expects soon.

S-GAME’s driver advice is a change from its Oct. 26 pre-load notice, which told PC players to update their graphics drivers to the latest version. NVIDIA’s own launch article, published on Oct. 28 before S-GAME’s letter, tells players to install its Phantom Blade Zero Game Ready driver, and NVIDIA’s driver announcement identifies that driver as version 621.01 WHQL. The launch article still gave that advice when we re-read it at 18:24 UTC on Oct. 28. We have not tested either driver and are not recommending one.

What PC do you need to run Phantom Blade Zero?

S-GAME’s minimum spec is a GeForce GTX 1660 or Radeon RX 5500 XT for 1080p at 30 fps with upscaling, and the game needs an SSD and about 145 GB of space. The table shows S-GAME’s four published tiers. For each, it lists the graphics cards S-GAME names and the resolution and frame rate it targets, all with upscaling turned on.

The minimum tier pairs those cards with an Intel Core i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600. The recommended tier pairs them with a Core i5-10600K or Ryzen 5 5600X. Both tiers call for 16 GB of RAM, 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 and DirectX 12. The ray-tracing and path-tracing tiers name only NVIDIA cards. NVIDIA says path tracing is exclusive to PC, where the game also supports DLSS 4.5, including Ray Reconstruction and Dynamic Multi Frame Generation.

• Storage: S-GAME puts the install at about 145 GB but says to keep at least 300 GB free for pre-loading.
• Lower-end hardware: S-GAME says it spent a great deal of time refining how the game looks with ray tracing turned off, and that it extensively tested the game on mid-range and lower-end PCs and on handhelds. As of 18:24 UTC on Oct. 28, Valve had not rated the game for Steam Deck, and its compatibility status read unknown.
• Displays and controls: S-GAME says the game supports 16:9 and 16:10 screens and ultrawide screens wider than 3:1. PC players get more flexible button remapping, while PS5 players choose from three button layouts.

When does Phantom Blade Zero unlock in your time zone?

The worldwide unlock time is 7:00 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, which is 02:00 UTC on Thursday, Oct. 29, the same moment on every platform. As of 18:24 UTC (2:24 p.m. EDT) on Oct. 28, it had not yet unlocked, and Steam still listed it as coming soon. Steam shows the date as Oct. 28, matching S-GAME’s Pacific-time announcement, while the PlayStation Store and S-GAME’s site show Oct. 29. The table converts the unlock time into each zone’s local time.

Pre-loading opened at 7 p.m. PDT on Oct. 26 on PS5 and PC, according to S-GAME and IGN. Neither edition includes early access. S-GAME’s edition list and both stores show a single release time and list no early-access item.

How much does Phantom Blade Zero cost, and what’s in the Deluxe Edition?

As of 18:24 UTC on Oct. 28, the Standard Edition cost $59.99 and the Digital Deluxe Edition $69.99 in the US, on both Steam and the PlayStation Store. The table shows the price each store listed for each edition at that check, in US dollars and British pounds.

The Epic Games Store also sells the PC version, but its page would not load for us when we tried at 18:21 UTC on Oct. 28, so its price is not listed here.

• Digital Deluxe adds two exclusive outfits, Wulin Legend and Blood-Steel Form, plus a digital artbook and the digital soundtrack.
• Pre-order bonus: pre-orders get early unlocks of the Legacy outfit and the Treasure Basin accessory, which the PlayStation Store says raises Remnant Dust drops by 10%. S-GAME and the PlayStation Store say both items can also be earned by progressing through the game.
• Physical copies: Wccftech reports that the game launches digital-only and that S-GAME’s launch trailer announced three physical PS5 editions for 2027: Standard, Deluxe, and an Ultimate Edition with a collectible steel case.

Is Phantom Blade Zero on Xbox, Switch or Mac?

No: Phantom Blade Zero’s launch platforms are PS5 and Windows PC, through Steam and the Epic Games Store, and as of 18:24 UTC on Oct. 28 no Xbox, Switch or Mac version had been announced. The PlayStation Store lists a PS5 version only, with no PS4 release, and Steam lists Windows only. The store pages add these details:

• The PlayStation Store marks the game PS5 Pro Enhanced and lists support for DualSense vibration and trigger effects.
• The US PlayStation Store shows an ESRB rating of M for Mature, for blood and violence, and the UK store shows PEGI 16 for strong violence.
• Steam lists 15 languages, with full audio in English and Simplified Chinese.
• It is single-player only.

Shacknews, which played in Chinese with English subtitles, says S-GAME told it that Soul’s voiceover and some of the localization were still being improved and finalized during the review period.

Is Phantom Blade Zero worth buying?

We can’t say from experience, because we have not played Phantom Blade Zero, but the reviews make clear who it is most likely to suit.

The reviews suggest it’s for you if:

• You want flashy, responsive melee combat above all else. Every scored review cited here praises it.
• You enjoy boss fights and trying out different builds. IGN, GamingBolt and Press Start single out the bosses, and Shacknews and Dexerto praise how cheaply you can respec.
• You are tired of Soulslike grinding. TheSixthAxis says cleared enemies stay dead and bosses don’t make you repeat earlier phases after you die, and IGN praises picking back up at the phase where you fell.

There are reasons to wait or skip if:

• You want a clear, tightly told story. IGN, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Dexerto and GameSpot all fault the storytelling.
• You want a stiff, consistent challenge. Polygon and Dexerto found it too forgiving, while Eurogamer found the bosses spongy.
• You would rather wait for patches. IGN, Eurogamer, Hardcore Gamer and GamingBolt all report getting caught on scenery or frame drops in certain areas. As of 18:24 UTC on Oct. 28, S-GAME’s driver advice for NVIDIA cards still contradicted NVIDIA’s own.
• You want a disc. Wccftech reports that the physical PS5 editions are due in 2027.

To repeat: we have not played Phantom Blade Zero, and every judgment on this page belongs to the outlet named beside it. GamesRadar+, Hardcore Gamer and Polygon all measure it against Onimusha: Way of the Sword, another 2026 sword-fighting game; for how critics scored that one, see our Onimusha: Way of the Sword review round-up .

Sources

• S-GAME: Phantom Blade Zero official site and editions
• S-GAME: PC system requirements (Aug. 12, 2026)
• S-GAME: Pre-orders now available, with Donnie Yen’s role (Aug. 12, 2026)
• S-GAME on Steam: Reason and Madness, on the day-one patch and NVIDIA drivers (Oct. 28, 2026)
• S-GAME on Steam: Ready your blade!, on pre-load and install size (Oct. 26, 2026)
• S-GAME on Steam: A Letter From Creative Director, on the move to Oct. 29 (June 2026)
• Steam: Phantom Blade Zero store page
• PlayStation Store (US): Phantom Blade Zero
• PlayStation Store (UK): Phantom Blade Zero
• PlayStation Blog: Phantom Blade Zero State of Play deep dive (Aug. 17, 2026)
• NVIDIA: Phantom Blade Zero launches with DLSS 4.5, ray tracing and path tracing (Oct. 28, 2026)
• NVIDIA: GeForce Game Ready driver for Phantom Blade Zero (621.01 WHQL)
• OpenCritic: Phantom Blade Zero
• Metacritic: Phantom Blade Zero PC critic reviews
• Metacritic: Phantom Blade Zero PS5 critic reviews
• IGN: Phantom Blade Zero review
• GameSpot: Phantom Blade Zero review
• Eurogamer: Phantom Blade Zero review
• GamesRadar+: Phantom Blade Zero review
• Polygon: Phantom Blade Zero review
• Shacknews: Phantom Blade Zero review
• TheSixthAxis: Phantom Blade Zero review
• Hardcore Gamer: Phantom Blade Zero review
• GamingBolt: Phantom Blade Zero review
• Dexerto: Phantom Blade Zero review
• Press Start: Phantom Blade Zero review
• DualShockers: Phantom Blade Zero review
• IGN: Phantom Blade Zero global release times and preload details
• Wccftech: S-GAME announces 2027 physical Phantom Blade Zero editions (Oct. 22, 2026)