Entertainment · Gaming · 1 hr ago
Phantom Blade Zero earns strong early reviews ahead of October 28 launch
S-Game’s Phantom Blade Zero has earned strong early reviews ahead of its release.
The kungfupunk action game currently has an 88 score on Metacritic, though the score may change as more reviews appear.
Critics have praised its fast martial-arts combat and 30 collectible, upgradeable weapons, with two weapons available to equip at once.
Several reviewers found the story and characters less compelling than the action.
Critics also mentioned technical problems, including glitches and occasional frame-rate issues, which may have been improved in a pre-release patch.
The game is due out October 28 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Early reviews praise Phantom Blade Zero’s combat, weapon design and martial-arts action ahead of its October 28 launch.
The game has an 88 Metacritic score, according to both Kotaku and Polygon.
IGN reviewer Travis Northup described its difficulty as well tuned, while some other critics found parts of the game too lenient.
Several reviewers praised the action but criticized the story as safe, difficult to follow or unengaging.
S-Game’s action-RPG is scheduled to launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
- Who
- S-Game, the developer, made Phantom Blade Zero. Early reviews are by video game critics.
- What
- Phantom Blade Zero received strong early reviews, with an 88 Metacritic score at the time of publication.
- When
- Reviews were published on October 25 and 26, 2026. The game is scheduled to launch October 28.
- Where
- The game is scheduled to launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
- Why
- Not stated
IGN reviewer Travis Northup
Some other critics
Difficulty
IGN reviewer Travis Northup
Northup said the difficulty felt consistently right and was not too unforgiving.
Some other critics
Some critics considered the game overly lenient, including during boss battles with multiple phase checkpoints.
Phantom Blade Zero was first revealed at the PlayStation Showcase.
Polygon published its review roundup, reporting an 88 Metacritic score.
Kotaku reported that the review embargo had lifted the previous night and that the game had an 88 Metacritic score.
Phantom Blade Zero is scheduled to launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
- Metacritic score
- 88
- Developer
- S-Game
- Launch date
- October 28, 2026
- Platforms
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC
- Weapons
- 30 collectible and upgradable weapons; two can be equipped at a time
3 sources
What people are saying
Phantom Blade Zero is one of the best action games I’ve played in a long time, with standout combat that never came even close to feeling old across 50 hours
the story is tough to follow and difficult to care about
Every weapon is wholly unique, like picking up a new character in a fighting game, each with its own moveset and abilities.
I didn’t experience a mindblowing story.