“A kungfupunk action RPG“. That’s how it was defined Phantom Blade Zero by its own authors. It’s a rather peculiar label, but one that suits S-Game’s work well. As its creator told us – Soulframe Liang – to our microphones some time ago, the “kungfupunk is a modernized and cooler manifestation of Wuxia culture (a Chinese literary genre centered on the adventures of warriors who practice kung fu)”.
Approaching the short demo present at the Summer Game Fest, we realized that the team’s objective seems to be quite focused on both the stylistic and gaming aspects. In the 30 minutes available we completed the portion of the game twice. And we wanted more (here is our interview with the Phantom Blade Zero development team).
Style first of all
The Ming Dynasty China in which Phantom Blade Zero is set is darker than ever. The gray tones prevail, which paint a dark atmosphere capable of instilling a certain fear.
S-Game has recreated Chinese mythology with a few horrifying twists, so as to underline as much as possible the hostility of the world we will be entering. The “Phantom World” will try in every way to stop us, but with the skills provided we will be able to sell dearly. Complexity at all costs is not what the team aspires to: the combat system of Phantom Blade Zero is positioned in a balanced middle ground between spectacularization and precision.
Nothing too difficult to learn, it seems, but not to be approached with total carelessness either. We appreciated this sort of “sense of proportion” of S-Game, which is aware of the objectives to be achieved and the means to do so, without overdoing it, without biting off more than you can chew. It goes without saying that such opinions are based on a highly preliminary, as well as very limited, version, however the premises have given us a fair amount of confidence. The demo was structured in three different moments, each of which he put us in front of a boss to be defeated.
The first was preceded by a series of minions, agile and fast yes, but not particularly dangerous: the ideal targets to test the protagonist’s techniques. A highly skilled warrior, in whom strength and dexterity go hand in hand, between lunges, somersaults, side dodges and lethal blows from behindthe latter to be carried out strictly when the opponent has not noticed his presence. The combo system has an enviable immediacy, and the concatenated pressure of two keys allows you to perform virtuous blows without too much effort. A greater amount of attention is required from the player management of Sha-Chi and in the defensive phase. The first is a parameter placed below the life bar which, in Chinese mythology, represents “negative energy”. It is a reserve of power that is consumed when you are on guard, when you they perform combos that are much more powerful than the basic onesor even when a so-called “Ghoststep“, which – immediately after a perfect save – projects the protagonist behind the enemy to inflict a very painful blow on him.
However, the Sha-Chi’s energy recharges quickly (at least in the demo), and refills quickly even when changing weapons. In this regard, we will be able to pass during the fight from primary to secondary blade, equipped with different effects and – obviously – capable of modifying our warrior’s moveset. Even with the heaviest swords, the protagonist does not lose his agility: at most the blows become slower, however the deadly dancer style that distinguishes him never fails.
As intuitive, simple and rewarding as the combo system is, you don’t just have to attack headlong in Phantom Blade Zero: defense also plays a key role, because some of the toughest and most colossal adversaries continue their assaults regardless of our repeated blows. Parrying, dodging and performing the correct Ghoststep will be a chain of actions to be repeated on several occasions during the boss fights, and sometimes keeping your distance might not be a bad idea.
In this case they will support us the Phantom Edges, i.e. firearms and throwing weapons, the use of which is – predictably – linked to Sha-Chi. In the demo there were three tools to use: first a simple but effective bow, then a sort of lion-shaped flamethrower (inspired by the Chinese lion dance) and finally a cannon with different power gradients. Not bad to start with. According to what we were told by the team, however, this is just the beginning.
The bosses
The demo was designed to put us in front of three bosses, here’s why unfortunately we were not given the opportunity to explore the areas that make up the levels. In some places, on the other hand, a fog inserted specifically for the test build prevented us from taking a more in-depth look at the level design. According to S-Game’s statements, Phantom Blade Zero will follow a generally linear approachwith some extra practicable paths, such as walls to climb or secondary paths where other enemies will await us, but it is reasonable to think that we should not expect very large areas.
Maybe we could venture into some secret ravine to recover resources with which to maximize the potential of our warrior. For now, these are only suppositions, because at the moment we don’t know how the role-playing component will be implemented, given that the demo focused entirely on the combat system. The three bosses of increasing difficulty they stood out for a good diversification of their offensive patterns and, although they did not prove to be too demanding, they were able to make good use of their peculiarities to give us a few light headaches here and there.
Just to give a practical example, the last enemy (equipped with a mechanical arm and a rotating club) was capable of land an attack capable of causing instant death. The easiest way to avoid him was to take shelter behind the columns of the temple in which he lived: it is a sort of clue that suggests the possibility of taking advantage of the surrounding environment to defeat his opponents.
The power of the bosses, to some extent, can then be absorbed by the protagonist: whether it is a melee weapon or a Phantom Edge, their remains will become our allies and can be used in battle.
