The clash of blades pulses through my being. My hulking opponent repeatedly swings a rusty greatsword with menacing purpose, demanding I dodge or parry with perfect timing to avoid calamitous damage. It’s a challenge I relish, stepping to this monstrous humanoid and returning strikes when the gaps emerge.

The blows are dramatic and satisfying, and the victory is mine. Phantom Blade Zero is without a doubt one of the most enjoyable action-RPGs I’ve sampled this year.

Got Soul but a Soulslike?

Phantom Blade Zero’s wuxia influence is immediately present, with characters gracefully leaping to rooftops, twisting beyond the reach of incoming attacks, and delivering jaw-dropping finishing moves.

Playing on the game’s normal difficulty, I’m stunned to find Phantom Blade Zero is fairly forgiving, at least initially. Parry windows are reasonably long, and player character Soul can take a few hits before needing to heal. It’s also not too hard to overwhelm average field enemies with combos, although take larger foes for granted at your peril.

Sure, there may be bonfire-esque bells for resting, fast-traveling and so on, but any Soulslike comparisons must be made with the caveat that PBZ is not out to punish unnecessarily.

That’s not to say a game needs to be ruthless to be rewarding. The combat here is scintillating, with a variety of weapons and fighting styles available as you progress through the horror-tinged world of Phantom Blade Zero. Whether you want to dual-wield daggers with agile aggression, or swing a large blade with the poise and rhythm of a drunk fighting solely for the love of the game, I’m sure you’ll find your ideal method within.

The early section of Phantom Blade Zero consists of open areas offering impressive verticality. After an initial skirmish on a horse-drawn carriage, Soul must journey up through a deep ravine, negotiating winding, enemy-infested paths and occasionally encountering walls of red thread that block the way. The red thread is a constant theme throughout, with an ethereal one guiding the protagonist to the next point of interest, often leading to a boss encounter.

After running across walls, swinging on chains and climbing ladders (an action-RPG staple), I guide Soul out of the ravine and into a village of friendly NPCs. It’s at this point that the scale of Phantom Blade Zero hits home, with the area proving as immersive as it is inviting. It makes me wonder what other bastions lie ahead in the full game, but the contemplation is cut short by an array of corpses leading to a boss arena.

Phantom Edge, an additional weapon triggered with R2 that serves up a spectacular axe swing capable of doing impressive damage to a foe, proves to be the real star of this boss fight. I’d previously just been using it to break barriers that restrict progression which, while handy, is nowhere near as fun as dropping the blade on a cocky opponent trying to obliterate me. It’s here, with the boss fight obliterated, I finally start to get a sense of how Phantom Blade Zero’s combat systems work together.

Even so, there’s still plenty of traversal to come, with the end of my two hour demo seeing me climb atop a castle after overcoming keen-eyed archers and molten-monsters, all the while checking every corner and crevasse for items to enhance my gear. After all, what’s an RPG without enhanceable weaponry that turns the player into a magpie?

Not quite my tempo

I spend my last 30 minutes of game time butting my head and my blade against Flame, the Mask-Bound Lion Dance Grandmaster. This enormous boss resembles Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree‘s Divine Beast Dancing Lion. As someone who prefers battling monsters over people, I’m instantly at home with this flame-wielding entity, dodging and parrying blows before hitting back with delicious combos.

As I deal damage, the reply attacks become more troublesome by setting fire to areas of the arena, limiting my movement like Laurence, the First Vicar does in Bloodborne: The Old Hunters. I eventually dispatch it, or so I think…

Turns out Flame has a phase two and the vibe switches up, with another humanoid striding onto the battlefield. It may still wear the lion’s head, but it’s faster and fights more like a martial artist with a point to prove than a wild beast, meaning I have to lock in if I want to win before time runs out out. Dear reader: I did not. Sadly, my session ends just as I ready for round two, leaving me eagerly awaiting a rematch when Phantom Blade Zero launches October 29

While it isn’t what I expected, I’m delighted that Phantom Blade Zero is even more interesting and engaging as a result. The vertically-rich open areas are a joy to fight through, the wuxia-inspired combat is as gorgeous as it is fun, and the boss variety during the short preview helped maintain a sense of excitement throughout. It’s no exaggeration to say Phantom Blade Zero is shaping up to be a big hit in 2026.

There’s nothing phantom about our best Soulslike games ranking, and we’ve got plenty more games like Dark Souls recommendations to take your fancy.