Zero’d
by The dedicated Phantom Blade Zero State of Play broadcast has come and gone, and there was no mention whatsoever of a playable demo hitting PS5.
This is despite reports of the demo popping up on the PS Store last week. Many assumed that an official demo reveal and release was all but guaranteed for this showcase.
Okay, so there’s no demo (yet), but at least the State of Play itself was decent. Partly presented by legendary martial arts movie star Donnie Yen, we’ve been handed a solid 20 minutes or so of gameplay and cutscene clips.
Basically, the video above gives an overview of the action title as a whole. It dips into story, characters, world building, progression, and, of course, combat.
It also spotlights difficulty modes, which range from the “cinematic” Wayfarer, to the brutal 66 Days. The latter combines the game’s hardest challenge with a 66 life limit — lose them all, and it’s a permanent game over.
Interestingly, developer S-GAME claims that the hardest difficulties feature enemy AI that’ll actually react to your gameplay habits, forcing you to adapt during battle.
The stream ended with a quick trailer spotlighting PS5 functionality, which you can watch below. It’s the usual stuff — adaptive triggers, haptic feedback, 3D audio — but the hope is that Phantom Blade Zero will nail the execution, given that Sony’s backing the whole project as a (timed) PS5 console exclusive.
All in all, Phantom Blade Zero still looks great. I’m a little concerned that some of the footage looked really choppy in terms of frame rate, but it’s obviously difficult to judge technical performance based on a broadcast like this.
Are you hyped for Phantom Blade Zero? What did you make of its State of Play? Keep waiting for that demo in the comments section below.
Robert (or Rob if you’re lazy) is an assistant editor of Push Square, and has been a fan of PlayStation since the 90s, when Tekken 2 introduced him to the incredible world of video games. He still takes his fighting games seriously, but RPGs are his true passion. The Witcher, Persona, Dragon Quest, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, Trails, Tales — he’s played ’em all. A little too much, some might say.
