New Unreal Engine 5 RPG looks like Bloodborne made a terrifying baby with Sekiro

PlayStation fans were in for a treat last night with the latest PlayStation Showcase, which showed off highly-anticipated titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater remake. Some brand new IPs were also unveiled, such as Phantom Blade Zero, which looks like Bloodborne and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice made a baby.

The debut gameplay trailer showed a beautifully crafted world, made in Unreal Engine 5, with an environment that looks intentionally bleak and decayed. It boasts some gorgeous visuals and flashy combat, which appears to be a mashup of Chinese Kung Fu with a steampunk aesthetic. There’s also some occultism mixed in for good measure, adding some mystery and intrigue to the story, environment and characters.

Aside from its stunning visuals, the combat looks sensational, with what appears to be a fast-paced but strategic arsenal of moves to hack and slash opponents, much like From Software’s Sekiro game. Most impressive of all though, is the fact that each move was motion-captured in real-time before being gloriously animated for the game’s action set-pieces. It’s reported that the game’s action director, Mr. Kenji Tanigaki, is responsible for the fight choreography in several kung-fu films, so we can expect a lot of flashy moves that players will need to learn and master to cut down enemies quickly and with style.

Some climactic boss fights were also teased, boasting some mystical and explosive weapons and abilities that players will need to watch out for and overcome. Honestly, some of the presumed villains give me crazy Metal Gear Solid: Revengeance vibes, and they look like they’ll be a lot of fun to take down.

Phantom Blade Zero will be dropping exclusively for PlayStation 5 and PC, though a release date hasn’t been given, with developers teasing that more will be revealed at a later date. This is definitely a title to keep an eye on, as well as all the other exciting games that were shown off in last night’s showcase…