Watch out GTA 6, Phantom Blade Zero is my choice for a 2026 awards clean sweep

After going hands-on with Phantom Blade Zero for over six hours, and getting a full overview of its combat, story and exploration, it’s easily a game that belongs on your radar this October.

The action-adventure by developer S-Game is shaping up to be a perfect blend of Chinese culture and Hollywood action. It even attracted the attention of the Ip Man himself, Donnie Yen, who not only helped craft the game’s combat, but stars in the game as a tough-as-nails boss.

Everything you need to know about Phantom Blade Zero

Phantom Blade Zero follows Soul, an assassin on the path of vengeance and destruction after his order betrayed him. He’s relentlessly hunted by those he used to call allies, with S-Game describing the game’s plot as John Wick with swords.

A horrific injury should have been the end of Soul, but after being implanted with a supernatural replacement heart, he lives on. The catch is he only has 66 days to live. This actually becomes a game mechanic on the hardest difficulty, with each death losing you a day for an interesting permadeath run.

However, after getting to know Soul for six hours, I can confidently say he’s not going to stick in your memory after your time with the game is through. He’s a strong, silent type, but unlike the infamous John Wick, he didn’t leave many lasting impressions on me.

That’s all well and good though, because it’s not the story that has me predicting an awards sweep for Phantom Blade Zero; that would be the perfect combat.

Phantom Blade Zero’s combat is as deep as Onimusha, and as rich as Elden Ring

When Phantom Blade Zero was first announced to the world back in 2023, its combat looked too good to be true, but after going hands-on with the game myself a few times, I can confirm it’s definitely as good as it looks.

After recently finishing Onimusha: Way of the Sword, I was blown away by the combat in Capcom’s latest action-adventure game.

The secret to good combat, in my opinion, is to enable the player to do cool things, whilst still putting up a reasonable challenge. Difficulty games shouldn’t be dictated by spongy enemies and high damage numbers; it should be testing what you know about the game’s mechanics and making you feel just as powerful as the foe you’re facing.

Onimusha does this in spades, and Phantom Blade Zero does too, if not more. A traditional parry will deplete an enemy’s stamina, but a ‘Ghoststep’ at an opportune moment will deliver a devastating blow that satisfies every single time.

When speaking with the developers at S-Game, they said they want every player to feel like the star of a Hollywood film. From what I’ve seen thus far, the developer has succeeded, as while the game is challenging, it rarely felt like I was out of my depth even during the fiercest boss fights.

S-Game

Adding further flavour is the expansive weapon pool. There’s a wide variety of tools to choose from and for this extended preview, I had access to more than enough.

While the game isn’t a soulslike like Dark Souls 3 or Elden Ring, it’s certainly as versatile as one. Your build is ultimately your own, and your arsenal is vast. Traditional swords like the Sanguine are well-balanced, but I’ll never turn down a greatsword or cleaver designed to shatter an enemy’s guard. Shorter weapons like dual-daggers are also a viable option.

With so many weapons, however, you might be wondering how you could possibly choose. S-Game’s answer is ingenious and I’m hoping future action-adventure games take note.

Phantom Blade Zero should be the gold standard for video game weapon pools going forward

Soul can have two weapons equipped at any given time, and switching between them is more than just a stylistic choice; it’s baked into the combat. Should your stamina bar drop dangerously low, you can switch to your other weapon to refill it back to full, which isn’t just a boost to your survivability, but essential for counterattacks that keep you in the fight longer.

However, the real genius comes with upgrading. Like usual, certain calibre weapons require different materials to boost their power. Each level acts as more than just a damage buff though. By reaching certain milestones you can draw out new abilities and combos for each individual weapon. Upgrade materials are finite, but plentiful. As far as I could tell, there was no way to farm for them and yet you really don’t need to. It felt like I was consistently upgrading my gear as and when I needed to.

But, what if you dump all of those materials in two of your favourite weapons, only to cast your eyes on a blade you simply needed to add to your loadout? Like the guy strolling with his girlfriend meme, I was continuously finding new weapons that took my fancy, so I was thrilled to learn you can refund all of the upgrade material you’d spent on one weapon and dump it straight into another. Nothing was lost or wasted by doing this, and if you decided that the new sword wasn’t worth the trouble, you could easily reverse it.

More games need this mechanic in my opinion. Having a risk-free way of trying different weapons was a godsend in many ways.

It kept the gameplay fresh, allowed me to experiment with weapon combos and gave me something to consider when a boss was putting up a better fight than I’d originally anticipated.

Plentiful boss fights that could give FromSoftware a run for its money

The boss fights in Phantom Blade Zero are exquisite. Throughout my hands-on session, I had the pleasure of facing several main story bosses and a few side bosses, but you could hardly distinguish between them in terms of quality.

There was only one boss that left me flustered and defeated, but I wasn’t alone in my frustration.

Despite getting skill-checked by that one enemy though, every boss felt like a triumph in terms of design and complexity. It’s a testament to the great work S-Game put into the choreography and motion capture, of which I got a first-hand look.

S-Game

One boss in particular was shown off during one of the latest trailers: Lion Dance Grandmaster. I’ve fought a lot of excellent bosses over the years, from Elden Ring’s Hoarah Loux to the more recent Minamoto no Yoshitsune from Onimusha. Lion Dance Grandmaster easily prances its way into my top three favourites.

My time with Phantom Blade Zero’s final preview was the best yet. I was already certain I’d like the game based on my previous interactions with it, but after my most comprehensive deep-dive to date, I’m now convinced it’ll be my favourite game of 2026.

Phantom Blade Zero launches later this month on October 29 for PlayStation 5 and PC.

READ NEXT: Phantom Blade Zero pre-order guide: Everything included in each version