Phantom Blade Zero Review Scores 9/10: Boss Fights Feel Like Black Myth

Insider Gaming's reviewer platinumed Phantom Blade Zero and gave it a 9/10, praising its kung-fu punk style, Sekiro-like parries, and frequent boss fights reminiscent of Black Myth: Wukong.

A reviewer over at Insider Gaming has officially platinumed Phantom Blade Zero, and he walked away with a glowing 9/10 score. Ruan Almeida grew up on wuxia classics like Hero, House of Flying Daggers, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and after roughly 40 hours with the game, he's convinced it's not just real—it's one of the best action games in recent years.

So what makes it tick? The game blends classic wuxia storytelling with steampunk to create a unique "kung-fu punk" vibe. You play as Soul, a protagonist who gets framed, has his damaged heart patched up, and is left with only 66 days to live. That kicks off a revenge-and-investigation journey involving multiple factions, sects, and characters with their own agendas. Expect plenty of Machiavellian scheming, and the story doesn't shy away from dark themes like child abduction. Key plot points are tucked into documents, and since collecting them rewards resources for learning skills and upgrading gear, you're genuinely encouraged to read.

Combat is where the review really lights up. It's neither an RPG nor a Soulslike—it's a straight-up action game. You've got a huge variety of weapons and "Phantom Edges," and you can equip two main weapons, two Phantom Edges, and passive accessories. Most weapons feel balanced and viable, and you can reset them to their initial level with resources refunded, which invites experimentation. The game pushes you to keep attacking, and the parry system is super responsive, similar to Sekiro. Boss fights are unique and frequent, reminding the reviewer of Black Myth: Wukong. Exploration has a Metroidvania flavor, with specific Phantom Edges opening new routes, tight level design, and direct rewards for poking around.

Art and music get high praise too. Michael Chang contributed to the art, and enemy and boss designs fuse Ming Dynasty China with steampunk and existential/cosmic horror. Ink-wash painting influences the lighting and rendering—deep foregrounds, shallow backgrounds—creating a sense of distance. Animation quality surpasses many AAA games, with fluid movement. Composer Bo Caisheng blends traditional Chinese sounds with EDM, metal, and hip-hop, and some boss moves and attacks even sync to the music's beat, making fights feel like a lethal dance.

Of course, it's not perfect. Once you reach Pang Town, regular enemies start repeating noticeably, which gets a bit tiresome over long sessions, though the weapon variety helps offset it. Performance-wise, the reviewer played on PS5 Pro and recommends Performance Mode; frame rate only dipped during a heavy rain scene in Pang Town, which a launch patch will likely fix. There's also one boss with a completely inconsistent hitbox—multiple hits wouldn't register damage—but that was isolated to that single boss and may already be fixed in the retail version. The reviewer didn't encounter any other bugs.

Insider Gaming concludes that Phantom Blade Zero fuses traditional wuxia elements with a distinct identity and original ideas, delivering excellent combat, memorable bosses, and impressive art direction and music. Enemy repetition and occasional technical hiccups keep it from perfection, but S-Game has crafted a title that deserves a spot among the best action games of recent years. The game launches on October 29 for PS5 and PC.

Are you planning to pick it up on day one? Let us know in the comments!