Phantom Blade Zero celebrates Year of the Snake with new gameplay

Phantom Blade Zero

Developer S-GAME has released a new gameplay trailer for Phantom Blade Zero, celebrating the new Lunar Year and the Year of the Snake with their forthcoming action RPG.

Here’s a rundown on the game, plus the new trailer:

New Boss Fight

Phase 1

  • The fight features a battle against the Seven Judgments who fight in a “sword formation”. Among these seven enemies, one serves as the “heart” that coordinates the overall formation. When the Seven Judgments appear, they surround Soul in the positions of the Big Dipper constellation; the leader takes the key position.
  • These enemies were once righteous warriors who used this formation to slay countless powerful enemies but have since been turned into puppets corrupted by the bloodthirst from the Transcension procedure. Six of them wear white robes with a dark hollow in the place of the faces, while their leader, Decree, wears blue with a similar hollow face, faintly glowing with a ghostly blue flame.

Key Gameplay Mechanics

  • Players must simultaneously handle multiple enemies while looking for opportunities to attack Decree, the heart of the formation.

Special Mechanics

  • The player must defeat Decree to complete this phase.
  • When Decree takes damage, the other disciples will sacrifice their own health to heal him. If there are fewer than three disciples left, Decree will use his health to revive them. The collective health pool of all these enemies stays the same, meaning Soul must whittle them down one way or another.
  • Unlike fighting seven separate enemies, the disciples are powered by a group AI, coordinating attacks and launching multi-directional strikes.

Attacks

  • The disciples maintain their formation. Multiple disciples launch coordinated attacks at the same time.
  • Individual disciples may attack Soul on their own if/when they get close enough for a quick hit.
  • Decree occasionally commands the formation to lift him, enabling a powerful attack. (Can be parried but can’t be blocked.)
  • When Decree maintains a safe distance from Soul, he’ll direct the other disciples to launch a group attack. (Can’t block or parry; must dodge.)

Phase 2

  • After the first phase, three disciples ascend platforms and use red threads to manipulate a puppet, “Tyrannical Decree”, to attack Soul.

Key Gameplay Mechanics

  • The enemies utilize a large range of motion, swinging across the arena with pendulum-like movements guided by the red threads. Their attack patterns are completely different from the previous ground battle, requiring precise timing for counterattacks. Chasing them recklessly may disrupt your rhythm and result in ineffective attacks.

Attacks

  • The puppet moves with pendulum-like swings, performing sweeping attacks.
  • The puppet briefly touches the ground when it sustains sufficient damage, or has its Sha-Chi depleted. This is the ideal opening for Soul to hit back.
  • The disciples lift the puppet and release dozens of red threads for long-range attacks, which can only be dodged, not blocked.
  • The puppet flies up or swings away, staging a powerful thrust attack. (Can’t be blocked. Must dodge or parry.)

Snake-Themed Weapons

White Python and Red Viper

A pair of swords of different lengths. The White Python is a long sword with wide, sweeping attacks, while the Red Viper is a short sword designed for precision strikes. The two swords can also be used in combination, such as the long sword propelling the short sword to attack.

  • Showcase: As shown in the first phase of the boss fight.
  • Design: Snake-shaped swords do exist in real life. They’re made that way to maximize the contact surface of the blade. The most famous iteration in Wuxia stories is the Gold Snake Sword, if you’re familiar with Jin Yong’s books.

Gameplay:

  • A dual-wield weapon with one long and one short sword.
  • Emphasizes multi-hit combos with alternating attacks controlled by □ (short sword) and △ (long sword).
  • Offers fluid combos and visually impressive moves, such as launching the short sword with the long sword.
  • Excels in speed and quick transitions between offense and defense.

Venomous Softblade

A flexible sword that excels in countering and deflecting attacks.

  • Showcase: As shown in the second phase of the boss fight.
  • Design: The soft blade’s flexibility allows it to wrap around joints, severing tendons and vessels.

Gameplay:

  • Focuses on defensive maneuvers and counterattacks.
  • Features unique blocking mechanics: hold L1 to block and press △ at the right moment to perform a perfect parry.
  • Follow through with ripostes after a successful parry to massively cut down the target’s Sha-Chi gauge and shatter their defense.

New Phantom Edges

Savage Axe

  • Charges for three powerful strikes, dealing heavy Sha-Chi damage to enemies.
  • Timing is crucial, as the charging process is slow and can be interrupted.
  • Three quick taps on R2 launches the same 3-combo attack without charging, but consumes more Sha-Chi.

Ink Cut

  • Combo-oriented artifact. Its attacks can be chained together with Soul’s primary weapon hits to expand the overall combo.
  • Serves as a key plot device and delivers unique effects in specific battles. (Don’t want to spoil the fun yet.)

Phantom Blade Zero is in development for Windows PC and PlayStation 5 – a release date hasn’t been confirmed. Get our hands-on preview for the game!

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