Phantom Blade Zero is more Black Myth: Wukong than Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

At this point, action RPGs seem to be synonymous with soulslikes, given how often the two genres overlap. Although an upcoming action RPG Phantom Blade Zero looks very similar to a soul like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twicelooks can be deceiving. As it becomes more and more difficult to separate Souls akin to the action RPG genre as a whole, Phantom Blade Zero in fact, it moves away from Soul's influence and into another emerging action RPG subgenre, bringing it closer to 2024 Black Myth: Wukong.

When Black Myth: Wukong came out, there have been endless debates about whether the game can be considered a soulslike. While Black Myth: Wukong featured some soul-like elements such as limited health potion recharges, the ability to collect XP and level up at checkpoints, and an emphasis on accurate dodges and attacks, it ended up playing more like a recent God of War games than anything like that Elden Ring. actually Black Myth: Wukong is one of the pioneers of the Wuxia game genre, at least in the West, which Phantom Blade Zero will follow when it comes out later this year.

Phantom Blade Zero has more endings than Elden's ring

In an interview with Game Rant, the creator of Phantom Blade Zero detailed how player actions throughout the story lead to more endings than the Elden Ring.

Phantom Blade Zero is a Wuxia RPG at its core

While Wuxia games may not be as mainstream in the West as they are in China, the country of their origin, the genre is quickly gaining steam thanks to the popularity of recent releases. Wuxia is a type of low-fantasy Chinese historical fiction that usually combines some type of martial art with fantastic performances and a lone protagonist embarking on a hero's journey. Black Myth: Wukong'with Journey to the West inspirations make it a perfect example of this type of genre being represented in games.

What kind of weapon is that?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

What kind of weapon is that?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)

Other notable Wuxia games

Black Myth: Wukong
Dynasty Warriors
Lost soul aside
Naraka: Bladepoint
Where the winds meet
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers

Recently, there has been a definite rise in the release of Wuxia games in the West, with major titles such as Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, Where the winds meetand Wuchang: Fallen Feathers on the border between soul and traditional action RPG. Other Wuxia games like Lost soul aside and Dynasty Warriors the franchise follows a more hack-and-slash style of play. In case Naraka: Bladepointthe Wuxia genre may even include examples of PvP gameplay.

Black Myth: Wukong developer Game Science is currently working on a new game, Black Myth: Zhong Kuiwhich looks like another entry in the Wuxia genre.

How Phantom Blade Zero's story and gameplay embrace its Wuxia roots

Phantom Blade Zero it fulfills all the boxes of the Wuxia genre with its story and gameplay. The story of Phantom Blade Zero follows Soul, a warrior with only six days to live, as he is hunted by his former comrades after the death of his master. Alone, Seoul must unravel the web of conspiracy through elements of horror and Chinese folklore mixed with “Kung Fupunk”, a mixture of martial arts and machinery inspired by Hong Kong action films. This assumption gives Phantom Blade Zero unique features within the action RPG and Wuxia genre.

Phantom Blade Zero's gameplay deviates from a significant aspect of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

While Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Phantom Blade Zero they seem to have similar gameplay based on the demos shown on the latter, Phantom Blade ZeroThe combat is vastly different from FromSoftware's ninja fantasy souls. A key component An axe is a break from FromSoftware's tradition in that it places less emphasis on weapon and build variety and more emphasis on precision gameplay using a parrying system. in contrast Phantom Blade Zero takes almost the opposite approach in terms of emphasis on combat.

Arrange the covers in the correct US release order.

Easy (5) Medium (7) Hard (10)

IN An axeWolf is largely limited to two main weapons, the Kusabimaru and Fushigiri, along with An axeLimited tools for prosthetic arms help give the player a small advantage in combat. Relatively, Phantom Blade Zero offers players more than 30 different weapons to choose from, along with more than 20 unique “Phantom Edges”, giving players a much more comprehensive level of playstyle customization. How Souls Defeat Enemies v Phantom Blade Zeroit also unlocks access to their weapons and combat techniques, giving the game much more variety than An axe offers.

Wukong's Black Myth Spiritual Skill is more suited to the Phantom Blade Zero weapon system

A variety of weapons obtained by defeating enemies v Phantom Blade Zero is very similar to Black Myth: Wukong grants players access to special spiritual skills by defeating certain enemies. There are 55 spiritual skills that players have access to Black Myth: Wukongwhich allow the Destined to transform into its associated yaoguai and perform a skill. Skills play a key role in combat in the game and are often the difference Black Myth: Wukongof the toughest bosses while supporting the growth and fantastic abilities of the Destined One, which are important to the Wuxia genre.

Phantom Blade Zero seems to take a similar approach Black Myth: Wukong in this way, it weaves elements of the Wuxia genre into the gameplay loop and equipment acquisition system. Giving away an enemy's signature weapon as a reward for defeating them is something the soul-like genre has done before. Elden Ring offers players memory weapons in exchange for a boss memory. However, games like Phantom Blade Zero and Black Myth: Wukong consider this system an essential part of the hero's journey rather than an optional feature, leaving them firmly in the wuxia genre rather than the soulslike genre.