Phantom Blade Zero’s Bosses Feel Like Fighting Game Opponents on Higher Difficulties, Says Director

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S-Game, the developer of the upcoming *Phantom Blade Zero*, is drawing inspiration from a variety of game genres, including FromSoftware’s *Souls* series and fighting games. In a recent PC Gamer interview (reported by GamesRadar), developer Liang explained that challenging boss battles in the game are intended to feel similar to playing a fighting game.

Liang, discussing the boss Huangxing in the upcoming game, explained that on the normal difficulty level, the boss has predictable attack patterns similar to those found in ‘Souls-like’ games. Players can learn and master these patterns by fighting him repeatedly. However, on the harder ‘Hellwalker’ difficulty, Huangxing adapts to the player’s actions, making the fight much more dynamic and challenging.

When players face really tough challenges, the boss behaves very differently. The designers took inspiration from fighting games, programming the boss’s AI to assess the situation – whether it’s winning or losing. Liang also explained a ‘Lucky Draw’ system that affects the boss’s ability to chain attacks together into longer combos. Basically, the boss uses the outcome of each attack to decide what to do next.

According to combat director Qianli Ma, *Phantom Blade Zero* will be accessible to players of all skill levels. However, the game’s higher difficulty settings and combat system are designed to feel fluid and engaging – almost like dancing. To accomplish this, the team prioritized fast-paced action over perfectly precise controls, intentionally allowing for some leniency in player input.

Although *Phantom Blade Zero* will have some elements reminiscent of FromSoftware’s *Souls* games, S-Game has stated they don’t categorize it as a *Soulslike title.

The developer recently clarified that the game’s demo shouldn’t give the impression it’s similar to the *Souls* series. They emphasized that they never intended to create another *Soulslike game, and instead are focusing on fast-paced, exciting combat that emphasizes combos and feels incredibly rewarding.

Okay, so we definitely looked at games like *Souls* for inspiration – things like complex levels with lots of different ways to explore, and plenty of secrets to find. But that’s where the comparisons end, honestly. We’re including difficulty settings so you can tailor the challenge, and don’t worry, you won’t be punished with enemies respawning after you die or constantly dealing with checkpoints. It’s going to be a different experience.

Liang recently explained that players won’t experience everything *Phantom Blade Zero* has to offer in a single playthrough. He estimates that a typical first run will only unlock about 30% of the game’s content.

Phantom Blade Zero is being developed for PC and PS5, and doesn’t yet have a release date.

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2025-09-22 15:42