Phantom Blade Zero has received an 8.5/10 in an early review published by Brazilian outlet Critical Hits, ahead of the action RPG’s launch on October 29, 2026. The review praises the game’s technical combat, weapon variety and boss encounters, while identifying repetitive regular enemies and some frustrating design decisions as drawbacks.
The review, published by Critical Hits, highlights the combat system as one of the game’s strongest elements. It praises the Sha-Chi mechanic, the variety of available weapons and the ability to change equipment during fights, arguing that these features give players considerable freedom to experiment with different approaches.
The review also commends the boss encounters, art direction, soundtrack and overall presentation. The ability to reset upgrades without a cost is another positive, as it allows players to try different builds without being penalised for their choices.
However, Critical Hits notes that ordinary enemies can become repetitive. The decision not to have these enemies respawn also reportedly makes revisiting areas feel empty. Some boss fights are criticised for running excessively long, with the reviewer suggesting that certain encounters would benefit from checkpoints between phases. The lack of control remapping is another complaint.
Despite these shortcomings, the outlet concludes that the game’s strengths outweigh its weaknesses, awarding it a score of 8.5/10.
Developed and published by Chinese studio S-GAME, Phantom Blade Zero is scheduled to launch worldwide on PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store on October 29. Its global unlock time is set for 2:00 AM UTC, meaning players in the Americas will gain access on the evening of October 28.
Preloads are scheduled to begin on October 27, with the game reportedly requiring approximately 135 GB of storage. The official review embargo is set to lift on October 26, so more reviews are expected to appear ahead of launch.
