PHANTOM BLADE ZERO: KUNGFUPUNK STEPS OUT OF THE SHADOWS

8.0 of 10 bananas expected. A fast, stylish wuxia action RPG with folk horror teeth, from the studio that coined the word kungfupunk. Launch is Oct 29, so this is a preview.

By the Alpha. Preview. Steam storefront. Updated Oct 18 2026.

Honest note: This is a preview, not a review, and not a hands-on playtest. Nobody outside the studio has played the finished game. I built it from official announcements, trailers, and the confirmed release date. Anything not confirmed by the studio is expectation, not fact.

Platforms: PS5 and PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), launching October 29 2026, which is the evening of October 28 in North America per launch time coverage. The Steam button shows 59.99 dollars at my Oct 18 check. I found no US Amazon listing for the game, so Steam is the only button. Not on Xbox or Switch.

Sit with me a moment. I have watched a lot of studios promise Souls with style. Most deliver the bruises and forget the style. Phantom Blade Zero has been showing fast, flowing sword work in trailers for years, and in eleven days the troop finds out if the blade is real.

What It Wants To Be

Phantom Blade Zero is a single-player action RPG from Beijing studio S-GAME, part of its long running Rainblood and Phantom Blade series. You play Soul, an assassin framed for murder and poisoned, with limited days to live, hunting the truth through a world S-GAME calls kungfupunk: wuxia martial arts mixed with fantasy and folk horror. The studio promises a wide arsenal of blades and secondary weapons.

What Has Been Shown

What has been shown is combat first. Trailers and press demos show fast parries, dodges, and combos that read closer to a martial arts film than to a slow Souls trade. Polygon summed it up as Dark Souls meets John Wick. The PS5 version is PS5 Pro Enhanced, and pre-orders include an early unlock accessory and outfit that can also be earned in game.

What We Do Not Know Yet

Listen well. No reviews exist yet. Long-awaited debut action games can stumble on bosses, pacing, or performance, and S-GAME's earlier Phantom Blade and Rainblood games were far smaller mobile and indie releases. How hard it is, how long it runs, and how the PC version performs are all unknown until launch. Treat every trailer as a promise, not a verdict.

Who Should Play

Wishlist it if you love fast, parry-heavy action like Sekiro or Lies of P and want a fresh setting. Wait for launch reviews before you pay, especially on PC.

Related: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, Black Myth: Wukong.

Sources: Official site, Polygon release date story, Steam store page, checked Oct 18 2026.

Store note: the troop still needs an Amazon referral for this one. Steam is the only button until a fair listing is real.