Sam

Been hesitant to tweet about Phantom Blade Zero, in part because I knew how much the industry has been gassing this game up. We're talking 9s and 10s all around. And while I have been enjoying it very much — it's probably the most characterion-actiony a Sekiro-like has ever been, once you get access to most of your weapons and kit — there's also something about that stops it from achieving greatness. For example, the action all looks better than it actually feels to play. The wushu-inspired animations are gorgeous to look at but also make the action feel less immediate and responsive, IMHO, as your attack strings have this ever so slight delay to allow of the extra twirling of the limbs. The linear nature of the game also synergizes with the fact that enemies don't respawn *and* you don't have to refight bosses' initial phases, in a way that might feel welcome to most but feels superficial to yours truly. There's a real lack of friction on display; one that gives the game a killer pacing but also removes tension and emotional investment. Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic and beautifully made game, and it'll probably end up in the lower parts of my GOTY list. The way it encourages weapon switching by tying it to the player's stamina mechanic shows that it has teeth mechanically as well. But I just can't agree with the amount of reviewers who are praising this like it's the best thing to happen in action gaming since Ninja Gaiden II. Because despite everything it got going on, there's a superficiality on display that it never got to shake for me. From its cooldown resource management to its color-coded parry system, there's an utter lack of elegance to its foundations that the flashy visuals were never able to mask. The (jade) emperor's new clothes? A bit, yeah.