Phantom Blade Zero Q&A – Dev Says Bosses are the Game’s Highlights, Confirms Hardware Ray Tracing & PS5 Specs

28.07.2023 - 12:05 / wccftech.com

A nearly unknown indie developer from China stole the show during the latest PlayStation Showcase with their upcoming game Phantom Blade Zero. Nearly unknown to PC and console gamers, anyway, as S-Game had previously found success with the sidescrolling action RPG for mobile Phantom Blade: Executioners (due to launch this year on PC and PlayStation, too).

Phantom Blade Zero aims much higher regarding production values and scope, though. The Unreal Engine 5 powered visuals stunned to the point of raising some eyebrows  with regards to the feasibility of the graphics for such a small studio.

The gameplay intrigued, too, with S-Game claiming inspiration from the Soulslike genre without the same focus on a punishing difficulty. Still, many questions lingered in the minds of fans all across the world. To clarify some key details, we interviewed S-Game Founder and CEO Soulframe Liang.

As a reminder, Phantom Blade Zero will be released for PC and PlayStation 5.

First of all, why did you switch from making mobile games to PC and console? Is there a chance for a mobile port of Phantom Blade Zero at some point?

We have relied on mobile games to develop our player community and accumulated the necessary development experience and resources. However, we hope to pursue the best ways of expression and chase the long-cherished dreams that have been buried for so long. Moreover, from a market perspective, this actually means a shift from focusing mainly on the domestic market to seeking internationalization.

Shipping PBZ to mobile devices is indeed an interesting topic. However, games developed with Un eal Engine 5 do not possess this feasibility yet. Perhaps cloud gaming could help us provide the same experience across all platforms.

What are the challenges you encountered in switching from mobile to PC and consoles?

There are no difficulties, only relief. In the past, we used to create free-to play, online, mobile games with millions of registrations. There were tons of troubles, normally not fun to work with at all. Only 20% of our energy was spent on actual creativity.

With PC and console games, we have returned to a pure creative domain. Now, we can fully immerse ourselves in perfecting the story, art, and gameplay. Just think about it – now, we don't need to worry about how to compensate or refund for in-game payment failures! We don't need to figure out how to make the game run on those $100 smartphones or how to minimize the resource package size during the game's loading to reduce churn rate! Isn't it relief?

How will the setting differ from other Chinese fantasy themed games like Black Myth: Wukong, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, or Sword and Fairy?

Our game is based on Chinese Wuxia culture, but it is a 100% original