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A masked figure in dark robes raises one arm in the rain in front of a tiled-roof temple in Phantom Blade Zero
Image: S-GAME via IGDB
Reviews

Phantom Blade Zero reviews, PC specs, length and price

Critics love the combat and shrug at the story. Here's every major score, the four PC tiers up to path tracing, how it runs on PS5 and Steam Deck, and how long it takes.

8 min read
At a glance
CriticsMighty89/100OpenCritic · 59 reviews · 97% recommendMetacritic (PC)88/10045 critic reviews · PS5: 87PlayersVery Positive89%Steam · 4,196 English reviews
Price$59.99Standard · Digital Deluxe $69.99
How long15 to 50 hStory only to a full run, per reviewers
PlatformsPS5 · PCSteam, Epic Games Store
Key facts
Game
Phantom Blade Zero
Released
October 29, 2026 (October 28 in the Americas)
Release time
7:00 PM PT, October 28 (S-GAME)
Platforms
PS5, PC (Steam, Epic Games Store)
Price
$59.99 Standard, $69.99 Digital Deluxe
Critic scores
OpenCritic 89, Metacritic 88 (PC), 87 (PS5)
Install size
PC about 145 GB (S-GAME); PS5 134.857 GB (PlayStation Game Size tracker)
Developer and publisher
S-GAME
Source
S-GAME, Steam, PlayStation Store, OpenCritic, Metacritic

Phantom Blade Zero arrived 50 days later than S-GAME first planned. In June, CEO Soulframe moved the launch from September 9, writing that the team had reworked "many environments across the game" and wanted day-one players to get that version, not a patch. Reviews went live three days before launch, and most of the big ones land on the same split: superb combat, a weaker story. Players turned up in numbers: it hit 822,361 concurrent players on Steam on November 1, the all-time peak SteamCharts has recorded for it.

What are the Phantom Blade Zero reviews saying?

As of November 1, OpenCritic lists a Top Critic Average of 89 from 59 reviews, a "Mighty" rating and 97% of critics recommending it. Metacritic has the PC version at 88 from 45 critic reviews and PS5 at 87 from 42.

OutletReviewerScore
IGNTravis Northup9/10
Game InformerWesley LeBlanc9.5/10
GamesRadar+Luke Kemp4.5/5
Hardcore GamerKevin Dunsmore4.5/5
TheSixthAxisNick Petrasiti9/10
GameSpotRichard Wakeling8/10
EurogamerEmma Kent3/5

The praise is nearly all about the fighting. IGN's review calls it "an unbelievably smooth action game filled with memorable boss fights, compelling combat, and limitless swagger," and GamesRadar+ headlines its review "A GOTY contender with combat that looks as good as it feels." Hardcore Gamer is the outlier on story, calling it "a fantastic story and intriguing world to explore." IGN, GamesRadar+ and Hardcore Gamer reviewed on PC; Game Informer, TheSixthAxis and Shacknews played on PS5.

A swordsman in a wide-brimmed hat crouches on a dusty canyon floor holding two red-edged blades, a blurred figure behind him, in Phantom Blade Zero
Image: S-GAME via IGDB

GameSpot's 8/10, per OpenCritic's data, still comes with a positive verdict: as quoted on OpenCritic, it's "still a fantastic game that any action aficionado should lap up." The sharpest complaints come from Eurogamer, the lowest score in the table, which found many bosses "spongy" and hit severe frame rate dips in some areas, though it said frame rates seemed better after a 67GB pre-launch update.

A hunched figure in a huge spiked iron helmet in a red-lit temple hall with candles, in Phantom Blade Zero
Image: S-GAME via IGDB

On Steam, user reviews read Very Positive: 89% of 4,196 English-language reviews are positive, out of 46,638 reviews across all languages as of November 1.

Phantom Blade Zero PC requirements

The floor is a GTX 1660 or RX 5500 XT with 16 GB of RAM and 145 GB on an SSD. Steam's two tiers assume upscaling is on, and S-GAME's spec sheet, as published by GamingBolt, adds ray tracing and path tracing tiers on top, also with upscaling.

TierTargetCPUGPU
Minimum1080p, 30 fpsCore i7-8700K / Ryzen 5 3600GTX 1660 6GB / RX 5500 XT 8GB
Recommended1440p, 60 fpsCore i5-10600K / Ryzen 5 5600XRTX 3060 Ti 8GB / RX 6700 XT 12GB
Ray tracing1080p, 60 fpsNot listedRTX 5060 8GB
Path tracing2160p, 60 fpsNot listedRTX 5080 16GB

Both Steam tiers list Windows 10/11 64-bit and DirectX 12.

S-GAME's pre-load post asks for at least 300 GB free during the pre-load (the game itself is about 145 GB). Ignore its "update your drivers" line on NVIDIA: on the eve of launch Soulframe said the new 621.01 driver "exhibits unstable performance in certain situations" and that 617.42 "currently provides the best compatibility," as reported by Wccftech. The same message announced a day-one patch of about 5 GB that "can significantly improve ray-tracing and path-tracing performance." The Steam listing flags Denuvo DRM.

Steam Deck owners should skip it for now. Valve hasn't given it a Deck compatibility rating, and SteamDeckHQ's test found it can't hit 30 fps even at the lowest settings, averaging 23 to 27 fps in the Crimson Forest and dipping as low as 10.

How does Phantom Blade Zero run on PS5 and PS5 Pro?

Pick Performance mode: that's Digital Foundry's recommendation on both consoles, in a tech review that treats it as the next Chinese-developed Unreal Engine 5 action game after 2024's Black Myth: Wukong. The base PS5 offers performance (60fps, 900p to 1080p), balanced (40fps, 120Hz displays only) and graphics (30fps, 1440p) modes. DF found performance mode stable in typical play and the balanced mode's frame pacing "all over the place." PS5 Pro keeps the same three modes, looks sharper, and adds a toggle for ray-traced shadows, reflections and global illumination; DF saw better reflections with it on but no real change in overall image quality or performance. The PlayStation Store lists the game as PS5 Pro Enhanced.

The PS5 download is 134.857 GB, according to the unofficial PlayStation Game Size tracker on X.

How long is Phantom Blade Zero?

Plan on about 15 hours if you only follow the story, and 25 to 50 if you explore, depending on how much side content you chase and which difficulty you pick. Those figures come from reviewers' own playthroughs:

  • Hardcore Gamer: about 15 hours for the story alone, 25 to 30 hours to see every area and get "the perfect ending."
  • GamesRadar+: 30 to 35 hours to reach the final boss.
  • TheSixthAxis: around 40 hours on PS5.
  • IGN: 50 hours to reach the credits, playing only on the hardest difficulty.

There are four difficulty settings. On the hardest, each death costs Soul one of his 66 days, as Eurogamer notes, and GamesRadar+ says it wipes your progress after 66 deaths, which could mean losing dozens of hours. GamesRadar+ also warns that some secret bosses "crucial to the True Ending" are a big step up in difficulty.

How much does Phantom Blade Zero cost, and where can you play it?

The Standard Edition is $59.99 and the Digital Deluxe Edition $69.99 on both Steam and the PlayStation Store, with a $10 Deluxe upgrade on Steam. The Deluxe adds two outfits (Wulin Legend and Blood-Steel Form), a digital artbook and the soundtrack, and S-GAME's site says that content, like the pre-order bonuses, can also be earned through in-game progression. It's on PS5 and Windows PC (Steam and Epic Games Store); S-GAME hasn't announced Xbox or Switch versions, and its launch trailer description says a boxed PS5 edition "arrives in 2027."

What was the Phantom Blade Zero release time?

The Phantom Blade Zero release date was a single worldwide unlock: 7:00 PM PT on October 28, or 10:00 AM Beijing time on October 29 per S-GAME's trailer description (10:00 PM ET and 2:00 AM UK by our conversion). That's why the Steam page shows October 28, while the PlayStation Store and our October 2026 release calendar list it on October 29.

What we don't know yet

  • When the boxed PS5 edition ships. S-GAME has only said 2027.
  • Whether the patches fixed everything. S-GAME shipped a 67GB update two days before reviews went live and a roughly 5 GB day-one patch at launch. IGN had flagged one map with consistently poor frame rates; no outlet has confirmed yet whether that area is fixed.

Questions and answers

Is Phantom Blade Zero good?

Critics think so: an 89 Top Critic Average on OpenCritic and 88 on Metacritic for PC as of November 1. Reviews praise the combat and boss fights and criticise the story and some technical issues.

How long is Phantom Blade Zero?

About 15 hours for the story alone and 25 to 50 hours with side content, based on reviewers' playthroughs.

What graphics card do you need for Phantom Blade Zero?

At least a GTX 1660 or RX 5500 XT for 1080p at 30 fps with upscaling, an RTX 3060 Ti or RX 6700 XT for 1440p at 60 fps, and an RTX 5080 for path tracing at 4K.

Does Phantom Blade Zero run on Steam Deck?

Not well. Valve hasn't rated it, and SteamDeckHQ couldn't get it to 30 fps even at the lowest settings.

Sources