Phantom Blade Zero Gamescom Demo – 90 Minutes of Gameplay with Parry Focus & Boss Fights
This week, on Wednesday, the Gamescom kicked off in Cologne, and many different games were available to try. Among them were titles from Capcom like Resident Evil Requiem and Pragmata, but also many other publishers such as S-GAME, who showcased Phantom Blade Zero.
At Gamescom 2025 I had the chance to play Phantom Blade Zero for a full 90 minutes. This action-RPG combines fast-paced combat with precise parries and a cinematic samurai atmosphere. Here’s how the gameplay felt, what the demo offered, and why Phantom Blade Zero became my Gamescom highlight.
Phantom Blade Zero Gameplay – Fast Combat and Parry Focus
In Phantom Blade Zero you take on the role of Samurai Soul. You must fight your way through enemies using different weapons. The demo featured 8 weapons, each with its own unique feel. All weapons had different combos, yet the system was kept simple. Combos are performed by combining Square and Triangle on the PlayStation controller, and there aren’t too many of them. Some weapons even have special combos. Executing these combos feels incredibly smooth, with Soul spinning between attacks, and some combos even ending with a somersault.
You can equip two different weapons and switch between them quickly in combat. The weapon variety is broad, including swords, axes, dual daggers, and even a chakram (a circular weapon). Each weapon comes with unique combos and special attacks. For example, the chakrams can fire multiple projectiles forward with their special moves. Additionally, you can equip an extra weapon such as a bow, giant hammer, or a fire-breathing dragon. These require a special resource, replenished through combat, and deal massive damage. The hammer is also needed several times to break fragile floors.
Enemies all have a stamina bar. By attacking them, you can drain this bar, and once it reaches zero, enemies stagger, leaving them open for attacks without fear of taking damage. In battle, you can also block, reducing incoming damage at the cost of your own stamina. Certain enemy attacks can be blocked as well—these attacks glow blue, and if you parry them just before impact, you unleash a special strike that drains a large chunk of their stamina. The same applies to red attacks, which cannot be blocked. However, if you dodge right before they land, you’ll leap toward the enemy and counterattack.
The game is often presented as a new soulslike title, but there are many differences from the Souls games. For one, there are no souls to level up. The second big difference is that enemies do not respawn—once they’re dead, they stay dead. This even applies to bosses; once they reach phase 2, they stay in that phase. Of course, there are also some similarities: there are bells, which work much like the bonfires in Dark Souls. At these, you can rest to restore your flasks and teleport. You also have healing flasks—three at the beginning—that can heal you, and by collecting specific resources from enemies, you can upgrade or gain more flasks, just like in Souls games. In terms of difficulty, it’s on the same level as the Souls titles.
In the demo, I encountered three bosses. They were all different with unique attack patterns. The first boss was a huge enemy with a massive weapon. He could drag it along the ground, similar to Smough from Dark Souls 1, and charge you down with it. He also had an attack where he threw dust in your face, which severely limited your vision. He could also spin and much more. The second boss was an assassin, but compared to the first enemy, fairly easy. The final boss was accompanied by seven allies. If you killed one, the boss could revive them, or the allies could heal the boss. This boss was tough, and without parrying, the fight was nearly impossible. I’ve played plenty of Souls games, but I still died several times, so it was definitely not easy.
The second phase of the boss was even harder, as he became faster. The smaller enemies were gone, but that didn’t make things easier. The fight was incredibly gripping and so much fun. You really wanted to defeat the boss within the time limit, and finally winning felt amazing. You could quickly adapt and learn to parry attacks better, which made the victory feel even more rewarding.
Atmosphere, Graphics, and World Design
The atmosphere in the game is very impressive and dark. It delivers a genuine Asian samurai-gloom. The graphics look stunning, and the highlight is the wide range of character animations and boss movesets, which looked absolutely fantastic. The sound of weapons and enemies was also realistic. I didn’t pay much attention to the music, but everything fit the game and its atmosphere well.
My Verdict After 90 Minutes of Phantom Blade Zero
In short: Phantom Blade Zero was incredible and definitely my highlight of Gamescom. But here’s the longer version. The combat felt fantastic and deeply satisfying, and I constantly had the urge to push forward. The game allows you to choose a difficulty level. I played on normal, and it was about as hard as the Souls games, but with a stronger focus on parrying. Yes, parrying was useful in Souls too, but not like here, where it takes center stage. On a harder difficulty, it would have been a real challenge. Thanks to the different difficulty modes, however, this game can appeal to everyone.
During my demo, I did encounter some lags, both audio and visual, but they quickly resolved themselves. And since this was only a demo, issues like that can happen. It was a shame that the demo ended, but overall, it was a fantastic experience and without a doubt my best one at Gamescom 2025. If you’re a fan of action games or Soulslikes, you should try Phantom Blade Zero. If not at Gamescom, then definitely once it launches in 2026 for PC and PlayStation 5.
Hey, I’m Kilian, but online you’ll probably know me as “Tux1243.” I've been part of the team for almost two years now, always trying to keep you in the loop with the latest and coolest gaming news. I also have a huge passion for doing deep dives and detailed analyses of entire game series and franchises. I love getting to the bottom of things and exploring the little details and backstories that make game worlds so fascinating.
Download the Allkeyshop Browser Extension Free
For all the latest video game news, trailers, and best deals, make sure to bookmark us.
You can find all the best and cheapest online deals on CD keys, game codes, gift cards, and antivirus software from the verified CD key sellers on our store pages.
To not miss any news on Allkeyshop, subscribe on
Google News
.
MORE RELEVANT ARTICLES
