Published Oct 29, 2026, 9:06 AM EDT
Ashely currently works as a news writer for Polygon. After getting her Translation degree, she was hired as a guide and news writer for GameRant and TheGamer. She enjoyed working as an author for these sites for six years, and in 2026, she started at Polygon, where she is able to continue to do what she loves: writing about video games.
Off to a great start
Image: S-GameIf players were already hyped for the release of Phantom Blade Zero, their anticipation only grew when the critic reviews were able to secure an average score of 88 on Metacritic, making it the highest-rated action game of the year. It might have been the final push they needed to buy it. On Oct. 29, Phantom Blade Zero became available on digital platforms, and thousands rushed to play it, as is evident from its impressive position on the Steam charts.
For the most part, reviewers were in awe of Phantom Blade Zero's cinematic fighting sequences, making the game feel like a martial arts movie. As Polygon's Paulo Kawanishi put it, "there are few joys like watching a good Wuxia movie play out on screen — an experience that S-Game recreated in Phantom Blade Zero." To create a memorable Wuxia action RPG, S-Game put effort into Phantom Blade Zero's moves and animations, even bringing on actor and martial arts specialist Donnie Yen as a creative consultant.
While beautifully designed, the most common complaint so far has been that the combat in Phantom Blade Zero doesn't feel hard enough at times. This isn't ideal in a soulslike game, but it might just make it more appealing to a wider crowd, as gamers who want more of an RPG experience will also be able to enjoy it. This may contribute to why thousands of players have picked up the game on day one.
Gamers flock to play Phantom Blade Zero on launch
Image: S-GameWe are a few hours into its release, and the player count hasn't stopped rising. At the time of writing, Phantom Blade Zero has 680,000 active players on Steam. It could reach an impressive peak by the time the weekend rolls around. Phantom Blade Zero sits comfortably at the top of the Popular New Releases and Top Sellers charts on Steam.
Console stats remain unknown, but it's definitely impressive that it managed to become the second most-played single-player game of the year on Steam within hours of release, only behind Palworld, which had a spike of nearly 1 million following its full launch in July. On launch day, it was able to rank second for active players, sitting behind Counter-Strike 2, a tough contender to beat in terms of concurrent players. But who knows? If numbers continue to rise, it might just dethrone the free-to-play shooter.
Phantom Blade Zero is now available digitally on Steam, the Epic Games Store, and PlayStation 5. A physical edition is scheduled to release on PS5 in 2027.
