Phantom Blade Zero

There are a lot of games that look like Phantom Blade Zero, with a dark color palette, a brooding swordsman, and intense, fast-paced combat, so it has always fascinated me that this one stood out from its first trailer. In the years since, I’ve attributed it to the way its protagonist, Soul, moves his body: he’s performing impossible acts of martial arts, but it still feels believable somehow. I’ve been itching to get my hands on the game ever since, so I was grateful when developer S-Game invited us to its Los Angeles studio during Summer Game Fest.

The studio, as it turns out, was really a modest apartment. S-Game’s main development offices are in China, but this LA location is much more low-key. The developers who greeted me told me they were trying to mimic the vibe of playing the game at home, and it was certainly a different atmosphere than the other demos I played in Los Angeles. I left my shoes at the door and played on the couch in a shared living room/kitchen area.