Phantom Blade Zero Is Making the Same Mistake That Held Back Black Myth: Wukong
From the opening moments, Phantom Blade Zero hooked me. Its stylish combat, fast-paced encounters, and cinematic presentation make it an exciting action game, possibly one of the best yet, and I’ve loved my time with it. I particularly like that it is not a soulslike, even if it borrows some elements, and combat feels like the right amount of challenge. However, there is an annoying issue that I’ve run into, quite literally, several times. And what makes this worse is that it was an issue that plagued another major game from China, Black Myth: Wukong. While not game-breaking, it is certainly annoying.
Unfortunately, Phantom Blade Zero appears to be repeating one of the most frustrating mistakes from Black Myth: Wukong: invisible walls. These interfere with exploration and have even screwed me over in combat. These barriers may seem like minor issues when compared to balancing encounters or designing levels, but the impact is more than you think. I have already missed jumps, fallen to my death, and gotten stuck against boundaries in the middle of combat. For a game built around precise movement and fast reactions, that is a problem worth addressing before it becomes a bigger source of frustration for players.
Invisible Walls Make Exploration Frustrating
One of my favorite aspects of gaming is exploration regardless of genre. This is what makes the invisible walls so frustrating for me in Phantom Blade Zero. The environments are beautiful and do have secrets to find, but the barriers limit how I can explore and investigate. Instead, I have repeatedly attempted jumps that looked entirely possible, only to discover that an invisible barrier was blocking my route. On multiple occasions, I have fallen to my death because I misjudged where the game would let me go.
This is a problem that Black Myth: Wukong players will recognize immediately. What is funny about this is that I wasn’t particularly bothered by the invisible walls then, but now they are driving me crazy in Phantom Blade Zero. The problem is not simply that areas are inaccessible, though this is a problem when you have open areas and beautiful environments. It means there is a fundamental problem with level design that leaves players guessing where they can go. For worlds that encourage curiosity, it becomes a fundamental problem.
There is a difference between deliberately guiding players through a level and making that guidance difficult to understand. Locked doors, blocked passages, and environmental obstacles give players understandable reasons to change direction. Invisible walls offer no such explanation. Even when a particular route is not intended to be accessible, the game should communicate that limitation through its level design. Otherwise, exploration becomes an exercise in trial and error rather than an opportunity to discover something interesting, and Phantom Blade Zero has enough going for it that this feels like a strange afterthought.
Combat Suffers When the Environment Gets in the Way
Now, while it is frustrating in exploration, it becomes a major liability in combat. Phantom Blade Zero is built around fast, stylish martial arts combat, with weapon switching, elaborate attack combinations, and sheer spectacle. Movement and positioning are important parts of that experience. When the environment interferes with either, it is not just frustrating but actively undermines one of the game’s major pillars, especially if it happens during a challenging boss fight.
I have encountered situations where I have gotten stuck against environmental boundaries, although it feels possible some instances were a bug. Regardless, getting trapped when I am trying to move through an area is frustrating. In a game that demands quick reactions, a single moment like this is enough to disrupt your flow, and it certainly happened to me. I already have enough issues with games that demand fast reflexes like Phantom Blade Zero; the last thing I need is the environment double-teaming me with a boss.
A difficult fight should challenge my ability to read an opponent, manage resources, and execute attacks at the right moment. It should not become harder because the space around me behaves unpredictably. There is a place for deliberate environmental hazards, but players need to understand those hazards before they can reasonably be expected to account for them. A great example of this is Hua, the Bride, a boss that actively creates environmental hazards. Dodging and keeping an eye on these is a better function than accidentally getting stuck on a piece of timber on the ground.
Phantom Blade Zero Needs to Fix This Before It Becomes a Bigger Problem
What makes these issues particularly frustrating is that they are not problems with the fundamentals of Phantom Blade Zero. Even with this issue, it is still visually gorgeous with entertaining combat and a surprisingly good narrative. Even with this complaint, I have loved getting beaten by bosses repeatedly and exploring its world. But it is still frustrating and has taken me out of the moment on several occasions. Whether it is because I think I can make a jump or it gets me hit in combat, it is something S-Games needs to address.
The stakes could be even higher for players tackling the game’s more demanding challenges. Phantom Blade Zero features Hellwalker mode, a challenging option that only allows the player 66 deaths. If a player loses one of these lives to a jump that otherwise looks possible, it becomes incredibly frustrating and unfair. Players need to trust that deaths happen because of their decisions and skill, not because the game didn’t tell you that a jump is impossible or a piece of the environment stops your movement.
Ultimately, I hope S-Game addresses these problems through patches and improvements to level design. Phantom Blade Zero is an incredible game, and making its boundaries clearer would remove one of the few issues with it. Black Myth: Wukong demonstrated how invisible walls can become a recurring criticism even when a game has spectacular visuals and compelling combat. I would hate to see Phantom Blade Zero follow the same path. I am loving the game so far, and that is precisely why I want these problems fixed. Its combat and world deserve better than an avoidable design flaw that repeatedly pulls players out of the experience.