Phantom Blade Zero Wins Over the Press and Enters the GOTY 2026 Race

Phantom Blade Zero, the ARPG from S-GAME Studio, has already been put through its paces by the specialist press, and the preliminary verdict is emphatic. As reported by Vida Extra, most of the published previews agree in describing it as an outstanding action experience, to the point that several outlets place it as a firm contender for Game of the Year 2026. The title launches on October 29 on PC and PS5, and on consoles it will be a timed exclusive for one year.

The fact that a game without the backing of a major Western franchise is generating this level of anticipation matters, and matters a lot. 2026 is packed with heavyweights, and for Phantom Blade Zero to enter the GOTY conversation before it has even released shows that the studio has achieved something that goes beyond the impact of a well-cut trailer. For those of us who make a living measuring reflexes and producing content, it is a sign that demanding hack and slash is back at the center of the board.

What you need to know

• Date and platforms: it arrives October 29 on PC and PS5. On consoles it will be a timed exclusive for one year.
• Genre: ARPG with hack and slash combat, set in a fictional world with an Eastern flavor.
• Its own label: although its demanding enemies recall FromSoftware's soulslikes, S-GAME prefers to talk about kung-fupunk.
• Reception: the common thread across the previews read by Vida Extra is that it is an incredible action experience and a serious contender for GOTY 2026.
• Competition: it shares the year with Crimson Desert, Resident Evil: Requiem, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, The Blood of Dawnwalker and the remaster of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Kung-fupunk: why S-GAME avoids the soulslike label

The comparison with FromSoftware is inevitable when an action game punishes every mistake and forces you to read enemies properly. However, the studio insists on its own term, kung-fupunk, and that decision is not just marketing. It marks a difference in intent: the focus is not on the slow attrition and risk management typical of a soulslike, but on the fluidity and spectacle of martial arts, with hack and slash combat that rewards aggression and rhythm.

For a competitive community, this distinction carries weight. A soulslike is enjoyed by learning patterns and overcoming them; a top-tier hack and slash is enjoyed when the player masters the tool and turns it into style. If the previews are right and the combat system is as polished as reported, Phantom Blade Zero could become one of those games where no-damage runs and lab combos generate content for months.

A fall 2026 with too many contenders

The context makes the news even more striking. Vida Extra points out that genuine beasts are competing this year: Crimson Desert, Resident Evil: Requiem, Onimusha: Way of the Sword and The Blood of Dawnwalker, plus the remaster of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. For the press to seat a studio like S-GAME at that same table is no small detail, especially when two of those rivals, Onimusha and Phantom Blade Zero itself, are fighting over the same territory of Eastern-themed action.

The one-year timed exclusivity on consoles also shapes the landscape. Anyone playing on PS5 or PC will have access from day one; the rest of console players will have to wait, and that usually translates into a second wave of attention when the game finally reaches other platforms. For content creators, that double window is an opportunity, but it also fragments the community right when it is most useful to have everyone playing at the same time.

Our take

At Underworld Lordz we have long been asking for a hack and slash that puts execution level ahead of stat level once again, and everything being said about Phantom Blade Zero points in that direction. If the combat is as demanding and as flashy as the previews describe, we have a candidate for a go-to game for challenges, speedruns and live lab sessions. Those are the kinds of titles that make a competitive community grow, because the skill ceiling is set by the player and not by the gear.

That said, it is time to be cautious. A press preview is built on a controlled slice of the game, chosen by the studio to show off the best it has. We have seen the pre-launch GOTY contender label too many times, and more than one has deflated as soon as the full game revealed problems with pacing, performance or content in its second half. Kung-fupunk excites us, but the real verdict will come in the first few weeks with the game in everyone's hands.

And there is another issue that bothers us: the timed exclusivity. We understand the deal from the studio's point of view, but a year-long wait for part of the community splits the conversation and hurts precisely the creators who depend on their audience being able to play the same thing they are playing at the same time. Hopefully the game is so good that it remains relevant when that window closes.

What do you think?

The hype is through the roof and the 2026 calendar offers no breathing room. We want to know whether you will dive into S-GAME's kung-fupunk on October 29 or whether you would rather wait for the fog of the previews to clear. Do you think Phantom Blade Zero can stand up to Crimson Desert and Resident Evil: Requiem in the GOTY race? Tell us in the team chat or on our Discord.