NERDAGES™
Phantom Blade Zero: 25 Hours Later, I've Had My Fill
Eric Poole | Posted: 11/11/2026
(Image credit: Playstation)
Platform: PC | Difficulty: Highest available | Playtime: 25 hours | Progress: Chapter 9 of 10 | Status: Backlogged
Well, it's official. I've backlogged Phantom Blade Zero, making it the first new game of 2026 that I started but didn't finish.
Now, before you call me a hater, remember that I'm going through some life things that are impacting my gaming life. I'm in the final semester of my graduate program, with two finals and a capstone remaining, while desperately trying to survive an industry that's currently being annihilated by AI faster than the Jedi after Order 66.
Gaming is important to me, but it's certainly not the most important thing going on in my life right now. My gaming time is limited, and what little I have needs to feel worthwhile.
All that to say, I didn't hate my 25 hours with Phantom Blade Zero. In fact, I enjoyed a good bit of it. I definitely would've bailed much sooner if I hadn't. But after 25 hours, I think I've officially had my fill.
As it turns out, flashy martial arts animations can only carry a game so far.
When Flashy Becomes Frustrating
In my first impressions, I described Phantom Blade Zero as fast, flashy, and forgiving. After another 15 hours, I'd still stand by that assessment. Unfortunately, I'd now add another word to the list: exhausting.
By the time I reached Chapter 9 of the game's 10 main mission chapters, I'd upgraded my favorite gear into the mid-20s and had a health bar long enough to make most Souls protagonists jealous. I was feeling pretty powerful, at least on paper.
Yet somehow, I found myself sprinting from mob to mob, repeatedly smashing the square button just to put down basic field enemies that posed virtually no threat to me.
There's something fundamentally unsatisfying about playing as a ridiculously flashy martial artist who can practically defy gravity, only to discover that the average disposable enemy still requires 30-plus button presses to kill.
At some point, I started asking myself a question that no video game should ever make me ask:
What am I doing with my life right now?
My favorite sword was nearing its maximum upgrade potential, my character was considerably stronger than when I started, and yet the moment-to-moment combat somehow felt less rewarding.
I wasn't struggling. I wasn't being challenged. I was just spending an increasingly ridiculous amount of time beating the life out of enemies that barely fought back.
There's a difference between difficulty and tedium, and Phantom Blade Zero was beginning to confuse the two.
Enter Yuding, the Backlog Gatekeeper
Just as I was beginning to question whether the game had overstayed its welcome, along came the mid-level Chapter 9 boss, Yuding, No. 12 (Crescent Blade Puppet).
Oh, Yuding.
I can't remember the last time I encountered a boss that made me dislike a game's design quite this much.
The first quarter of the fight is fairly straightforward. She's aggressive, but nothing particularly unusual for a game built around fast-paced martial arts combat. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the encounter decides that you've had enough fun.
Suddenly, anything beyond a basic attack can become an instant paralysis sentence. One moment you're fighting, and the next you're watching helplessly as Yuding circles your immobilized character, taking her sweet time before delivering what might as well be an execution.
No meaningful control. No satisfying counterplay that I could figure out. Just a gimmick that feels completely disconnected from the combat experience the game spent the previous 25 hours teaching me.
And I hated it.
To be clear, I don't have a problem with difficult bosses. I've spent an unreasonable amount of my gaming life getting repeatedly murdered by FromSoftware's finest creations. Some of my favorite gaming memories involve spending hours overcoming a seemingly impossible encounter.
But those fights usually make me want to get better.
When a boss presents a legitimate skill check, I'm motivated to experiment. I'll tweak my build, reconsider my equipment, explore previously missed areas, and figure out what I'm doing wrong.
That's part of what makes a great action RPG so rewarding.
Yuding, on the other hand, didn't make me want to improve.
She made me want to play something else.
The Problem Isn't Just the Boss
If the rest of Phantom Blade Zero had still been holding my attention, I probably would've pushed through. Maybe I would've found some equipment that trivialized the encounter or discovered a mechanic I'd overlooked.
But by Chapter 9, I'd already grown tired of the game's regular combat encounters.
And that's where the frustration really comes together.
Exploration and looting can be rewarding in Phantom Blade Zero, but the requirement to clear nearby enemies before collecting certain items turns backtracking into a chore. When those enemies already take far too long to kill, revisiting areas for better equipment starts feeling less like an adventure and more like unpaid overtime.
The prospect of grinding through another collection of damage-spongy enemies just for a better chance against a boss I wasn't enjoying sounded absolutely miserable.
It almost feels like the game's difficulty scaling was adjusted late in development by someone who decided the easiest way to maintain a challenge was to double everyone's health and give bosses increasingly ridiculous gimmicks.
I'm obviously speculating here, but that's certainly how it feels.
And that approach doesn't make the game harder in any meaningful way. It just makes everything take longer.
When my nearly maxed-out favorite weapon feels like a foam sword against ordinary enemies, something has gone wrong with the power progression.
I shouldn't need to worry about wearing out my controller just to clear a hallway full of nobodies.
There's Still a Great Game in Here
I don't want this to sound like Phantom Blade Zero is a terrible game. It isn't.
There are absolutely the bones of a great action RPG here. The animation work is spectacular, the combat has a distinctive identity, and the game deserves credit for trying something different rather than simply copying the Souls formula.
As I mentioned in my first impressions, I don't even think Phantom Blade Zero comfortably belongs under the Souls-like umbrella. Its combat philosophy is different enough to stand on its own, and that's something I genuinely appreciate.
But underneath all that spectacle is a progression system that, at least in my experience, struggles to keep the combat satisfying over the long haul.
If S-GAME gets the opportunity to build on this formula, I'd love to see more thoughtful difficulty scaling, better pacing, and enemies whose durability actually reflects the threat they pose.
Not every encounter needs to be a 30-hit martial arts exhibition.
Sometimes a basic enemy just needs to die.
More importantly, a game should make me feel progressively more powerful as I invest time into my character. By the end of my experience with Phantom Blade Zero, I had accumulated better gear, more upgrades, and a hilariously generous health bar, but I wasn't having more fun.
That's a problem no amount of flashy animation can fix.
Back to the Backlog
So, after 25 hours, I'm calling it.
I made it to Chapter 9 of 10, saw most of what Phantom Blade Zero had to offer, and genuinely enjoyed parts of the journey. I don't regret playing it, and I certainly don't think everyone will share my frustrations.
Some players will undoubtedly appreciate the lengthy combat encounters, elaborate boss mechanics, and opportunity to master every system the game offers.
I'm just not one of them.
At least, not right now.
With two finals and a capstone standing between me and my graduate degree, I have enough challenging encounters waiting for me outside of gaming. Unlike Yuding, those are bosses I actually need to defeat.
Maybe one day I'll return, knock the dust off my virtual sword, and finish those final chapters.
But for now, Phantom Blade Zero is resting peacefully in my Steam backlog graveyard, alongside the many other games I keep telling myself I'll get back to someday.
Thanks, Yuding. You gave me exactly the reason I needed to put down the controller and get back to studying.