Slick looking action-RPG Phantom Blade Zero blends Chinese martial arts with "punk spirit"
There were plenty of announcements during Sony's Playstation Showcase last night, but the one that stood out most to me was Phantom Blade Zero. This quickfire action RPG looks brilliant and oh so slick. It blends Chinese martial arts and punk together, to create a new direction its developer has dubbed «Kungfupunk».
In Phantom Blade Zero, you take on the role of Soul. According to Soulframe Liang, founder of the game's developer S-Game, Soul is «an elite assassin serving an elusive but powerful organisation known simply as 'The Order'.» Soul was framed for the murder of this organisation's patriarch, and was then wounded in the «manhunt that ensued». Thankfully, he was saved from death by a «mystic healer».
This all sounds enticing enough already, in my opinion, but there is more. While Soul may have been saved by this healer, there is a catch — the cure only lasts for 66 days, and Soul needs to find out who framed him for killing The Order's patriarch before time runs out. Of course, this will not be an easy job, and Soul will have to fight against «powerful foes and inhuman monstrosities» on his journey. You can see how it all looks in the trailer below.
In a blogpost accompanying last night's reveal trailer, Liang shared more about Phantom Blade Zero's inspirations. These range from the wuxia stories of author Louis Cha, Michelle Yoeh's Oscar winning performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once, Donnie Yen in John Wick: Chapter 4 and the films of Bruce Lee.
«Kungfu in pop culture is constantly evolving, but always awesome! With Phantom Blade Zero, we are adding a new twist to the formula, a heavy dose of punk spirit, alongside with stylish visuals,» Liang wrote. «We call this overall art direction 'Kungfupunk'.»
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