Looking back on this bloodbath of a release window, especially as we enter November, it’s interesting to see which titles emerged victorious and which struggled. Almost everyone expected that Onimusha: Way of the Sword, The Blood of Dawnwalker, and Control Resonant would top one million sales each. Few expected Star Wars: Zero Company and perhaps even Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve to end up as big as they did. And among the biggest names, even fewer expected titles like Gears of War: E-Day to reportedly come up short. That you could substitute other names of varying degrees of size and scope is a testament to how packed this season has been.
Yet, one performed even better than our wildest expectations, and if the headline didn’t give it away, it’s S-Game’s Phantom Blade Zero. After launching to very strong critical praise, currently at an 88 Metascore based on 45 reviews, it peaked at nearly 834,000 concurrent players on Steam and became the 14th most-played title on the platform in its history. A quick peek at its rating reveals a 91 percent “Very Positive” score based on 56,383 user reviews at this time. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s the big milestone – over four million copies sold on PS5 and PC in just 72 hours.
Now, think back to when the developer announced over three million wishlists across both platforms. The titles that announced the same number of wishlists this year are low; the number that converted that exact number into sales is even lower. Those that have gone above and beyond? Well, it’s fairly unprecedented.
And all credit to games like Control Resonant, Dawnwalker and Onimusha because they’re each fantastic in their own right. I spent dozens of hours running through Manhattan, marveling at Remedy’s art direction and world design, when I wasn’t captivated by Coen’s journey through Vale Sangora and the sheer breadth of consequences that followed every choice. To say Way of the Sword delivered some of the most satisfying combat that the genre has seen in a long time would also be an understatement. Yet even with more publicity and established audiences, none of them came close to Phantom Blade Zero’s sales in the same window, forget cumulatively.
In fact, if you look at the highest-selling single-player games of 2026, Phantom Blade Zero outperformed two of the biggest releases – Resident Evil Requiem and 007 First Light – within the same window. The former took about seven days to sell over five million, while the latter crossed four million sales in about three months. Now, obviously Requiem is at a much higher total with over 8.06 million sales as of last July, but it’s still insane to think any title, much less a relatively new IP, could outpace its sales in its opening week. If we’re talking action RPGs strictly, then the only game that could measure up is Monster Hunter Wilds with over eight million sales in its first three days, and that’s a sequel in a long-established series (not to mention the long-awaited follow-up to World, even if that didn’t exactly translate to the same sales tempo over the long term).
So, the question inevitably arises: Why is Phantom Blade Zero so successful? Yes, it’s a great game, but there have been several in quick succession lately. What about Soul’s journey, where he only has 66 days to accomplish his goals, really resonated with players?
Interestingly, the one common refrain that I found among several of them is that this isn’t a game you’ll immediately warm up to. I said as much in my review: In the first several hours, it offers fun combat with limited options, straightforward exploration that stays surprisingly linear, and an esoteric story that you’ll struggle to really resonate with amid all the flashbacks, lore, and characters.
Yet those same players inevitably reached the same conclusion after reaching the Village of Lu. Suddenly, the plot really picks up, delving much deeper into the dark Wuxia and kungfupunk elements that S-game was so heavily teasing. Everything we knew about the story heading into launch suddenly started to factor in, tying into each boss fight in unique ways. Each weapon is even more outrageous than the last, while their complexity grows alongside the actual mechanics. And yes, Mo Yuan, played by Donnie Yen, finally made his presence felt and utterly decimated all in his path.
While the art direction and music were already pretty good, it’s like Phantom Blade Zero finally found its footing. As sweeping as the vistas felt, it was the dark caverns full of failed puppet experiments, the multitudes of red threads weaving through valleys, the utter ruin left in places like Pangzhen, and the steampunk aesthetic of the Sha-Chi Towers that really drew players in. Of course, it didn’t hurt that exploration opened up spectacularly. The core plot was no longer all that simple, at least in terms of navigation, and it seemed like something valuable awaited around every corner.
But if there’s one thing S-Game seemingly mastered, and which is inherent in almost every aspect, it’s the escalation. Nowhere is this more apparent than the boss fights, especially a particular three-phaser that’s rightfully receiving universal praise. And yet, things only get crazier from there, whether it’s the tactics future opponents throw your way, or how you can retaliate.
Sure, there are several other elements at play, not the least of which is that this isn’t a Souls-like. Even if you’re utterly curb stomped by every boss, it’s possible to slowly progress through their phases thanks to checkpoints (though this aligns more with 66 Days Mode). No respawning enemies make some areas feel barren, especially when backtracking, but it also means not having to farm. All your time is spent experiencing new content, and being wowed even further by what S-Game has achieved. The fact that it feels so good to control at pretty much every single point – even against regular enemies – is another feather in its tattered straw hat.
How Phantom Blade Zero will match up against the action RPG genre’s greatest remains to be seen – it’s unlikely to square up against Dark Souls, Bloodborne and so on because of how differently it plays. In the same respect, comparing it to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice because of its stellar parrying mechanics doesn’t feel right either. And despite being an action RPG, Nioh doesn’t feel like the best comparison either, even if its combat speed is much faster than the average Souls-like.
Maybe that’s the biggest clue to its success – that it channels elements of what we’ve seen before to deliver something relatively fresh. All that talk about delivering a “playable kung fu movie” experience wasn’t just talk after all, and the execution is genuinely something to behold, even if it doesn’t make for the neatest comparisons. Maybe Qiwei “Soulframe” Liang’s goal – to make you feel “powerful and incredibly cool,” so that “No matter what enemy stands before you, you will defeat them in the end” rings so true in-game that it’s hard to deny.
And maybe the passion of the team is so overwhelmingly apparent that it’s truly on another level compared to everything else out there. Whatever the case, Phantom Blade Zero exceeded the hype, and we couldn’t have asked for anything more.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
