Phantom Blade Zero, an action-RPG drawing inspiration from the soulslike genre, aims to mitigate some of the series' most time-consuming barriers to entry. While not a direct soulslike, the game incorporates elements like fast-paced combat and challenging boss encounters, but introduces key tweaks designed to make progress more accessible.
A significant departure from typical soulslike design is the implementation of checkpoints within multi-phase boss battles. In many games of this style, defeating a boss often involves overcoming multiple distinct phases. If a player fails during a later phase, they are typically forced to restart the entire encounter, potentially facing two or three boss fights consecutively without the opportunity to restock or heal. Phantom Blade Zero addresses this by placing checkpoints between boss phases. This means that upon failure, players will resume the fight from the beginning of the subsequent phase, rather than the start of the entire encounter.
Beyond boss fights, the game offers further concessions to player time. Phantom Blade Zero allows for difficulty adjustments at any point, even mid-battle. This feature impacts the numerical values governing combat, such as the effect of parries on a boss's 'Sha-Chi' meter, which dictates stagger opportunities. While the boss's attack patterns and speed remain unchanged, these adjustments reduce the need for absolute player perfection, making battles difficult but less frustrating.
The game also rethinks the backtracking and resource management inherent in the genre. 'Magic bells,' scattered throughout the world, function similarly to bonfires in Souls games, offering services like character and equipment upgrades, fast travel, and healing. Crucially, activating a bell does not trigger enemy respawns. In Phantom Blade Zero, once an area's enemies are cleared, they remain defeated. This approach, combined with a metroidvania-style exploration system that rewards players for revisiting areas to unlock new zones, side quests, and lore, allows for a less interrupted exploration experience.
This design choice means players cannot continuously grind enemies to gain power before challenging difficult encounters. However, the reduced time spent traversing cleared areas and the more forgiving boss mechanics position Phantom Blade Zero as a potentially more approachable option for those curious about soulslike-adjacent experiences.