In the frame above A dark armoured figure stands among flying white rings in a hall of red pillars; a figure in a straw hat crouches in the foreground.
Key facts
Boss · Bounty
Huangxing
OfficialEnglish
Chinese name, not yet confirmed: 荒行子Our translationChineseName sources for Huangxing
The demo’s area boss, according to GamerBraves as excerpted in search results. Unconfirmed · GamerBraves
First shown: The 2024 demo.
- In the official 2025 demo walkthrough, after the Wan Jun “Coppermaul” fight, a subtitle reads “Master Huangxing! You lied to me!!!” No speaker name is on screen, and no source explains the line. Official 2025 S-Party demo walkthrough, Phantom Blade Zero on YouTube, 8:58.
Sources so far: 26 seconds of official footage with the developers’ narration over it, three hands-on accounts of the 2024 demo that we could read (GamerBraves only as a search excerpt), plus a 2025 Push Square report on how he behaves on each difficulty.
Watch the footage
The clip starts at 11:22 in the official State of Play gameplay deep dive (PlayStation on YouTube, August 2026): about 26 seconds on Hellwalker, with the “DEAD” screen twice. YouTube loads only when you press play.
Phases and mechanics
- A second phase, seen in the demo’s hardest mode. gcores reports that he had a second phase in the demo’s hardest mode. Press-reported gcores
- Behaviour depends on difficulty: fixed combos on normal, adaptive on the hardest setting. Press-reported · Push Square
- Arena pillars are an interaction for dodging his big attack (and he uses them too in Extreme mode) Press-reported · gcores
- Domed blade weapon raised. He holds a domed, bell-shaped metal weapon up in the air while small white discs with square holes drift through the red-pillared hall. Seen in the State of Play deep dive at 11:23. Official · State of Play
Huangxing attacks and how to counter
Attacks seen 6
These labels are our plain descriptions; the game has published no move names.
- Flying-guillotine throw Throws a bladed, hollow flail-like "flying guillotine" meant to land on your head. Press-reported · Gamereactor
- Weapon dropped on the head He makes the weapon drop onto the player character’s head, decapitating him in one motion, as But Why Tho’s writer describes it. Press-reported · But Why Tho
- Chain spin that deflects shots (Extreme) In Extreme mode he spins the chained blood-drop weapon to swat away your cannon shots, then attacks. Press-reported · gcores
- Domed weapon swung overhead The domed weapon is held high above his head on its haft as the player crouches below him. Seen in the State of Play deep dive at 11:28. Official · State of Play
- Red spinning disc A red, spinning disc-shaped blur appears right beside the player. Seen in the State of Play deep dive at 11:38. Official · State of Play
- Red flash across the hall A horizontal red flash streaks across the screen at his position just before he attacks. Seen in the State of Play deep dive at 11:44. Official · State of Play
How to counter 3
- Climb the pillar next to him (context prompt) to get at his back; the writer finished him with the Power Surge ultimate. Press-reported · Gamereactor
- Use the environment: run up the pillars and smash down on him. Press-reported · But Why Tho
- Outside Extreme mode, open with a charged Tiger Cannon shot for heavy damage; your hits can interrupt his big move. Press-reported · gcores
Frame by frame
Just before the fight the difficulty menu is on screen with Hellwalker selected and its description: “The ultimate trial. Enemies strike without mercy, adapt without warning, and hold nothing back.” The narration runs over the first twelve seconds of the fight. Nothing official names his moves either; read each step by its time in the deep dive.
11:24State of Play deep dive · PlayStation
- Still He half-kneels with a domed, spiked weapon raised on its haft; small white discs with square holes drift through the hall and the player stands in the foreground with a pale blade.
- Seen Two seconds in, he has the weapon up high while the player closes from the side.
- Narration
“Hellwalker” mode brings in core fighting game mechanics.
Official frame at 11:24.43, YouTube blh1v1dGJ2s · © PARAWULIN PRODUCTION LIMITED / S-GAME
11:27State of Play deep dive · PlayStation
- Seen Fast exchanges in dark light; no frame here is sharp enough to show.
- Narration
Bosses won't rely on fixed patterns.
- Reported Push Square reports that on normal difficulty “he has fixed combos”. Press-reported Push Square, 21 Sep 2025.
11:32State of Play deep dive · PlayStation
- Still A thin red line runs straight across the hall at head height while he and the player stand close together; white discs scatter across the floor to the right.
- Seen A horizontal red line crosses the whole screen just before his next attack; at 11:34 the screen goes to “DEAD”.
- Narration
They react to your spacing, punish your whiffs, and adapt to your habits in real time.
Official frame at 11:32.90, YouTube blh1v1dGJ2s · © PARAWULIN PRODUCTION LIMITED / S-GAME
11:39State of Play deep dive · PlayStation
- Still He holds the domed weapon, ringed with hooked blades, in front of his body while the player sweeps a long red-edged blade low across the floorboards.
- Seen After the retry the player is back on the hall floor with him, now attacking with a long blade whose edge glows red.
Official frame at 11:39.43, YouTube blh1v1dGJ2s · © PARAWULIN PRODUCTION LIMITED / S-GAME
11:40State of Play deep dive · PlayStation
- Seen A burst of orange sparks fills the right half of the screen where the two weapons meet.
11:42State of Play deep dive · PlayStation
- Still He stands tall in the middle of the hall with an altar and a seated statue lit red behind him; the player crouches in the foreground with a glowing red serrated blade.
- Seen He has stepped back toward the altar end of the hall, with pillars down both sides.
- Counter Gamereactor’s writer took the context prompt at the pillar next to him to climb it and get at his back, then finished him with the Power Surge ultimate. Press-reported Gamereactor, 12 Jun 2024.
- Counter But Why Tho’s writer ran up the pillars and smashed down on him. Press-reported But Why Tho, 18 Oct 2024.
Official frame at 11:42.48, YouTube blh1v1dGJ2s · © PARAWULIN PRODUCTION LIMITED / S-GAME
11:48State of Play deep dive · PlayStation
- Seen The second “DEAD” screen; at 11:51 the deep dive moves on to the Sixty-Six Days mode.
Where Huangxing is fought and what it drops
- The last boss of the 2024 demo. Press-reported · Gamereactor
- Arena seen: a hall of red pillars with an altar (State of Play 11:22). Seen in the State of Play deep dive at 11:23. Official · State of Play
- Drops No drop recorded in the sources we read.
Where, in detail
- The deep dive shows a dark wooden hall: red-lit pillars down both sides, spiral coils hanging from the ceiling, racks of candles along the walls and an altar with a seated statue at the far end. Official State of Play gameplay deep dive, PlayStation on YouTube, 11:42.
To be confirmedWhere: where the hall sits in the full game, and whether the fight can be skipped; no source says. What it gives: what beating him gives; no source we read records a drop.