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Phantom Blade Zero · Reviews

Phantom Blade Zero reviews: embargo date and scores

Reviews went live on 26 October 2026 at 00:00 UTC, three days before release. Metacritic shows 88 on both PC and PS5; OpenCritic a Top Critic Average of 91, with every critic recommending it. The combat and the bosses carry the praise; the story and frame-rate drops on PS5 take most of the criticism, and Steam Deck cannot hold 30 fps.

The launch weeks, 8 to 29 October 2026

  1. Last previews 8 Oct
  2. Reviews published 26 Oct 00:00 UTC
  3. Pre-load, all platforms 27 Oct 02:00 UTC
  4. Unlock 29 Oct 02:00 UTC

Lit: already happened, announced or on the store pageUnlit: reported only

The short answer, as of 26 October 2026

Metacritic

88

PC and PS5 · read 26 Oct 2026

OpenCritic

91

36 reviews · 100% recommend

QuestionAnswerLevel
Review embargoLifted 26 October 2026, 00:00 UTCPress-reported
Metacritic88, PC and PS5Press-reported
OpenCritic91, 36 reviewsPress-reported
Release29 October 2026Official
On this page 7 sections
  1. The short answer
  2. Phantom Blade Zero review embargo date
  3. Phantom Blade Zero review scores
  4. How it runs on PS5, PC and Steam Deck
  5. What previews said before launch
  6. What is not yet known
  7. Phantom Blade Zero reviews FAQ
Two figures in a dark wood; one holds out a pouch.
A figure in a woven straw hat and ragged armour faces a long-haired figure who holds out a small blue pouch. Screenshot from the official media library, screenshots/tga_3.png · © PARAWULIN PRODUCTION LIMITED / S-GAME

Phantom Blade Zero review embargo date

The embargo lifted on 26 October 2026 at 00:00 UTC, which is 25 October at 20:00 in New York and 26 October at 09:00 in Tokyo: the first reviews from TheGamer, DualShockers and Screen Rant carry that time stamp, and the rest followed within the hour. S-GAME never announced the date; the two reports of 20 October turned out right. The official site, the Steam page and the PlayStation Store page still say nothing about it.

That put the reviews a day before the 27 October pre-load and three days before the 29 October unlock; both dates are on our pre-load and download size and release time pages. If you are deciding whether to pre-order, the scores below are the whole picture as of 26 October; user scores open only when the game unlocks.

Phantom Blade Zero review scores

Metacritic

88

Metascore · PC 33 critic reviews, 30 positive and 1 mixed · PS5 26 reviews, also 88 · read 26 Oct 2026, 13:30 UTC

OpenCritic

91

Top Critic Average · 36 critic reviews · 100% of critics recommend · read 26 Oct 2026, 13:30 UTC

Yes: on 26 October 2026 Metacritic showed 88 on both PC (33 critic reviews) and PS5 (26), and OpenCritic a Top Critic Average of 91 from 36 reviews, with every critic recommending the game. Of the 15 scores we list, four are full marks; Eurogamer’s 3/5 and Creative Bloq’s 7/10 are the only mixed ones. Both aggregators read the same way. Metacritic opened at 91 and settled at 88 within the first hour as lower scores arrived; OpenCritic’s 91 averages only the critics it ranks as top, which is why it runs higher. The two sites use different inclusion rules, so do not compare them to the decimal. The 33 PC reviews and 26 PS5 reviews overlap heavily: most outlets reviewed one build and are listed under both.

The table lists sixteen reviews, highest first: the big English-language outlets, the full-marks reviews, the two lowest scores and the one unscored review. The platform is the one the review names; where it names none, it is the one the aggregator files it under. Each quote is the outlet’s own sentence, cut, not paraphrased.

Review scores by outlet, highest first; read 26 October 2026
OutletScorePlatformIn their words
TheGamer5/5PS5“a genuine Game of the Year contender”; cons: “Performance mode is the only option on the base PS5”
Wccftech10/10PC“a genre-defining game that stands as one of the best current-generation titles to date”
PlayStation Universe10/10PS5“an absolute masterclass in action-RPG design”
PCGamesN10/10PC“a stunning action RPG that gives the best of all time a run for their money”
Gamersky9.8/10PC“an exceptional, remarkable, and truly unique game” (Chinese outlet, as translated by Metacritic)
DualShockers9.5/10PC“hands down the best action RPG this year”, after a 40-hour campaign; cons: “Hiccups in performance”
IGN9/10PC“one of the best action games I’ve played in a long time”; performance issues kept it from a 10
Push Square9/10PS5 Pro“one of the PS5’s very best action games”; frame rate drops in some boss battles
TheSixthAxis9/10PS5“spectacular, occasionally gloriously ridiculous and packed with reasons to keep exploring”
Insider Gaming9/10PS5 Pro“exceed virtually every expectation I had”; drops only in Pangzhen’s heavy rain
Screen Rant9/10PC“an elegant, showcase-worthy visual design from top to bottom”; cons: the map and quest tracking
VGC4/5PC“a damn good action game that shouldn’t be ignored”; “could use a bit more polish”
Checkpoint Gaming8/10PC“a spectacularly satisfying action game that rewards precise combat”; finds the narrative convoluted
Creative Bloq7/10PS5headline: “dazzling kung fu, frustrating design”; reports slowdowns in combat with ray tracing off
Eurogamer3/5PC“wonderfully fluid and cinematic kung fu-style combat, but balance and quality issues ultimately dim its shine”
Polygonno scorePC“it ultimately lacks putting trust in the player to act out these abilities”

Where they agree: the combat, the boss fights, the art direction and the soundtrack. Where they split: TheGamer calls the story “a narrative full of surprise”; Screen Rant, Checkpoint Gaming and Eurogamer find it thin or confusing without the lore documents. Screen Rant and Eurogamer both report difficulty that swings between frustrating and too easy, even on the hardest mode; the difficulty modes themselves are on Is Phantom Blade Zero a soulslike?

How it runs on PS5, PC and Steam Deck

Every review was written on a pre-launch build with a late pre-release patch; a day-one patch may change the PS5 figures. Read the table as what reviewers saw in the week before launch.

What reviews report by platform, pre-launch build, 25 and 26 October 2026
PlatformWhat reviewers reportWho
PCShaders compile on first boot, then it “barely ever skips a frame”; about 100 fps at 4K High with DLSS Quality on an RTX 4080, dropping to the high 50s with ray tracing and about 30 with path tracing. One reviewer on an RTX 5080 reports frame-pacing problems; another lists “hiccups in performance”.Screen Rant, Wccftech, Glitched, DualShockers
PS5Performance mode is the setting to use: it “ran smoothly” for one reviewer, and another calls it “the only option on the base PS5”. One review reports slowdowns in combat even with ray tracing off.TheSixthAxis, TheGamer, Creative Bloq
PS5 ProThree graphics modes. Performance mode with ray tracing mostly holds 60 fps; the frame rate drops in some boss battles and in the heavy rain of the Pangzhen region. One reviewer also notes blown-out sound effects and quiet dialogue.Push Square, Insider Gaming
Steam Deck“Even at the lowest possible settings, the game can’t hit 30 FPS”: 23 to 27 fps in the Crimson Forest with dips to 10, and two to two and a half hours of battery. The same site rates the game itself 10/10 and the Deck experience 1/5.Steam Deck HQ

If you have the choice, play on PC or on a PS5 Pro; on a base PS5 choose Performance mode before the first fight. Skip the Steam Deck for now and check back after the first patches. The PC specs by tier are on our PC requirements page.

What previews said before launch

The last round of hands-on previews, from near-final builds of four to six hours, was published on 8 and 9 October 2026. Writers who played early builds agreed on two things, and the reviews bore both out: it is hard but not punishing, and it is closer to an action game than to a soulslike.

Preview verdicts, oldest first

  1. But Why Tho, October 2024

    “is not a Soulslike title, though one can be forgiven for having that thought”

  2. IGN, 2025 hands-on

    “even at the default setting that I played at, Phantom Blade 0 is hard, and I loved that about it. It never felt cheap; it just demanded more from me.”

  3. PC Gamer, August 2025

    “And it's really not a Soulslike”; “Even Hellwalker doesn't feel as hard as, say, Nioh”

  4. DualShockers, October 2026

    Calls it “hard” but not “overly punitive”: “almost every boss demands the exact same core execution: mastering parry timing.”

  5. Game Informer, October 2026

    “I hesitate to place the game in the Souls-like genre – it seems generally more forgiving – but the level layout recalls that structure”

  6. Game Rant, October 2026

    Groups it with “Soulslike-adjacent titles, which take heavy inspiration from the genre while also offering distinct mechanics”

The soulslike question in full, with the director’s own words, is on Is Phantom Blade Zero a soulslike?

What is not yet known

  • The day-one patchEvery review ran on a pre-launch build; whether the PS5 frame-rate drops in rain and boss fights survive the 29 October patch is not yet known.
  • User scoresMetacritic user reviews and Steam reviews open only when the game unlocks on 29 October 2026.
  • Steam Deck statusValve has not rated it; the one Deck review finds it under 30 fps at the lowest settings on the pre-launch build.

Phantom Blade Zero reviews FAQ

When is the Phantom Blade Zero review embargo?

It lifted on 26 October 2026 at 00:00 UTC, which is 25 October at 20:00 in New York and 26 October at 09:00 in Tokyo: the first reviews carry that time stamp. S-GAME never announced the date; the two reports of 20 October turned out right.

Are there any Phantom Blade Zero review scores yet?

Yes: on 26 October 2026 Metacritic showed 88 on both PC (33 critic reviews) and PS5 (26), and OpenCritic a Top Critic Average of 91 from 36 reviews, with every critic recommending the game. Of the 15 scores we list, four are full marks; Eurogamer’s 3/5 and Creative Bloq’s 7/10 are the only mixed ones.

What did the Phantom Blade Zero previews say?

Writers who played early builds agreed on two things, and the reviews bore both out: it is hard but not punishing, and it is closer to an action game than to a soulslike.

Sources for this page 30
  1. Introduction Press-reported Metacritic, PC and PS5 pages, and OpenCritic, read 26 October 2026, 13:30 UTC.
  2. Phantom Blade Zero review embargo date Press-reported TheGamer, DualShockers and Screen Rant reviews, each stamped 25 October 2026, 8:00 PM EDT; TwistedVoxel and Playfront, 20 October 2026, for the earlier reports. Official site and store pages read 26 October 2026.
  3. Phantom Blade Zero review scores Press-reported Metacritic critic reviews, PS5 and PC; OpenCritic; both read 26 October 2026, 13:30 UTC. The opening 91 and the 100% recommend figure via Output Lag and TheGamer, 26 October 2026.
  4. Phantom Blade Zero review scores Press-reported TheGamer, 5/5, 25–26 October 2026.
  5. Phantom Blade Zero review scores Press-reported Wccftech, 10/10, 25–26 October 2026 (score and quote as listed by the aggregator or roundup linked).
  6. Phantom Blade Zero review scores Press-reported PlayStation Universe, 10/10, 25–26 October 2026.
  7. Phantom Blade Zero review scores Press-reported PCGamesN, 10/10, 25–26 October 2026 (score and quote as listed by the aggregator or roundup linked).
  8. Phantom Blade Zero review scores Press-reported Gamersky, 9.8/10, 25–26 October 2026 (score and quote as listed by the aggregator or roundup linked).
  9. Phantom Blade Zero review scores Press-reported DualShockers, 9.5/10, 25–26 October 2026.
  10. Phantom Blade Zero review scores Press-reported IGN, 9/10, 25–26 October 2026 (score and quote as listed by the aggregator or roundup linked).
  11. Phantom Blade Zero review scores Press-reported Push Square, 9/10, 25–26 October 2026.
  12. Phantom Blade Zero review scores Press-reported TheSixthAxis, 9/10, 25–26 October 2026.
  13. Phantom Blade Zero review scores Press-reported Insider Gaming, 9/10, 25–26 October 2026.
  14. Phantom Blade Zero review scores Press-reported Screen Rant, 9/10, 25–26 October 2026.
  15. Phantom Blade Zero review scores Press-reported VGC, 4/5, 25–26 October 2026.
  16. Phantom Blade Zero review scores Press-reported Checkpoint Gaming, 8/10, 25–26 October 2026 (score and quote as listed by the aggregator or roundup linked).
  17. Phantom Blade Zero review scores Press-reported Creative Bloq, 7/10, 25–26 October 2026.
  18. Phantom Blade Zero review scores Press-reported Eurogamer, 3/5, 25–26 October 2026 (score and quote as listed by the aggregator or roundup linked).
  19. Phantom Blade Zero review scores Press-reported Polygon, no score, 25–26 October 2026 (score and quote as listed by the aggregator or roundup linked).
  20. How it runs on PS5, PC and Steam Deck Press-reported Steam Deck HQ, 25 October 2026, for the Deck figures; Push Square and Insider Gaming for PS5 Pro; TheSixthAxis and TheGamer for the base PS5; Screen Rant and DualShockers for PC.
  21. How it runs on PS5, PC and Steam Deck Press-reported Notebookcheck, 26 October 2026, summarising Wccftech’s RTX 4080 figures, Glitched’s RTX 5080 frame pacing, Creative Bloq’s PS5 slowdowns and the pre-release patch.
  22. What previews said before launch Press-reported RPGFan, 8 October 2026; CGMagazine, October 2026.
  23. What previews said before launch Press-reported
  24. What previews said before launch Press-reported
  25. What previews said before launch Press-reported
  26. What previews said before launch Press-reported
  27. What previews said before launch Press-reported
  28. What previews said before launch Press-reported
  29. Introduction Official youtube.com/watch
  30. Introduction Official pbz.s-game.com/en-US
Release timeWhen Phantom Blade Zero unlocks in your time zone. Pre-load and download sizeThe announced 27 October pre-load on all platforms and the reported 134.857 GB PS5 download. Is it a soulslike?The director’s answer, the four difficulty modes and what happens when you die. How long is it?12 chapters across nine regions, four endings, and every published estimate of the hours.