Phantom Blade Zero has the perfect solution to the biggest Elden Ring hype

Phantom Blade Zero is the best action RPG I’ve played all year. The astonishing array of imaginative weapons available to the wuxia hero Soul, all painstakingly animated through authentic martial arts choreography, is what truly sets the game apart. This is not a Soulslike. You lose nothing when you die, enemies never respawn, stamina is plentiful, there are no RPG stats, and you’ll restart at phase two of a boss if you beat phase one. However, Phantom Blade Zero addresses two of my biggest complaints with most Soulslikes, one of which still bothers me every time I sit down to play Elden Ring with a new character.

The weapons emporium is open.

Nothing puts me off faster than barely surviving a tough boss fight and then excitedly running to the blacksmith to forge your weapon, only to discover that it has almost the exact same moveset as the longsword I found in a bin 40 hours ago. This universally feared instrument of death is actually a normal sword with better stats. If I’m lucky, I may have a special charged attack, often one so slow that I can only use it against most enemies with 14 days’ notice.

The weapons in Phantom Blade Zero (the main ones you use all the time and the secondary weapons you use on special occasions) feel different, and almost every major boss drops one (there are a few). a lot of bosses). There are also a lot of swords in this game, and it’s cool to swing them, hearing the clash of steel like icebergs colliding. There are also twin daggers that attack on their own, gauntlets that pulverize the air, greatswords that trade your health for damage, chained axes that would be the envy of Kratos, and literal instruments whose plucked strings send searing arcs of energy through enemies. Swords extend, spirits surround you, clubs spin like food processors (processors, if you will) and fire roars at your request.

Now comes the best part. You are perfectly capable of using all of these weapons. all the time. Elden Ring is full of unique death dispensers, but its weapon upgrade system is so laborious that you’re often stuck with a handful of weapons until you’re very late in the game and the materials can be purchased. Even then, you can only max out a few weapons each match. The question is not: “Do I like this new sword better?” Instead, you ask yourself, “Can I upgrade this to the same level as the old reliable?” Don’t take me to a buffet and then give me a plate the size of my fist. I want to throw myself like a pig! I want to try everything and Phantom Blade Zero lets me.

When you upgrade a weapon in Phantom Blade Zero, you add materials to it to increase its attack power and unlock additional bonuses and attacks. One-handed, two-handed, and two-handed weapons have their own upgrade materials, as do the different secondary weapon archetypes. This encourages you to use, say, a one-handed sword and a dual weapon so you can upgrade both to their maximum, while two different one-handed swords would compete for materials.

If you ever want to change weapons, you can simply downgrade your current one to refund all the stones and XP that were used. It’s very easy. It costs nothing until you reach level 10, and even then it only requires a coupon of which I’ve found dozens. It is such a simple and elegant system. Finding upgrade materials does not upgrade a weapon: it increases the effective level of all your weapons.

It’s hard to overstate how much this change improves the flow of a game. Every new boss weapon is exciting because I know I can use it immediately. There are no statistics or stones that stop me. I switch weapons all the time in Phantom Blade Zero, not because I’m bored, but because I want it all.

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He best games of 2026 so far, and there is still much to do.