Feature: How Difficult Is Phantom Blade Zero?

Since its initial announcement, conversation surrounding Phantom Blade Zero’s challenge level has been extensive. Is it akin to a Soulslike? Will it repeatedly defeat you? Are you likely to find yourself ensnared by a particular boss for several days?

Now that I’ve experienced it firsthand, I believe it’s beneficial to attempt to elucidate just how challenging Phantom Blade Zero truly is.

The reality is that not everyone possesses the time or tolerance to confront difficult games. Thus, the level of challenge can be a significant deciding factor for some individuals.

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If you belong to that group of prospective purchasers, the encouraging news is that Phantom Blade Zero offers three quite distinct difficulty modes right from the start.

Below, I have outlined the three difficulty levels along with concise explanations of their variations.

• Wayfarer (easy) – Opponents are somewhat less aggressive and inflict reduced damage. Their defenses are also simpler to breach.
• Pathbreaker (normal) – Opponents are quite aggressive and inflict moderate damage. Their defenses require a bit of time to break.
• Hellwalker (hard) – Opponents are extremely aggressive and inflict greater damage. Proper usage of parries is essential to breach defenses effectively.

An extra difficulty setting becomes available after completing the game:

• 66 Days (challenge mode) – Opponents appear to possess the same attributes as Hellwalker, but you are limited to just 66 lives. Once you exhaust them, it’s a permanent game over. 66 Days is the sole setting that needs to be unlocked, and it cannot be switched to during play; it must be chosen at the beginning of a new game.

With that clarification, I’ll be honest with you: Phantom Blade Zero is not an effortless game on any of these modes. It’s intended to be a demanding action experience,

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