The one everybody gets wrong
It is not a soulslike, and S-GAME has said so directly. Their own description rests on three pillars: Devil May Cry's combat, Souls-style level design, and Resident Evil's atmosphere and narrative pacing. Hands-on previews describe a fast character-action game with combos, closer to Ninja Gaiden than to Lordran. If you are coming for a stamina bar and a bonfire loop, adjust the expectation now rather than in the first hour.
Buying it
📅 When and where
29 October 2026, on PlayStation 5 and PC (Steam and the Epic Games Store), as a digital release. A boxed PS5 version follows in 2027 in Standard, Deluxe and Ultimate editions, the Ultimate with a collectible steel case; it has no date or price yet. No Xbox or Switch 2 version has been announced — which is different from one having been delayed.
💵 The editions
Standard at $59.99 and Digital Deluxe at $69.99. The Deluxe adds the Wulin Legend and Blood-Steel Form outfits, a digital art book and the soundtrack.
🎁 Pre-order bonuses
Both editions unlock the Legacy outfit and the Treasure Basin accessory early, and both can also be earned by playing. The Treasure Basin raises the Remnant Dust drop rate by 10%, by the Steam and PlayStation Store listings: a small head start, not something you miss for good.
⏱️ How long
The estimates differ. TechRadar (January 2025) gave 20 to 30 hours for the main story plus about 20 of side content; GamingBolt (April 2026) up to 50 hours; Polygon (October 2026) quotes the director at 35 to 40; Vandal (11 October 2026) quotes him at 25 to 30 for experienced players.
Playing it
👥 Is there co-op?
Not in the campaign, and not confirmed anywhere else. The only source for co-op is a Discord Q&A from the May 2023 reveal, where S-GAME promised endgame multiplayer dungeons, a boss rush and a roguelike abyss. Three years on it has not been shown or repeated, and the store pages list single-player only — "Single-player" on Steam, "1 player" on the PlayStation Store. Treat it as unconfirmed until S-GAME says it again.
🔺 How hard is it?
Four settings — Wayfarer, Pathbreaker, Hellwalker and 66 Days (Push Square and Wccftech write it Sixty-Six Days). The last is a permadeath mode with Hellwalker's challenge: each death costs one of the sixty-six days, and the sixty-sixth ends the run. It unlocks after finishing the game once (Push Square; Wccftech calls it a New Game+ mode; GamingBolt says after finishing on Pathbreaker or Hellwalker). Difficulty is a choice here, not a badge, and S-GAME has made that literal: director Soulframe Liang said on Bilibili in September 2026 that every trophy can be earned in a single playthrough on any of the first three difficulties, Wayfarer included, and that 66 Days is not required for any of them. The Platinum on Wayfarer is on the table.
⚔️ How many weapons?
30 primary and 25 secondary phantom edges, carried two and two. Upgrades unlock new forms and can be reset for a refund, so committing early is not a trap.
🗺️ Is it open world?
No, and not linear either. Eight hand-painted maps connect into one seamless world — S-GAME's phrasing is that it is neither an open world nor a linear adventure from beginning to end.
The series
🔗 Do I need to have played anything?
No. S-GAME presents Zero as a new story that needs no knowledge of its earlier game, Phantom Blade: Executioners, a 2D side-scrolling action RPG.
🏮 What is Kungfupunk?
S-GAME's own label for the mix: Ming-dynasty China crossed with steampunk machinery, body modification, cyberpunk and horror. It is a genre name they made up, and it describes the game better than any existing one.
Still to verify
Cross-checked on 10 September 2026 against GamingBolt, Game Rant's hands-on impressions and the pre-order coverage of Gfinity, Beebom and Dot Esports, and on 14 September 2026 against Push Square's report of Soulframe Liang's Bilibili post, and re-checked on 1 October 2026 against Eurogamer.es, Vandal and Gamereactor, and on 3 October 2026 against MP1st and Wccftech, and on 22 October 2026 against the Steam and PlayStation Store listings, Push Square, Wccftech, GamingBolt, TheGamer, GameWatcher and GamingBible. What is still unverified is the only thing reading cannot settle — nobody here has played it.