It has been under a week since Beast of Reincarnation launched, and in that time, many players around the globe have flocked in to see if Game Freak’s talents can translate to a very different experience. If we look exclusively at review scores, it is clear that there are some rough edges and some pretty glaring issues that led many to write it off as a mediocre launch with some obvious technical and mechanical flaws, and while I do think there is a lot of potential and some very interesting ideas, the criticism is fairly justified across the board. The expectations for this game weren’t insanely high; however, because it isn’t a genre-defining, GOTY front-runner, the title of this year’s best ARPG has suddenly become wide open for a new challenger.
I am, of course, talking about Phantom Blade Zero, an upcoming ARPG that sits firmly near the top of Steam’s wishlist leaderboard, and after several delays and many years of waiting, we will only have to hold on for a few more months until we get our hands on one of the most anticipated games of 2026. Although the two games are fundamentally different in gameplay, setting, and story, they share many similarities, which is why I feel it could be both a blessing and a curse for Phantom Blade 0 that Beast of Reincarnation didn’t quite hit the mark. The hype and the attention are going to be at an all-time high, and if the release date pushback and long development time pay off, then we could be in for a truly incredible game, but if not, due to all the extra eyeballs on it, the critical wave is going to be of biblical proportions and will force it into obscurity shortly after launch.
Phantom Blade Zero May Steal the ARPG Spotlight
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Image via S-GAME
When Beast of Reincarnation was announced, I was easily at the front of the hype train, as even discounting the Game Freak logo popping up, the visuals, gameplay, and style seemed genuinely interesting—and I was eager to play it from the moment I laid eyes on it. Fast-forward to today, and although I am still having a blast with it, my playthrough has certainly been met with its fair share of problems, from the abysmal performance to the enemy variety to the strange music placement that unsuccessfully attempts to mimic the same feeling as Stellar Blade. Thankfully, the devs have already come out and said they will be addressing many of these issues head-on, but as is the way with the games industry, the damage has already been done.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Easy (120s)Medium (90s)Hard (60s)
Enter Phantom Blade Zero, another East Asian ARPG that shares a lot of concepts with Beast of Reincarnation, only this game was announced well over three years ago, and looks to be a whole lot more impressive in just about every way imaginable. First, there’s the aesthetic, which is much darker yet still strikingly beautiful, inspired heavily by historical Chinese myths and sites to create a world that feels alluring and authentic all at the same time. Then, there’s the gameplay, a departure from the previous wave of soulslikes that blends classic Kung Fu styles with an array of multi-functional weapons, each with their own playstyles and skills to keep the combat from getting too stale over the course of the story.
Finally, it has a story that tells the tale of Soul and his journey to escape death and potentially save the world from the evil forces that seek to destroy it. The devs do a great job of setting the scene as well, using terms like “he moves through a world of shifting loyalties and silent blades”, amping you up for the epic adventure to come, without giving too much away about what happens at the end of the narrative. Bringing all these elements together, and you end up with a solid-sounding ARPG that pays homage and takes influence from, but doesn’t copy other titles in the genre and wider industry. And, given how lukewarm the competition in the space is right now, I see no reason why Phantom Blade Zero can’t just waltz in and take the throne for itself.
It could be both a blessing and a curse for Phantom Blade 0 that Beast of Reincarnation didn’t quite hit the mark.
Yet, there is a nervous feeling in my mind that comes when you set your expectations above the norm, and the reason I feel so strongly that way is that we have already seen another game with insane hype fail to meet those unachievable heights. Crimson Desert genuinely felt like it came and went in a flash, having a ridiculous proposition on its shoulders that it was never going to live up to, and although I would consider the game to be bad or even average, considering how many people expected a 10/10 banger, it is a little sad that we ended up with yet another decent open-world RPG. And for Phantom Blade Zero, that same fate may be in store, as while they may understand the standards people have set for them and will have adjusted internally to account for that, they really need to get all of the basics right first, like optimization and polish, before they can even think about making a fool of the competition.
That’s why I think Beast of Reincarnation has put Phantom Blade Zero in a curious position, by releasing something that a lot of players consider to be just fine, but not exceptional. It means that Phantom Blade Zero could blow the doors off the genre and make a real push for the coveted Game of the Year, yet because people probably won’t be gushing about Game Freak’s latest IP in the next month or so, the entire spotlight becomes centered on this new and promising project that could just as easily come crashing down. I will say, we still have Onimusha: Way of the Sword coming in September, which may very well calm down those hungry action fans who were thoroughly disappointed with Beast of Reincarnation, but then again, it could also have the opposite effect and upstage the remaining martial arts games going into the final months of the year.
There’s a lot to digest and to think about, and I do believe that in the end, Phantom Blade Zero will be able to sound off 2026 with a bang, at least before Grand Theft Auto 6 drops. Negativity aside, the video game industry has become overwhelmingly impressive in recent times, to the point that we are consistently seeing real era-defining titles hit our screens from a range of different developers and genres. So even if games like Beast of Reincarnation come along and aren’t a life-changing, transcendent experience that makes you reevaluate your entire reality, at least they can still be pretty fun in the end and a good lesson to those who come after.
Phantom Blade Zero
- Released
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October 29, 2026
- Developer(s)
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S-Game
- Publisher(s)
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S-Game
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 5
- Franchise
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Phantom Blade
