Capcom has been on a serious hot streak in the past few years, with a lot of their headlining franchises topping the charts and bringing in millions of new players. However, the release of Phantom Blade Zero, a blockbuster action game that shares a lot of similarities with some of the biggest names in the business, has suddenly put a lot more pressure on them to reignite the flame in their iconic hack-and-slash series that hasn’t received a mainline entry since 2019.
A lot of attention has been placed on soulslikes in recent times, driven by FromSoftware’s seemingly unstoppable streak of bangers, yet we may be seeing a shift towards a different kind of action game. Phantom Blade Zero itself is a much more traditional ARPG that clearly takes inspiration from other sides of the genre, notably in hack-and-slash games like Devil May Cry. The lack of Dante in the limelight doesn’t mean the hunger for stylish gameplay has gone away, and if Phantom Blade Zero manages to show that in a big way, then Capcom may realize just how valuable their dormant demon-hunter could be.
Phantom Blade Zero Is A Wake-Up Call For Devil May Cry
If you are someone who likes action games, it is safe to say you have been eating insanely well over the past decade or so. You have soulslikes like Bloodborne and Elden Ring, hack-n-slash bangers like Ninja Gaiden 4, and some brand new ARPGs like Phantom Blade Zero that are bringing their own spin to the genre. In any case, the gameplay is always the focus, but it doesn’t matter who you seem to talk to; whenever the topic of best combat is brought up, the Devil May Cry series always seems to crop up.
Guess the games from the emojis.
And it is easy to see why. From the first entry all those years ago to the triple protagonist setup in the fifth installment, the gameplay is borderline flawless and has so much style and flavor that virtually no other game can compete with. Many people criticize soulslikes for having a more sluggish style compared to these lightning-fast adventure games, and Phantom Blade Zero is very aware of that, choosing to introduce a unique gameplay approach that appears to borrow and include components from many different games in the action world, as well as a few of its own new ideas as well.
Phantom Blade Zero itself is a much more traditional ARPG that clearly takes inspiration from all sides of the genre, notably in hack-and-slash games like Devil May Cry
That is exactly what makes Phantom Blade Zero so exciting, as it isn’t just another soulslike, but a genuinely inventive game that is more than happy to fix and change many of the gripes people have been having with the ARPG genre for many years. In turn, it shifts the focus away from formulaic titles that have been following in FromSoftware’s footsteps and onto other action games and franchises that have been lacking in releases for quite some time, like Devil May Cry.
The gap between the last two Dante appearances was 11 years, excluding the reboot, and we are now 7 years into this run, making the wait start to feel quite awkward for Capcom given how many players have been waiting for a new Devil May Cry. Also, say what you will about the lows and highs of the series, the sales speak for themselves, with Devil May Cry 5 selling upwards of 15 million copies, making it one of Capcom’s most successful releases of all time. If a new game dropped tomorrow, it would guarantee a return for the developer, and considering how much hype a fresh IP like Phantom Blade Zero got, I find it hard to believe that there isn’t something cooking behind closed doors.
Devil May Cry’s Uncertain Future Could Give Its Competition the Upper Hand
So where is the next Devil May Cry game, and why are we still waiting for an announcement? Well, most of the information we have to go on is based on rumors and speculation about the internal setup of Capcom. Firstly, the longtime director of the franchise, Hidetaki Itusno, has now left Capcom after working on Dragon’s Dogma 2, which does raise some questions about the future of the franchise. There are also rumors of a remake for the first game, built on the RE engine which may or may or may not release before the next new entry into the series.
At the same time, as uncertain as things are, I do think Capcom is well aware of where they stand in the hack-n-slash world. There is no doubt that Devil May Cry is among the best of all time, with even their weakest points being better than most, but with so much innovation and progress coming from Phantom Blade Zero and other returning names like Ninja Gaiden, I do worry that if Capcom waits too long, they may fall into the trap of playing things too safe and struggle to keep up with the trends of the landscape.
Whatever the case, and whether a new Devil May Cry is in development or not, competition is always a good thing. The global attention and acclaim of Phantom Blade Zero and many other action games always sparks conversations about older titles and franchises, and experiencing a modern game with a hack-n-slash, soulslike, or kungfupunk style may very well lead to a major resurgence in interest in those genres, and as a result, hopefully the release of many sequels and remakes in the future.
Phantom Blade Zero
9/10
- Released
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October 29, 2026
- Developer(s)
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S-Game
- Publisher(s)
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S-Game
