"I would describe Phantom Blade Zero from two aspects," said S-GAME Founder and CEO Liang. "One is style. Phantom Blade Zero is an action-RPG that combines the Chinese kung fu culture with some modern pop culture elements, such as steampunk, cyberpunk, and anime and manga cultures. We created a new identity, as kungfupunk."The other aspect is Phantom Blade Zero's gameplay. Some people will describe the game as a Soulslike a la Elden Ring, while others will call it a hack-and-slash like Ninja Gaiden. They're both right and wrong."Phantom Blade Zero, for sure, incorporates some essence of both, but it's neither of them," Liang said. "We wanted to create new gameplay that's accessible to the majority of players. It does have some features learning from Souls games, learning from hack-and-slash games, but we put everything together to make a new genre."Wuxia is a genre of Chinese fantasy that centers on martial arts fighting. While it often features a historic setting grounded in reality, the fights are exaggerated. Characters move in ways that people cannot normally move—it's why wires are often used in filming these sorts of movies, like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or House of Flying Daggers.We're creating our own understanding of wuxia and our own understanding of how people can fight and do action in games," Liang said.Though Phantom Blade Zero uses the wuxia genre as a way to tell a universal story of "revenge, loyalty, love, and friendship," as Liang described it, the fighting is a major draw for players. It certainly looks like a Soulslike in some respects, with its moody color scheme and acrobatic fights. And then there's the clear inspiration from the likes of Ninja Gaiden or Devil May Cry, with their flashy and satisfying combo systems.But both genres have their issues, at least to Liang. Hack-and-slash games feel better to watch than play, according to Liang, and Soulslikes start with a character that's too weak. Phantom Blade Zero, from the start, was intended to make the player feel strong and powerful—even if they don't have the reaction timing to pull off fancy combinations.
Интервюто е много дълго,поствам само част.