Phantom Blade Zero devs are blissful they “did not should make all the pieces 100% balanced”

In multiplayer motion video games, it is vital that each weapon or character is equally helpful, at the very least as a lot as attainable. I spoke to Phantom Blade Zero’s director, Soulframe (S), about how S-Recreation managed 30 completely different weapons, and the way the workforce tried to make them balanced.

S is aware of stability is necessary in Phantom Blade Zero: “It is laborious, particularly for 30 completely different weapons,” he admits. “However the good factor is our sport is a single-player sport, and we do not have to make all the pieces 100% balanced, so there are stronger ones and weaker ones,” he continued. 

As an alternative of creating an motion sport the place each weapon is an effective possibility always, the place gamers can keep on with their favourite weapon, S-Recreation wished to make sure gamers experimented. 

Weapons are “the important thing to fixing the issue” within the sport, S stated. “So while you encounter some bosses and while you encounter some even minor completely different enemies, just like the protect man, the protect man is a bit of drawback, and you’ll resolve that with the axe or with the large flower blade. So in the entire course of, we carry on giving gamers completely different issues to be resolved, and typically these issues require sure weapons or some sure builds to resolve them.”

That’s an attention-grabbing strategy to method fight design. The weapons aren’t simply completely different skins of the identical factor; they fully change the harm you are in a position to do and the motion your character is able to. It pushes you to experiment to try to discover one of the simplest ways ahead. “We hope individuals discover as a lot as attainable and use completely different weapons to beat the boss,” Soulframe stated.

For instance, take the fire-breathing dragon masks, line-dancing boss from the latest trailer. You can chip away at his well being utilizing something out of your arsenal, however in my latest preview, I used to be in a position to take a weapon into the battle that lowered the affect of the boss’s major assault. Utilizing it made the battle a lot simpler, however Phantom Blade Zero does not push you in direction of sure items of kit; it leaves you to determine it out for your self.  

There are wacky and attention-grabbing weapons nonetheless to be revealed, and S-Recreation has been very intentional about how and while you unlock each. Whether or not you’ve got discovered a weapon you are snug with or not, it is best to nonetheless give each weapon a go while you discover them.