How long does it take to beat Phantom Blade Zero? Expect about 30 to 40 hours for the main story and 45 to 50 hours to see everything, based on the reviews published on October 26. Director Qiwei “Soulframe” Liang gives a lower 25 to 30 hours for experienced players who don’t get stuck on bosses. The game has at least 50 bosses and four difficulty modes, from the story-friendly Wayfarer to the 66 Days death-counter mode. It launches on PS5 and PC on October 29 at 02:00 UTC.
This guide puts every playtime figure side by side, with who said it and on which build. Our Phantom Blade Zero reviews roundup has the Metascore and the full list of critics.
Table of Contents
Quick answer
- Main story: about 30 to 40 hours, judging by the reviews. Wccftech played “over 30 hours”; DualShockers says its campaign took “around 40 hours”; Insider Gaming spent “roughly 40 hours”.
- Completionist: 45 to 50 hours, according to Insider Gaming, depending on skill and difficulty.
- Developer estimate: 25 to 30 hours for experienced players who don’t get stuck on bosses (director Qiwei Liang to Vandal, October 11).
- Bosses: “at least 50”, says Liang. Wccftech’s review counts “over 50 bosses, many of them optional”.
- Difficulty modes: four: Wayfarer, Pathbreaker, Hellwalker and 66 Days. In 66 Days, each death costs Soul one of his remaining days.
- Boss checkpoints: if you die in a later phase, you restart from that phase, not from the start of the fight.
Director Qiwei Liang says there are at least 50 bosses, one for every weapon. Image: S-GAME
How long is Phantom Blade Zero?
The reviews put the main story longer than the developer does. Liang told the Spanish site Vandal that “a full playthrough from start to finish will take you about 25 or 30 hours”, and added that this is the length “for experienced players who don’t get stuck on bosses” (our translation). The critics who gave a number all landed higher. Reviewers explore more than most players and play builds before the final patch, so the most likely reason is time spent on optional areas and boss retries.
| Source | Playtime | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Director Qiwei Liang (Vandal, Oct 11) | 25-30 hours | Full playthrough, experienced player |
| Wccftech review | Over 30 hours | Time the reviewer spent with the game (PC) |
| DualShockers review | Around 40 hours | Campaign completion (PC) |
| Insider Gaming review | Roughly 40 hours | Time the reviewer spent with the game (PS5 Pro) |
| Insider Gaming review | 45-50 hours | Completionist playthrough |
| Chinese reports via PSU (Jan 2025) | 20-30 hours + about 20 hours of side content | Early estimate, before the final build |
Main story vs 100% completion
Most of the gap between a story run and a full clear comes from optional content. DualShockers says there are “two optional regions in the game, both massive and fully realized” that it would have missed by sticking to the main path. PCGamesN describes five main open areas plus a few smaller ones, and says each map takes “about five hours to fully explore”. Hidden bosses, side quests and collectible documents are spread across all of them.
A practical plan: budget 30 hours if you mostly follow the main quest, 40 if you explore as you go, and 50 if you want every boss and region before the credits.
How many bosses are in Phantom Blade Zero?
At least 50. Liang gave the number in a group interview with 4Gamer, as reported by GamingBolt on October 11. His reasoning is that every weapon comes from a boss: “There are 30 main weapons and about 20 secondary weapons, all of which you can obtain by defeating the boss. There are bosses as many as there are weapons, so there are at least 50 of them, and in reality, there might be even more.”
The reviews support that number. Wccftech says the game “features over 50 bosses, many of them optional”, and that apart from “a handful of exceptions dictated by story reasons”, almost none are repeated. Push Square notes that beating a boss often earns you its weapon. That is why optional bosses matter: skip them and you also skip weapons.
Defeated bosses often drop their weapon, so optional fights add to your arsenal. Image: S-GAME
Boss phases and checkpoints
Most big fights have more than one phase. PCGamesN says “two, or sometimes three phases are regular occurrences”. The game is forgiving about them. Eurogamer explains that if you die in the second phase, you re-enter the fight at the start of that phase with full resources. Dexerto says the checkpoints let you restart from the second or third phase. Wccftech notes the phase checkpoints remain even on Hellwalker.
Secret bosses and rematches
Several reviewers say the maps hide secret bosses. PCGamesN found “fun hidden bosses and challenges” on every map, and Dexerto calls the world “brimming with secret bosses”. Early 2025 reports from Chinese outlets, covered by Push Square, also described a separate mode for re-fighting defeated bosses that leads to more hidden ones. None of the reviews we read confirmed how that mode works in the final game, so treat it as unconfirmed until launch.
Phantom Blade Zero difficulty modes explained
Phantom Blade Zero has four difficulty settings. That’s unusual for a game that looks this much like a Soulslike. S-Game detailed the modes in August, as GamingBolt reported:
| Mode | What it does | Who it’s for |
|---|---|---|
| Wayfarer | Described by S-Game as “intuitive and cinematic”, so that “anyone” can feel like a kung fu master | Story-first players and newcomers |
| Pathbreaker | The standard difficulty | Most action game players |
| Hellwalker | Bosses adapt to your tactics in real time and punish mistakes harder | Veterans of the genre |
| 66 Days | Hellwalker difficulty, but every death removes one of Soul’s remaining 66 days; at zero the run ends for good | A post-game challenge (see below) |
Eurogamer’s review calls the standard mode “pathfinder”. We use Pathbreaker, the name in S-Game’s August coverage.
How does Hellwalker change bosses?
Liang described the difference in PC Gamer magazine (transcribed by GamesRadar and covered by Push Square), using a boss called Huangxing as the example. On normal difficulty, Huangxing uses fixed combos you can learn. On Hellwalker, his AI reacts to the situation: if an attack lands, the combo continues, and if it misses, he tries something else. Liang said the idea comes from fighting games.
How do you unlock 66 Days mode?
According to GamingBolt’s report on S-Game’s reveal, 66 Days opens up after you finish the game, and a Pathbreaker completion is enough. It isn’t a mode you can pick on your first run. Unlike classic permadeath, a death costs one day rather than the whole save. Eurogamer confirms the rule: you lose one of Soul’s 66 days each time you die.
Can you change difficulty mid-game?
Yes, for the standard modes. Push Square’s review says the easy, normal and hard options are “in the pause menu”. It adds that “nothing is lost upon death, and the enemies don’t respawn”. So if a boss wall stops you, you can drop to Wayfarer for that fight and switch back afterwards.
PCGamesN says each main map takes about five hours to fully explore. Image: S-GAME
Is Phantom Blade Zero hard?
Reviewers mostly call it challenging but fair. They disagree about the bosses.
- Push Square (9/10): “a challenging game — and downright punishing in places — but it never feels insurmountable.”
- Dexerto (4/5): regular enemies “felt like glorified punching bags that rarely posed a threat” even on the highest starting difficulty, but the bosses carry the challenge.
- Press Start: played on “the peak Hellwalker difficulty” and found some regular enemies “a little too spongy”.
- Eurogamer (3/5): many bosses felt “spongy” on the standard mode, and even on Wayfarer. Eurogamer also reports that S-Game released a 67GB update two days before the review embargo. The studio said it aims to make “the difficulty curve feel smoother”. Eurogamer found the sponginess still there in several early boss fights after the patch.
The takeaway: Insider Gaming compares the parry system to Sekiro at its best, so genre veterans should feel at home on Pathbreaker or Hellwalker. If you’re new to the genre, Wayfarer and the phase checkpoints keep it manageable. Players who mostly care about the story should know it drew the most criticism in the reviews. Our Metacritic and review scores breakdown covers that in detail.
When can you start playing?
Phantom Blade Zero unlocks digitally on October 29 at 02:00 UTC on PS5, Steam and the Epic Games Store. In the US, that’s 7 pm PT / 10 pm ET on October 28. The Standard Edition is $59.99 on Steam. Pre-load opens on October 27. Our Phantom Blade Zero release times and physical edition guide has every time zone and edition. The PS5 boxed release isn’t due until 2027.
New to the series? It started on mobile, and our Phantom Blade: Executioners guide covers that spin-off. If you’re weighing it against FromSoftware’s games, our Soulsborne DLC ranking covers the genre’s biggest expansions.
FAQ
How long does it take to beat Phantom Blade Zero?
About 30 to 40 hours for the main story, based on reviews from Wccftech, DualShockers and Insider Gaming. The director’s estimate for experienced players is 25 to 30 hours.
How long is Phantom Blade Zero 100% completion?
Insider Gaming puts a completionist playthrough at 45 to 50 hours, depending on your skill and difficulty setting.
How many bosses does Phantom Blade Zero have?
At least 50, according to director Qiwei Liang, and Wccftech’s review says many of them are optional. Bosses drop the game’s 30 main weapons and about 20 secondary weapons.
Is there a new game plus or harder mode after the ending?
66 Days, a Hellwalker-level mode with a death counter, unlocks after you finish the game, per GamingBolt’s report on S-Game’s reveal. S-Game hasn’t detailed other post-game features yet.
Sources: Vandal, GamingBolt (bosses), GamingBolt (difficulty), Wccftech, DualShockers, Insider Gaming, PCGamesN, Push Square, Eurogamer, Dexerto, Press Start, Push Square (Hellwalker), PSU, Steam. Review figures checked October 26, 2026 at 11:00 UTC.
Live: Follow today’s gaming news as it happens
Featured image: AI-generated illustration
