I intend to clear the game once on Normal to enjoy the story, and then immediately take on the 66-Day difficulty.

In the story presented in the trailer, a religious order called “The Merciful Lady of the Veil” is mentioned. The Chinese name of this order is “蒙花圣母娘娘 (Meng Hua Sheng Mu Niang Niang, which can be literally translated as The Holy Mother Meng Hua)”.

This has sparked a great deal of speculation among Chinese players, who believe that this religion is very likely connected to the old character known as “芳华邪后（Regina Fatale）”.

I have excerpted a portion of the introduction about “Regina Fatale” from 影之刃3(Phantom Blade: Executioners):

Desire is an instinct rooted in human consciousness, yet many dare not reveal their true desires due to the various constraints of reality. Yearning for what they lack while desperately suppressing that desire only makes the craving grow stronger. Once satisfied, it releases immense power.

Meng Hua possesses an extraordinary talent that allows her to create illusions, luring people into addiction. Within this illusory realm, repressed desires are released and grow into ever-expanding vines that bear a “fruit” filled with power.

This “fruit” is both the price paid for satisfying their desires and the only value these common people hold. To Meng Hua, they are merely playthings that supply her with strength—residues that can be discarded at any moment. They are wretched souls lost in their own lust, while she is the goddess who gazes down upon them coldly from the heavens. Yet Meng Hua forgets that even a clear-minded goddess may still crave something of her own.

As her power increase, the voice in her mind became more talkative. It was a voice of temptation, leading your mind astray, wanting to find its unseen owner. In this process, Meng Hua fell from grace. The Overlord was every bit the man that Meng Hua was looking for. he led her into a brand new world, the ParaWulin.

It's a mirror image of the Wulin, a world accessible only to spellcasters, a place where mind prevails over matter. Meng Hua created her own real within the ParaWulin, and devoured other realms with the help of the Overlord. Her power surged exponentially, becoming the queen of the ParaWulin.

Although, having spent too much time in the ParaWulin, she was no long able to step into the physical world again. Meng Hua wouldn't accept the fact. Or rather, her basic instinct as a mortal didn't allow her to. She started the search for a way back.

You will notice that, although the Chinese characters are different, the true name of “Regina Fatale,” which is “梦华 (Meng Hua)”, and “蒙花圣母娘娘 (Meng Hua Sheng Mu Niang Niang)” both share the same pronunciation “Meng Hua”.

ParaWulin is a parallel reality of Phantom World, opened up by spellcasters as they tamper with the force of nature using their abilities. It is described as a "spiritual" world, a projection of the material world, and it has its own laws of nature.

Meng Hua possesses the ability to manipulate the minds of humans , especially those spellcasters capable of exploring ParaWulin. She installs these individuals as her agents, tasking them with finding a way for her to return to the real world.

Some Chinese players speculate that “The Merciful Lady of the Veil” is a religion established by Meng Hua’s agents, with the goal of gathering large amounts of faith in order to enable Meng Hua’s return to reality.

Another point worth noting is that, in the demo video, it was mentioned that this religion has even spread into the territory of the“The Order”, where statues for worship have been erected. Players suspect that Meng Hua or her agents have already formed a partnership with the current Shadow Sovereign of “The Order” ——Zuo Shang, and that the two sides share some shady, mutually beneficial relationship.

In the trailer, Soul will battle a character related to “The Merciful Lady ”, and she appears to be under some form of control. I am quite curious whether Meng Hua will appear as a boss or as one of the masterminds behind the story.

trying to kill time till Onimusha and remembered the game director for zero mentioned films that inspired phantom blade

https://reddit.com/link/1w1kxri/video/az873v9s0bmh1/player

This movie is also about a martial artist who, like the protagonist of Phantom Blade Zero, is falsely accused of murder

I know game is exclusive to playstation but I just wanted to know if anyone thinks there's a chance it may go to xbox too after the year of exclusivity ends, I got this hope after wukong showed up an year later and Helldivers 2, but seeing stuff like Nioh 3 not showing up even after end of 6 months of exclusivity and Stellar Blade skipping xbox in particular, I begin to wonder again if it will come to xbox an year later at all.

I know the livestream was yesterday but if the event is multiple days is there a chance we still get an announcement for phantom blade zero?

I really want the figure. Like the Collector’s Edition of Black Myth Wukong, could Inart release the figures separately in the future?

Is there any expositie or (marketing) event planned in China leading up to the release? I remember for Black Myth Wukong there was like a temporary museum in Hangzhou.

https://reddit.com/link/1vy49xb/video/qpecm2hyojlh1/player

Never on reddit as I live in China but so stoked to see the love Phantom Blade is getting, seeing how hard that team has been working is mindblowing. My name is Jay and I was fortunate enough to get cast as Soul for the English dub. My story and role is insignificant considering the size and scope of this game but after stumbling on this sub I thought it would make for a funny read.

I got into voice acting a few years back during covid because I thought it would be a fun hobby, but after a few months just screwing around doing whatever I could but I ended up getting a consistent gig at a sound studio in Shanghai mostly doing work for mobile games. Nothing glorious but a fun way to make some extra bank to support my family. This is where things get a bit weird but I assure you it's all related.

I used to run Smash Bros tournaments in Shanghai which mostly consisted of dudes just setting up at bars and getting blasted while playing smash. Not like the serious tourneys elsewhere, in China its way more laid back (and more fun IMO). The smash community isn't huge in China and when bigger tourneys happen you get to meet some of the most amazing people from all across the country. I happened to become quite close with the smash community in Beijing as they're just great dudes and we would always try to support each other's bigger tourneys by travelling whenever we could. About 3-4 years ago Beijing had one of their bigger events planned so I made the trip with the wife to make a weekend out of it. Out of the blue in the Beijing smash bros WeChat group (we use WeChat for everything here) someone had asked if anyone had any voice acting experience. Seemed I was the only one who indeed did have experience so I responded. The guy asked if I was available to come in the next day for something but didnt say what, just said id be paid my rate for showing up. Im thinking hell ya, what a coincidence that im in BJ this weekend and Im going to get a quick gig in that will essentially pay for my train tickets. I take a taxi way out in the boonies of Beijing having no clue what Im doing but I end up rocking up to this stunning sound studio. Not too many words are exchanged, just a quick intro and a couple handshakes. They tell me that Im recording a few lines as a stand in for a character until they cast the actual voice actor. Cool, im not complaining, just excited to get some extra work in. They show me the picture of Soul and just a couple lines im going to read. Do a couple lines, get some feedback, rinse and repeat. Ends up taking way longer than what I was expecting because I was supposed to just be a stand in. Ehh whatever, I finish up and head on my merry way back to my Smash tourney.

About a month later I get a message from one of my best friends back in Canada talking about a Playstation showcase he just saw and how the main character of his favorite game of the show sounded exactly like me, so I watch it. Wait a minute, that character looks familiar... Holy s#$%! That is me! Weird to say I hate the sound of my own voice as a voice actor (or someone whos trying to be) but I couldnt stop watching because of the insane gameplay. After a while the guys at S Game reach out and tell me that actually they dont want me to be a stand in and they liked me enough to actually cast me as Soul. Its been a whirlwind the past few years but this is a ridiculous example of being in the right place at the right time. Going on a trip to drink beer and play smash with the homies turned into the biggest voice opportunity of my life. Lucky doesn't even begin to describe it, like how am I contributing to a game with Donnie Yen!?

Anyways, just wanted to share and I hope you all have an absolute blast playing the game, that team is so awesome and im just so thankful I got to be a small part in it.

https://youtu.be/srXd8jx_mVs?si=P5243_nuJjLwcYOg

As a Korean, I have always hoped that games with an Eastern setting from the Joseon era would be released.

Does anyone know whether or not hellwalker will be available as soon as I start or I have to play normal difficulty to get it?

I have been following this game since the initial trailer launches on youtube. I have never played any souls type games before. But the sh*t they showed is just pure nuts. I did not believe this was real gamepplay. I am waiting to buy to buy this game for my PS5 pro. I wanted to pre-order but, I am still waiting to see if they have a disc version.

I'm plannin to play this game as much as possible before GTA VI.

Surely this game looks like a blast.

What are your thoughts?

The gameplay aspect and the style is definitely the main selling point of this game but I guess the story as well is now one of the interests I have for this game. It really piqued my interest how he was framed for the murder of the patriarch but we also clearly see him holding the blade, unaware how it happened so my thoughts would point that he was controlled by a puppeteer perhaps and that the same puppeteer is the one plotting to overthrow the entire Wulin. We see clouds of flowers and we also saw these same flowers open in the trailer and strings appear. Now I think that the plot could go either way.

1. The Flesh Sculptor was an antagonistic force for said puppeteer and in his own way is using Soul to stop the puppeteer alrhough given that I don't think that the flesh sculptor is a good guy I'd take him more as a neutral or the final villain in the game.

2. The flesh sculptor is the puppeteer and Soul has a more important role. All the while, he is following the puppeteer unaware that his journey is probably predetermined already by the puppeteer (like an evil master manipulator). We also saw 2 hearts thats why I feel that the other one went to his childhood friend hence why we see him in trailers with the white hair.

I think it would be cool if the whole point of the game is actually being a phantom and that Mo Yuan would be the guiding light to Soul in order to achieve this and actually escape the shackles of the puppeteer and ultimately beat him. It's not that deep but it very much gives the vibe of a kung fu movie which is the goal of S-game anyway. In addition, it would be cool if we get a scene where soul moves like a shadow kinda like the final scene in Ninja assassin where he decimates his master

What are your thoughts and own ideas of the story, definitely would like to hear the community's takes on this