Recently, an editor from the foreign media outlet ComicBook published an article stating that the combat satisfaction in "Phantom Blade Zero" doesn't just come from increased difficulty. Smooth animations, parry feedback, and switching between weapons and "Phantom Blades" collectively create a dynamic combat rhythm, allowing players to experiment with different move combinations.
In this editor's experience, players don't always have to opt for the safest survival strategy; they can turn ordinary encounters into martial arts spectacles. However, emphasizing combat expressiveness doesn't eliminate the need for technical skill: identifying enemy moves, finding openings, and judging the timing of attacks still require proficiency, which yields clear rewards once the system is mastered.
Rather than relying on memorizing boss patterns through repetition to win, the editor prefers to remember battles where they executed impressive maneuvers. As players become more familiar with the system, their characters feel stronger and their controls more precise, creating a different kind of satisfaction through this sense of growth.
After experiencing the "Hellwalker" difficulty, the editor still desired even greater challenges, but believes that personal preferences for difficulty shouldn't overshadow the combat expressiveness the game has already demonstrated. These judgments stem from personal experience and genre perspectives, not an objective conclusion on difficulty balance or final quality.