Now, I know CES is not typically geared toward gaming or gamers, but every so often, you stumble into something that genuinely gets you hyped. That is exactly what happened to me during CES 2026. Hidden way in the back of Hisense’s massive booth, the company had several of its high-end 320Hz displays set up, and every single one of them was running a new build of Phantom Blade Zero. If you have been reading my coverage of the game, then you already know I have been waiting to get my hands on this again.
What makes this even crazier is that I did not even realize Hisense had the game at its booth, despite walking past the area multiple times. I only figured it out because I noticed someone walking around with a Phantom Blade Zero bag, and that instantly made me stop and think, “Wait, where did they get that?” It wasn’t until I got back to my hotel room and started searching the internet that I made the connection that Hisense was hosting the game in its area.
So how was Phantom Blade Zero? Honestly, it was really damn amazing. And it was not just because it looked gorgeous running on those monitors. The build I played was easily the best version of the game I have experienced so far, and I walked away feeling like this thing is way closer to release-ready than I expected. I fact, when I made my way over to the game, I was told this was a brand-new build.
This build felt close to final for a couple of reasons. First, the optimization was excellent. The game was running at a smooth 60 frames per second, and it was doing it on a base PlayStation 5. That is a big deal, because if it can run this cleanly there, then there’s a big chance that the PC version will also equally run that good. Or at least I hope so.
Another thing that immediately stood out is that this build finally had a proper tutorial. In previous versions I played, you were mostly thrown in and expected to adapt, but here I was eased into the mechanics and actually taught the core systems. I worked through attack combos, parrying, blocking, dodging, and all of the essentials. Once the tutorial wrapped up, I had to prove I was able to apply what I learned by taking down a training opponent.
After that, I was asked to choose a difficulty and then I got dropped into the main game. I do not remember the exact names of the difficulty options, but the choices were basically an easier mode that leaned more into story, a standard balanced mode, and a harder mode built for players who want to focus on combat. I also remember hearing the final version is expected to include four difficulty options, so this might not even be the full lineup.
The best part of this build, though, was that there were no restrictions, and I loved that. I could actually play with not time limits, no artificial walls. I fought through waves of enemies, some of which were genuinely tough and could overwhelm you if you got surrounded, and I also got to run into several bosses. Finally, this felt like the opening of the full game as I was also treated to story bits of the game, and to which I played I won’t spoil for those looking forward to the game.
The combat was simply amazing, full of insane moves, fast and wasn’t as punishing as people assumed that the game would be. The more I played, the better I got, and the more I understood the mechanics, and after a bit I was becoming quite the killing the machine. And damn, those boss encounters were really fun. Sure, I got my ass kicked the first few times, but it wasn’t simply “hit the boss until it dies,” and forced me to pay attention, and pick my moments and sure, sometimes smash the attack button.
I ended up playing for about an hour before putting the controller down. Part of that was because I was at CES to work, but the other part was that I had drawn a pretty big crowd while playing, and that made me nervous. I have never liked having a lot of people watching me play a game, and that feeling goes all the way back to the arcade days. I get in my head, I start overthinking everything, and suddenly I am playing worse because I know eyes are on me.
That, and honestly, I could tell I was starting to spoil myself. I knew once CES was over, I would be right back to waiting for the release before I could touch the game again. Still, everything I played here only reinforced what I have been feeling for a while now. At least to me, S-Game has a hit on its hands.
Now, I also have to mention this, because I can already hear the Soulslike arguments gearing up. The game has what are basically “bonfires.” You can rest at them and teleport to other areas. But the moment you use one, enemies in the area reset. So even though S-Game has been pretty clear that this is not a Soulslike, people are absolutely going to point at this system and go, “See? Soulslike.” I am just telling you now, that conversation is coming.
I really wish I could have recorded some over-the-shoulder gameplay, but I was worried someone would walk in front of the camera or worse, knock it down completely. And with how packed CES gets, that fear is not even paranoia. Either way, I was extremely impressed with what I played. I did not expect to get that much quality hands-on time with Phantom Blade Zero, and it ended up being one of the best surprises of the entire show.
Phantom Blade Zero is currently set to release on PlayStation 5 and PC on September 9, 2026.
