Phantom Blade Zero is less like Sekiro and more like Wo Long Fallen Dynasty, and I couldn't have been happier.

I played Phantom Blade Zero last week at Gamescom and was quite impressed. After a little bit of confusion to find my booth on a crowded floor, I came away very satisfied. According to the reactions of other demo-trialers, including one who beat it 7 minutes ahead of me (I am not upset), this game is a sleeper.

S-Game's Phantom Blade Zero is the first major project from the studio. As PC Gamer's Rich Stanton pointed out last year, the game was also inspired by Rainblood: The Town of Death, an RPG maker title the team created in 2010. S-Game has since been pretty eager to draw a line between Phantom Blade Zero and soulslikes--revealing that while it's certainly drawn inspiration, it's definitely its own thing.

After getting my hands on it, I agree. Phantom Blade Zero is, in spirit, more like Team Ninja’s Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. It takes the trappings from FromSoftware’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and reinvents the genre into a Wuxia action romp. It's a genre divertissement that I'm gleeful about--I'm downright kicking my heels and giggling.

Phantom Blade Zero is not a game that is too concerned with rugged exploration and a million threats. It's not completely disinterested, but enemies do not respawn once you've defeated them. From what I've seen, the focus of the game is on boss fights.

It's not afraid of complexity. is a set of attacks that require a spot dodge or a parry. You can also use timed blocks to break stances (Sha-Chi depleting).

You'll find ranged weapons, such as a bow, arrows, or a tiger-headed giant that spews fire, and special moves powered by Sha-Chi Essence, called Power Surges.

It's all very over the top, in a deliciously outrageous way. You don't feel the need to be sensible or grounded. Like Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty it trades in deliberate and careful movements for cool tricks and flips. It gives players a wider toolbox , but alsoenemies who are more likely to confuse you, like you did when you first started playing EVO and didn't know how to dragon punch.

One of my favorites was a boss that threw me a heavy chain, flashing a red signal to warn me that I needed to dodge the attack perfectly. The mook threw his weapon up, forcing me (by the flex in his arm) to predict when it would come back down. If I was not in the right position, he would punish me by pulling away the weapon.

It's a delicious baseline of skill expression. It assumes that its players are competent enough to spice up its mechanics. I can't wait to play more. My attention (previously my interest) has turned into full-blown enthusiasm.