# Phantom Blade Zero vs Sekiro

As of 29 October 2026, 79% of 3,373 player reviews recommend Phantom Blade Zero, and 95% of 261,569 recommend Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

> Players compare Phantom Blade Zero with Sekiro more than with any other game. Both are built on deflections and boss fights, and players find Phantom Blade Zero far more forgiving.

## In short

Sekiro asks players to master one tight parry system and learn each boss, with no easier mode to fall back on, and players say its wins feel earned. Phantom Blade Zero has the deflections and the boss fights too, with long, flashy combos, more than 30 weapons and three difficulty modes, and many players find it easy. Players who want a hard test pick Sekiro, and those who want spectacle pick Phantom Blade Zero.

## At a glance

| | Phantom Blade Zero | Sekiro |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Released | 28 October 2026 | 21 March 2019 |
| Price at launch | $59.99 | Not listed |
| Developer | S-GAME Studio | FromSoftware |
| Publisher | S-GAME Publishing | Activision |
| Players recommend it | 79% of 3,373 reviews | 95% of 261,569 reviews |
| Our reading | 80 most helpful and 40 latest reviews, read 29 October 2026 | 80 most helpful and 40 latest reviews, read 22 October 2026 |

## What players praise

### Phantom Blade Zero

- **The fights look like a martial arts film.** Fast, fluid combos, parries that flow into counters and boss attacks with their own animations make every fight a show.
- **Bosses and weapons keep it fresh.** Players praise bosses that make them adapt and a wide range of weapons, each with its own moves.
- **Many PCs run it smoothly.** Players report steady frame rates from older cards such as the RTX 2060 up to high-end machines.

### Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

- **Parrying clicks into a rhythm.** After a steep start, deflections and posture breaks become second nature, and a clean break ending in a deathblow gives each fight its payoff.
- **Hard boss wins feel earned.** Long runs of deaths end in a win that players say they earned.
- **The art and music carry the world.** The Sengoku-inspired places, the boss designs and the score stand out.
- **The story is more direct.** The plot is easier to follow than in earlier FromSoftware games, and the voice acting and folklore give the setting weight.

## What players criticise

### Phantom Blade Zero

- **Many find it too easy.** Long combos seem to play themselves and parries come easily, and some find little risk even on Hellwalker, the harder mode.
- **Shader compilation takes a long time.** The first launch spends 20 minutes or more compiling shaders for several players, and some had to sit through it twice.
- **Some PCs hit glitches and crashes.** Players report stutter, broken sky and hair textures and crashes, and several turn off ray tracing to stop light flickering.

### Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

- **There’s no easier mode.** Early fights are a steep wall, and grinding for skills and items is the only way to ease them.
- **One katana and few builds.** There’s one weapon, no armour sets and no skill reset, so variety comes from the prosthetic tools.
- **Dying costs progress.** Each death takes experience and money, and long walks back to a boss make retries drag.
- **The PC version has rough edges.** Some players hit a 60 fps cap, find no ultrawide option or see the odd crash.

## Which to pick

- Pick Phantom Blade Zero if you want Sekiro’s deflections and boss fights in a faster, flashier game with difficulty modes. https://creativecult.digital/games/phantom-blade-zero
- Pick Sekiro if you want one tight, parry-based fighting system and bosses you beat by learning them, with no difficulty options to fall back on. https://creativecult.digital/games/sekiro

## Questions

### Is Phantom Blade Zero like Sekiro?

In parts. Players compare their deflections and fast boss fights, and many rank Phantom Blade Zero’s combat with the best they’ve played since Sekiro. They also find its parries much easier to land and its long combos less demanding, so it rarely tests them the way Sekiro does.

### Is Phantom Blade Zero harder than Sekiro?

No. Sekiro has no easier mode, and players describe its early fights as a steep wall. Phantom Blade Zero has three difficulty modes, and many players find it easy, some even on Hellwalker, its harder mode.

### Which is better, Phantom Blade Zero or Sekiro?

Sekiro has the higher figure, after seven years of reviews. As of 29 October 2026, 79% of Phantom Blade Zero’s 3,373 reviews recommend it and 95% of Sekiro’s 261,569. Players who loved Sekiro’s challenge are the most likely to find Phantom Blade Zero too easy.

### Does Phantom Blade Zero have more weapons than Sekiro?

Yes. Sekiro gives you one katana, with prosthetic tools for variety. Phantom Blade Zero has more than 30 main weapons and over 20 Phantom Edges, weapons taken from fallen enemies, according to its store page.

### When did Sekiro and Phantom Blade Zero come out?

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice came out on 21 March 2019, and Phantom Blade Zero on 28 October 2026.

## Sources

182. Steam: Phantom Blade Zero, store page and user reviews: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4115450/
209. Steam: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, store page and user reviews: https://store.steampowered.com/app/814380/

Page: https://creativecult.digital/compare/phantom-blade-zero-vs-sekiro