Phantom Blade Zero Developer Said Cultural Differences Only Make Game More Interesting

Phantom Blade Zero by developed by S-Game is an upcoming samurai Soulslike with Chinese cultural elements. The game is largely based on Chinese culture, and some of its elements are unfamiliar to the global audience. At Tokyo Game Show, the S-Game's CEO and the game's Producer Liang Qiwei shared his thoughts on this cultural gap and how it can influence the game's reception. 

Qiwei shared (via Automation) that when creating the game, its battling techniques went beyond what previously released kung-fu-themed video games have made and included techniques that are less familiar to players. The potential issue is the cultural gap between the original game's themes and what Western players are familiar with. This is the reason why the development team decided to go for the theme of "kung-fu punk." According to Qiwei, it is "using authentic kung-fu and martial arts as the core and clothing it in popular culture."

However, including themes that are unfamiliar to the global audience was intentional and is a part of the appeal. Qiwei explained that Black Myth: Wukong had many more issues to face as it was completely based on a classic Chinese work of literature. "So [Game Science, the developer of Black Myth: Wukong] may encounter this problem of players not understanding the cultural background. But in my opinion, the quality and playing experience of a game are its core. If you can achieve high quality and an entertaining playing experience, I think that a difficult theme can actually be an advantage, not a disadvantage. If your game is entertaining, players will perceive unfamiliar themes as something fresh," Qiwei said. 

The S-Games Head also shared that the success of Black Myth: Wukong "verifies" his opinion that themes that the audience is unacquainted with might spark the interest even more.

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