S-Game’s Phantom Blade Zero has been blowing up lately, both because of its extended trailer and the recent State of Play, which dove into progression, world design, weapons, and more. However, it seems that players were already waiting in the wings to pre-order. Within five days of going live, director Qiwei “Soulframe” Liang confirmed that they’ve “far exceeded our expectations.”

In a post on Bilibili (translation via DeepL), Liang expressed his “heartfelt thanks” for the support. “This is a vote of confidence from our players, and we will do our utmost to deliver an outstanding game.”

Of course, Donnie Yen’s involvement has generated a lot of interest as well, both for working as a creative consultant and portraying Mó Yuan. As protagonist Soul’s father, he has an important role in the story, but interestingly, he’s actually a “powerful hidden boss.”

Liang notes that players will encounter him only after “a series of explorations and trials.” Given the way he fights – and Yen’s reputation – it makes sense that he’s a step above all the other bosses in terms of accessibility. However, the latest Deep Dive mentioned other hidden enemies, so there may be even greater threats to encounter.

Phantom Blade Zero launches on October 29th for PS5 and PC. While it’s no longer the top-selling game on Steam globally, the action RPG maintains a solid seventh-place spot. On the US PlayStation Store, it also ranks seventh in pre-orders, just behind Grand Theft Auto 6’s Ultimate Edition, Marvel’s Wolverine’s Digital Deluxe Edition, and so on.