Phantom Blade Executioners is a 2D action-rpg developed by S-Game. It’s currently available on mobile devices including Android and iOS, as well as PC on the Epic Games Store.
It serves as a prequel to S-Game’s upcoming AAA action game Phantom Blade 0, so it’s a must-play for fans excited about that. Phantom Blade Executioners has a hand-painted 2D art style and a rich and dark narrative, aspects that will appeal to gamers who love a dark tale with amazing gameplay to back it up.
The game evolves over the course of the story, introducing new combat elements, characters, and much, much more. It’s one of the best modern-day side-scrolling RPGs. However, its scope is gigantic if you’re going in completely blind, so here’s the ultimate Phantom Blade: Executioners game guide explaining what you’re getting into.
Phantom Blade Executioners Gameplay – Devil May Cry
Phantom Blade: Executioners is a stylish and fast-paced hack-and-slasher. The gameplay loop is fairly straightforward. You’re dropped into missions where you attack and dodge your way to the final boss at the end of the level, and after beating it, you gain new skills and rewards.
Between missions, you can customize and tweak your character such as weapon look, apparel, and armor. You unlock further variety by progressing the storyline.
The gameplay is made up of normal attacks, Basic Combos, Advanced Combos, and Ultimate Skills called Awakenings. You can also dodge and jump for aerial attacks or for maneuvering yourself around the battlefield.
Different skills are combined and released in quick succession by tapping the respective icons quickly to form “Combos”. As you unlock more skills, you’ll be able to make more and more custom combos and that’s one of the main highlights in Phantoms Blade: Executioners’ gameplay.
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Phantom Blade Executioners Characters – A Ronin’s Way
There are 5 main characters in Phantom Blade: Executioners. All 5 characters have normal and combo attacks that are unique to them. Their VFX, apparel, and even dialog are different, however, beyond that, it’s essentially the same.
Each of them also acts as a separate save file, so if you choose one character and beat the story with it, choosing to play with another one will begin the story anew with that character, though your previous save file remains available to you at any time.
Combos, abilities, and skills were described above in the gameplay section of the guide. Now, let’s take a look at the characters.
The Characters
Here’s a brief overview of the characters you can play as.
Soul
Soul’s a dashing swordsman who uses his blade to slice and dice monsters. Fun fact: he is also going to be the main protagonist of Phantom Blade: Zero.
Nerdo
You can only play as Nerdo if you have another character at level 48 and have also completed the “Old Friend” quest. He’s similar to Soul in gameplay but has different animations.
ZuoShang
ZuoShang is more of an elegant assassin compared to Soul and Nerdo. His strikes usually begin at far range and he’s well-balanced in all combat styles.
Mu Xiaokui
Mu Xiaokui is an offensive character. She doesn’t have many ranged abilities, so if you’re looking for an alternative to Soul, Mu Xiaokui is a great pick.
The Chord
If looks could kill, The Chord would be the perfect description. Like ZuoShang, she’s a menace in both melee and ranged combat. A great choice for your first time playing Phantom Blade: Executioners.
Phantoms
Phantom is a buff system in the game. You can obtain Phantoms by summoning them in exchange for Golden Sigils, items that can be obtained through sorry missions, as daily rewards, or by trading other currencies for them.
You can equip Phantoms to your character’s skills. In turn, you’ll get stat bonuses such as more health, critical damage, base damage, and so on.
Here are some of the best Phantoms in Phantom Blade: Executioners.
| Tier | Phantom | Primary Buff | Secondary Buff(s) | Perception Required |
| S | Lethal Gaze | Shield Break +10.2% | Magic Eye, Deadly Gaze | 7 |
| S | Evil Healer | HP +330 | Ghost Healer, Art of Poison | 7 |
| S | Mecha Emperor | Critical Damage +8.2% | Aurora Cleave, Lance Blast, Brilliant Mind | 7 |
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Levels & World Exploration In Phantom Blade Executioners
Phantom Blade: Executioners isn’t an open-world game like Genshin Impact. It’s linear and follows a mission-to-mission system. You open up the map screen and select the mission you want to do. Some are optional while others are story-centered, so yeah, the game is pretty simplistic in this regard.
Additionally, sometimes you’ll be able to access time-events in the hub area by going to the nearby bird’s nest. These events offer unique rewards such as Phantoms, resources, and XP for your character.
Phantom Blade Executioners Inventory, Equipment, & Resources
While there is an inventory system in Phantom Blade Executioners, you won’t have to sort things out – no headache here, thankfully. Equipment mainly serves an aesthetic purpose but does grant you status buffs too.
There are plentiful resources and currencies in Executioners such as Golden Sigils, Coins, and Ingots. You’ll find the ones you’ll be using often listed below.
| Currency | Use | How To Obtain |
| Ingot | Purchasing items | Clearing missions, Can be purchased from the shop |
| Golden Sigils | Used for summoning Phantoms | Log-in rewards, quests, missions |
| Stamina | Used to start missions | Regenerated over time, log-in rewards, quests |
| Coin | Purchasing items | Log-in rewards, quests, missions |
Phantom Blade Executioners Tips & Tricks – Edge In Combat
You might’ve already deduced the gameplay is quite complex in Phantoms Blade: Executioners. Here’s one major tip every player should know.
Build The Perfect Combo
There are 30+ unique skills for each character, and arranging them in a specific order creates a combo. Experiment with this feature and find what works best in combat.
Figure out the perfect combo, one that does the most damage and doesn’t leave any room open for you to get attacked. It’ll be difficult to do, but the process is fun and you’ll love seeing the hundreds of distinct combos you can make.
Conclusion
Phantom Blade Executioners is nothing short of surprising. It takes all the best parts of a great 2D hack-and-slash game and blends that in with a narrative that just oozes intrigue. The backdrop of a fantasy version of feudal China, and its representation by amazing hand-painted art just uplifts the feeling tenfold, and ultimately, Executioners ends up being an amazing experience the first time – the second, not so much.
Once you beat the main story, picking another character simply starts the game all over again. There’s literally no incentive for doing so. Sure the voiceover changes, but is that really worth grinding again for a dozen hours? Not to mention some mechanics in Phantom Blade Executioners are so tedious.
Having said that, Executioners is a stellar side-scroller. Maybe it’s not fun the second time around, but for those of you who haven’t yet played it, you’ll enjoy it a lot if you like action, story, and stunning visuals.
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