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'It's just like the Souls games before Elden Ring': Phantom Blade Zero director walks us through this action RPG's seamless, non-linear map

Phantom Blade Zero's map design is similar to the pre-Elden Ring Souls games, featuring a seamless, interconnected world with distinct regions and non-linear progression.

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The director behind the highly anticipated action-RPG Phantom Blade Zero has compared the game's map to FromSoftware's Souls series before the decidedly open-world Elden Ring arrived.

Talking to GamesRadar+, the director, who goes by the moniker 'Soulframe,' explained what makes Phantom Blade Zero's map distinct from a traditional open-world map ala Elden Ring.

"It's just like the old Souls games," Soulframe said. "You move around and explore in a seamless map, it's just not a huge open-world map. But every region is connected together seamlessly."

Without getting into the incredibly thick and perilous weeds around what makes a game open world, it sounds like Phantom Blade Zero takes place in one interconnected map with distinct regions that may or may not be accessible from the beginning of the game. Soulframe told us areas of the map include minor enemies between bosses, secret collectibles and hidden characters, as well as stealth and ranged approaches for many encounters. Yup, sounds familiar.

"There are certain gates requiring keys, and the keys are obtained from some missions," Soulframe said. "There's still some process you go through, but it's non-linear. There are always multiple paths you can go through. It's just like the Souls games before Elden Ring."

Soulframe was quick to once again point out during our interview that Phantom Blade Zero isn't a Soulslike, but rather an action-RPG with "combo-driven, heart-pumping combat that is hectic, rewarding, and exhilarating." It just so happens to have a map design that's similar to the pre-Elden Ring Souls games.

For our hands-on Phantom Blade Zero preview, Austin chimed in on the topic: "It is not a Soulslike, and I'm uncharacteristically not disappointed by this. Saddling this game with the deliberate pacing of that genre would only weaken the absurd speed and aggression that makes Phantom Blade stand out. It is irresponsibly fast, but it just works."

Now, if you want some games like Elden Ring, we've got you covered.