Phantom Blade Zero Modders Set a High Bar for S-Game’s Next Update, as Nemesis System and Ninja Gaiden 2-Style Difficulty Arrive

After releasing Phantom Blade Zero last month on PC and PlayStation 5, S-Game did not rest on its laurels and already released the first post-launch update, which further solidified the game's great reception among gamers and critics (with a rare 10/10 from me). Now that many have completed the game, fans are looking forward to what's next, and the Chinese development studio definitely has its work cut out for it to add new features, as modders are already adding some incredible new features while also upping the game's challenge level without simply buffing enemies' stats, which is never a good recipe for a good challenge.

The Nemesis System

The Nemesis System mod developed by FKAQ8 and released on Nexus Mods, does exactly what the name implies: bring the Nemesis mechanics seen in the Middle-earth: Shadow series to Phantom Blade Zero. "When something kills you it becomes your NEMESIS: it gets its real name from the game's codex, a rank, a name for that rank and a trait. Next time you meet it, it is stronger, and a card with its portrait tells you so. Kill it to take REVENGE," the mod's description reads.

The implementation is very thorough: not only can multiple Nemesis enemies be present at once, but they also come in different ranks with varying bonuses. Interestingly enough, the mod also takes into account how mobs aren't particularly threatening, especially in new Cycles with a powered-up Soul, and makes it possible for bosses to become Nemesis enemies, making the best fights in the game even more epic.

The Ultimate Challenge Inspired By Ninja Gaiden 2

As mentioned above, Phantom Blade Zero's challenge level isn't particularly high. While some bosses will give you trouble, most mobs don't, resulting in New Game Plus cycles being mostly a walk in the park, even at 66-Days mode with enemy respawn and boss phase resets, which proved to be way less tense than I anticipated after my first playthrough. This is where the Ultimate Challenge - Path of the Master Ninja mod comes in, an evolution of an earlier mod introducing a full campaign overhaul inspired by Ninja Gaiden 2's brutal Master Ninja difficulty.

"Complete story mode campaign overhaul inspired by Ninja Gaiden 2 Master Ninja difficulty. Dynamically calls massive enemy waves on top of standard campaign encounters, constantly topping up active foes until the wave is cleared," reads the official description on Nexus Mods. "Whenever enemies are near (a large group or just a single target), a massive wave of extra enemies is dynamically called to hunt you down. The mod constantly keeps the pressure on, feeding fresh fighters into the fray until the wave is spent. Nothing from the game's native spawns is removed or replaced; these extra legions are added entirely on top."

While having a massive wave of enemies coming at Soul is a balance nightmare, the mod's developer DaMadKillah made sure to keep it as fair as possible by having the extra enemies scale with the level of the real enemies nearby. Waves also spawn right before bosses, but it is possible to turn this off in the mod's menu, highlighting how this ultimate challenge has been tweaked to make it feel as much a part of the vanilla experience as possible.

The best thing about the Ultimate Challenge mod is how it seems to fit Phantom Blade Zero naturally. The game's combat system already supports fights against multiple enemies with attack indicators and Soul's ability to block and parry regardless of the direction he faces, so you will just have to learn how to better deal with groups and not fight game mechanics unsuited for this sort of challenge.

Sure, some weapons can make this challenge easier, such as the Bashpole Phantom Edge, but it's a far cry from mods that just boost enemy stats. Phantom Blade Zero already has a light problem with enemy HP pools, and increasing it just to artificially bump difficulty results in enemies becoming damage sponges and an experience that is very far removed from the fast-paced Wuxia feel S-Game went for.

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