If you ever wanted to be the boss in a Soulslike game where the enemy learns and adapts to your attack patterns, Phantom Blade Zero might be the game you’re looking for.
Speaking to PC Gamer magazine (via GamesRadar+), the game’s director, Qiwei Liang, discussed some of the ways the gameplay will change at high difficulty modes, namely the highest one, called “Hellwalker.”
Given that Liang doesn’t want the game to be considered a typical Soulslike, despite borrowing heavily from the genre, it makes sense to draw inspiration for how some boss fights at Hellwalker difficulty work from other sources.
In the case of one in particular, called Huangxing, it takes inspiration from the fighting game genre, most famously the 2013 Killer Instinct, where its AI will analyze the evolving situation and the player’s behavior, so it can change its actions accordingly.
Analyzing And Adapting To The Player
According to Liang, at any difficulty setting other than the highest, Huangxing will behave like a standard Soulslike or action game boss, with predetermined combos for the player to figure out via trial and error as they throw themselves at it over and over.
However, at Hellwalker difficulty, that won’t work so...
