Phantom Blade Zero Can Be Platinumed in One Playthrough, but 66 Days Mode Is the Real Challenge

Phantom Blade Zero will allow players to earn every achievement and the PlayStation Platinum Trophy within a single playthrough, regardless of which of its 3 standard difficulty settings they choose. However, director Soulframe Liang says the game's most demanding 66 Days mode sits outside that achievement structure entirely, with the extreme New Game Plus challenge designed around mastering its combat rather than chasing trophies.

Liang shared new details about the difficulty system in a lengthy post published on Bilibili, explaining that even players who complete the entire adventure using Wayfarer, the easiest available difficulty, can unlock every achievement before reaching the end of their first run. That means the Platinum Trophy will not require players to clear the considerably harder Hellwalker difficulty or enter 66 Days mode. S GAME previously confirmed through PlayStation that Wayfarer is intended for players primarily interested in the story, while higher settings introduce more advanced and adaptive enemy behavior.

66 Days mode takes a very different approach. Liang explained that the concept reaches back to his original 2018 vision for Phantom Blade Zero, when he imagined the entire game as an extremely difficult experience where Soul would effectively have only 66 chances to survive. Each failed attempt would bring the player closer to permanently losing a run, while their improving combat skills would hopefully allow them to progress further the next time. S GAME eventually concluded that forcing every player into such a structure would create too much frustration, particularly after losing 20 or 30 hours of progress.

Instead, the standard first playthrough uses a more conventional structure with Wayfarer, Pathbreaker and Hellwalker difficulty options, while 66 Days becomes available from the second playthrough. The mode receives its own separate save data and removes manual saving. Interacting with a bell automatically records progress, meaning players cannot simply reload an earlier save after making a costly mistake. Exhausting all available days leads to a separate ending with its own short sequence before that run is permanently concluded.

That makes 66 Days less of a requirement for completion and more of an optional mastery test. Liang described it as a form of martial arts training intended for players who want to push Phantom Blade Zero's combat systems much further after finishing the main game. The decision also means trophy hunters will not be forced into one of the game's harshest modes simply to reach 100 percent completion.

New Game Plus should still offer practical reasons to return. S GAME is planning opportunities to use powerful weapons acquired late in the first playthrough much earlier during a second run, while individual weapons have their own progression systems capable of changing more than basic damage values. Liang explained that a weapon at level 30 may operate differently enough from its level 1 form to alter both its controls and the combat strategy surrounding it. That fits closely with the extensive arsenal already shown during the game's recent gameplay presentation. Phantom Blade Zero features more than 55 weapons, including more than 30 main weapons and 25 secondary Phantom Edges.

The distinction between accessibility and mastery appears central to S GAME's design. Players interested primarily in the story and exploration can experience the entire adventure and earn the Platinum Trophy without being blocked by an extreme skill requirement, while action veterans receive a separate challenge built specifically around learning enemy behavior, understanding weapons and surviving with limited opportunities to recover from mistakes.

Phantom Blade Zero is currently scheduled to launch on October 29, 2026 for PlayStation 5 and PC, with PlayStation listing October 28 in the United States and selected regions. Development has already been completed, with S GAME using the remaining time before release for final optimization. The game entered its final launch phase earlier this year, while its latest State of Play provided a much deeper look at its weapon systems, difficulty settings and combat design.

Keeping the Platinum Trophy separate from 66 Days mode looks like the right decision. Phantom Blade Zero can remain approachable without watering down its most demanding content, while players looking for something closer to a true combat mastery challenge still have a mode designed specifically for them. More importantly, S GAME appears to be giving New Game Plus an actual purpose through weapon progression and late game equipment rather than simply asking players to repeat the same adventure with larger numbers.

Would you attempt Phantom Blade Zero's 66 Days mode even without a trophy attached to completing it?