Modder Turns Phantom Blade Zero Into a Soulslike With Respawning Enemies and Other Hardcore Mechanics

Modder PVLW has added enemy respawns and other soulslike mechanics to Phantom Blade Zero after some players found the original game too “casual.”

Phantom Blade Zero launched in late October. Its developers deliberately chose not to make a typical soulslike, leaving out enemy respawns and other features associated with FromSoftware games. The developers were not aiming for an extremely hardcore experience.

With PVLW’s mod, enemies respawn when the protagonist rests or dies. Respawned enemies drop just 25% of their usual dust, also known as Remnant Dust.

The protagonist also loses accumulated dust upon death. Players must return to the place where they died to retrieve it, or lose it permanently if they die again first.

Boss fights restart from the first phase after death. Story enemies tied to quests, challenges, and similar activities do not respawn.

The mod, titled “Phantom Souls – Enemy Respawn. Remnant Dust drop on death. Death Counter,” is available for free on Nexus Mods.

The original version of Phantom Blade Zero has been well received overall. It has a “Very Positive” rating on Steam, with a 91% rating after 84,000 user reviews.