Following the resounding success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 at The Game Awards 2025, the team at Sandfall Interactive shared a pivotal insight with Soulframe Liang, the director behind Phantom Blade Zero.
Eschewing complex technical blueprints, Liang received a straightforward yet counter-intuitive piece of advice: “The secret to excellence is pruning content from the game, not expanding it.”
The creators of Clair Obscur revealed that during the final nine months of production, they ruthlessly excised lackluster elements to meticulously polish the game’s core features. This streamlined approach resulted in a cohesive, high-quality experience that avoids overwhelming players with unnecessary filler.
Soulframe Liang admitted the suggestion caught him off guard, but he intends to embrace this minimalist philosophy as he nears the end of development. Phantom Blade Zero, the highly anticipated action title from China, is slated for a September 2026 release on PC and PS5.
Source: iXBT.games