What Inspired Phantom Blade Zero's Meigu Lake?

Phantom Blade Zero Director Reveals Meigu Lake Inspirations, And It Wasn't Wind Waker Published Oct 31, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT Sam Woods is TheGamer’s Senior Reporter. He’s been in games journalism since 2020 and has undertaken a variety of roles in that time. These have included roles such as SEO Editor, Managing Editor at DualShockers, and Global Head of Gaming, and he's also been seen on the BBC. He was promoted to the Senior Reporter position in 2025 following a series of high-quality reports and exclusives for TheGamer. Since 2020, Sam has written over 3,000 articles and specializes in telling the stories of the people behind the games. He’s interviewed the biggest game directors, some of the industry’s top talents, told the stories of how indie games came to be, and spoken to players about what really makes them tick. He’s also interviewed some of the world’s biggest musical artists to find out how the medium has inspired their work, and TV and Film actors about their roles in video game adaptations. He even hosted a PAX panel in 2021 and made a documentary in 2024 surrounding the creation of a Disney game. Alongside this, Sam focuses on breaking news. He got the scoop on Perfect Dark’s cancellation, provided context on some AI drama, and revealed that Lady Dimitrescu’s actress would love to step back into the character’s giant shoes. These articles have been picked up by the biggest gaming sites, including IGN, GameSpot, and PC Gamer. He also loves to dive into the numbers behind the games. Sam’s journey in games journalism has taken him all over the world. He’s covered Gamescom in Germany, Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, and Tokyo Game Show in Japan, each on three occasions. He’s been learning Japanese since 2024 with the intention of identifying and translating Japanese-language news and bringing it to English-language audiences first, something he’s done countless times. Sam’s first review was 2020’s Battletoads reboot, and he’s since reviewed games in The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, and Pokemon franchises. Sign in to your TheGamer account I love Phantom Blade Zero. You can read about just how much I love it in my review, but its exploration was a major highlight for me. Each of the game's locations felt so intricately designed, with something hiding around every corner. Meigu Lake was one of the most interesting locations to me, and it very much gave me Wind Waker vibes. Because of this, I had to reach out to Phantom Blade Zero's director, Soulframe, who told me that the game's Meigu Lake wasn't inspired by Wind Waker, but instead by Chinese folklore. Phantom Blade Zero's Meigu Lake Isn't A Legend Of Zelda: Wind Waker Homage It took me a little while to warm up to Meigu Lake, but when I did, I loved it. There was something special about hopping in Soul's Sha-Chi-powered boat, jumping from island to island, not knowing what to expect. It evoked the same feelings I had when island-hopping across Hyrule's Great Sea in the King of Red Lions. Is this what inspired Phantom Blade Zero's Meigu Lake, though? "While many games have featured memorable lake environments, the inspiration for Meigu Lake came directly from Chinese wuxia culture," Soulframe tells me. "Lakes are among the most iconic settings in wuxia, and the Chinese term jianghu, literally meaning “rivers and lakes,” is often used alongside Wulin to refer to the martial arts world as a whole." While many games have featured memorable lake environments, the inspiration for Meigu Lake came directly from Chinese wuxia culture, He adds, "A lake evokes endless possibilities: mysterious islands that may be connected to the mainland or completely isolated, hidden treasures, strange enemies, and legends shrouded in mystery. All of these elements create opportunities for discovery and make exploration that much more rewarding." Soulframe's explanation makes perfect sense. Each island had a unique feel, with different treasures and enemies. There was more than one vital to the main story. While this was an individual question sent to Soulframe, we spoke to him in depth in China last month. You can read the full chat right now. Systems Released October 29, 2026 ESRB Unreal Engine 5 Developer(s) S-Game Publisher(s) S-Game Engine Unreal Engine 5 Genre(s) Action, RPG