Stellar Blade | Review

Developer: SHIFT UP Corporation

Platform: PlayStation 5

Engine: Unreal Engine 4

Mode: Single-player video game

License: proprietary license

Genres: Action-adventure game, Fighting game

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

SPOILERS THROUGHOUT!!

Stellar Blade Score 8/10

Key Takeaways

• Combat system is great (parry, dodge, long range)
• Music is amazing
• Character development weak
• World building good
• The game is sexy and fun
• Art design great
• No major technical issues
• No serious bugs or glitches
• I loved Eve as a protagonist
• Naytiba variety was diverse impressive and challenging
• Combat can be challenging on normal difficulty
• Rewarding and fun exploration
• Some side quests were good but most weren’t
• Nier Automata and Devil May Cry energy!
• Story was good but predictable
• Around 30 hours for my playthrough (I did most side stuff)
• Lots of content and unlockables post game (New Game+, Hard Mode, new skills etc)
• Loved most of the boss fights
• Jank is strong in regards to platforming sections
• Eve’s sexuality wasn’t an issue with me
• Price point good with multiple playthroughs

Introduction

Stellar Blade is a action adventure third person hack n slash video game that does most things right. In the past I loved games such Nier as well Automata. the first Devil May Cry featuring sigma male Dante was also one of my favorite action games. Stellar Blade Video Playlist

Stellar Blade is the first in, I hope, a series of ever improving games because what I witnessed was a very solid first entry. I’m hoping for a Drake’s Fortune to a Among Thieves situation in regards to Stellar Blade 1 to 2. *crosses fingers*

Presentation

Technically. Stellar Blade ran at a solid frame rate for the majority of my playthrough. I went with balanced mode and performance mode. Both modes were solid in regards to frame rates but ended up sticking with balance mode for the majority of my playthrough.

What I loved most asides from the music in Stellar Blade was it’s combat gameplay. It’s top tier stuff that belongs in the pantheon Sekiro’s parry system and Devil May Cry’s stylish hack n slash action. I adored the combat. Just sayin.

I loved the main quests teaching progression as they introduced me to new gameplay mechanics naturally. Some main quests had me using long range weapon. Others had me platforming and exploring more.

My biggest negative with Stellar Blade wasn’t the story or character development but rather the jank regarding Eve. Let’s just say the jankiness wasn’t copacetic with the game’s forced platforming sections.

Story

I actually liked the story albeit the writing was weak the majority of time. Nier Automata comes to mind story-wise. The world is basically destroyed with monsters called Naytibas roaming about. You play as Eve who’s referred to as a human but she along with all “humans” are androids created by humans. Nier-esque!

Mother Sphere is the being the “humans” now pray to. I’m going off the top of my head here bare with me. As the story evolves Eve learns the truth about Mother Sphere and what happened to Earth’s first humans.

You learn of Andros-Eidos which wants to be the “new humans” which wanted to wipe the original humans off the face of the earth. Through various Raven Legacy hologram cutscenes a plot unfolds culminating in a major choice with Adam and Eve at the game’s end.

Mid way through the main campaign you learn that the Naytiba monsters you been fighting are the creators of Andros-Eidos aka current “humans”. The story of Stellar Blade was weird, good but ultimately predictable.

Gameplay

Gameplay centers around dodging and parrying which staggers enemies’ balance in turn netting you massive critical attacks. Eve, the protagonist will unlock major phases in attack power unlocking new skill trees such as “Burst” and “Tachy” mode. Think Dante’s Devil Sparta Mode in Devil May Cry.

Tumbler drone transforms into into a long range rail-gun created by engineer Lily which is useful in fights. Xion is the main hub city where Eve talks to NPCs, accepts quests and or visit the safe-house where Adam and Lily hang out.

The game’s world has various maps of size and scope with great activities such as can collecting, fishing, finding materials that are very useful for upgrading Eve. Main quests feature linear dungeons of sort that only get better as the main story went on. If you buy Stellar Blade you will have bought it for it’s gameplay. It’s the essence of why it’s a great game.

Main quests were all solid with good boss fights, teachable platforming or long range weapon mechanics. Some side quests involve progressing the main story campaign ala metroid-vania. Side Quest like draining the water from a once flooded district early in the game.

As for combat, I’ll go as far to say the core parrying and dodging mechanics in Stellar Blade felt better than Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. We probably all played third person hack n slash titles before. Stellar Blade rivals Metal Gear Rising for it’s action gameplay sequences. Eve pulls off some crazy shit in-game “tempest” any one?

Visuals | Graphics

Stellar Blade is more sexy than good looking. The visuals are average for current gen with a great art-style. I played using balance mode which looked good enough for me while holding an decent frame rate. The art is what pulls at my heart strings though.

I loved Eve along with all character designs. I loved the dystopic ruined mega city Xion. I loved the wasteland, the oasis along with many vistas. Silent Street’s rainy ruined cyberpunk alleys looked bad in a good way. Stellar Blade has a deliberate science fiction art presentation which I appreciated.

Sound | Music

Ai says the music in Stellar Blade was composed by Oliver Good, Keita Inoue, Hwang Joo-Eun, and Keiichi Okabe. Stellar Blade has the best score of any video game I played so far in 2024 full stop. The melancholic melodies while venturing around Xion, or ANY location was stellar!

Metal kicks in during boss fights that put 99% of video games not DOOM to shame. If you read my reviews on here you know I barely write shit in regards to video game scores because most don’t stand out to my ears. Stellar Blade stood out. Think Nier Automata if you loved that score.

Anyways. I guess that sums up Stellar Blade for me. I know SHIFT UP can make even a better Stellar Blade next time around. Thank you for visiting my website. Later – Jason