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When I saw the first trailer for Project EVE, which changed its name to Stellar Blade, it caught my attention. Beautiful protagonist aside, the combat looked extremely intriguing. There was a mix of cinematic action akin to recent God of War games and combat reminiscent of Bayonetta and Devil May Cry. It looked like a recipe for success. After finishing the story and dabbling in New Game Plus, I can say Stellar Blade shines brightly in some parts and leaves a few others in a dim abyss. Still, it is one journey full of fast-paced action, jaw-dropping cutscenes, and addictive combat that any action-adventure fan will enjoy.
Stellar Blade Review
At first, I was expecting Stellar Blade to be an attempt to make a modern Nier: Automata. However, I realized it was more than that. It was like looking at God of War: Ragnarok, Bayonetta, and Sekiro having a baby, which, yes, it’s a weird picture to have, but bear with me. It has cinematic moments, a semi-open world that rewards exploration, fantastic souls-like combat with parry mechanics, and prominent action combat for button-mashing fans. And while it takes inspiration from all those games, it has a personal footprint that gives Stellar Blade a strong enough identity, at least in its gameplay aspects.
Story: A Fallen Angel
Let me get this out of the way: the story is the weakest part of Stellar Blade. Without spoiling it, Stellar Blade takes a lot of inspiration from Nier: Automata. After playing for a while, I thought the inspiration was a bit much. You got the cyborg stuck on a planet, going from “I just have a mission” to “I want to help this guy get his teddy bear back.” It isn’t something bad, but its presentation is extremely dull.
Eve, our gorgeous protagonist, gets stuck on Earth after her whole squadron dies at the hands of Naytiba, Stellar Blade‘s monsters. After meeting Adam, which, yes, is quite the big biblical reference, you get thrown into a plot where you must finish Eve’s mission while also helping the last remnants of humanity. As you journey, you discover that not everything is as it seems, and maybe the ones sending cyborgs like Eve aren’t the good guys. My biggest gripe is how obvious the story is. The plot twist is so evident that even someone with astigmatism could spot it from miles away.
Furthermore, the character development is non-existent or has no middle ground. For example, Eve suffers what should be a terrible loss around the middle of the game. Instead of acting like she had lost an important comrade, she’s the living expression of the “Oh no, anyway” meme. And if that wasn’t enough, the few serious moments in the game are hindered by strange body animations. Eve and her friends look like a high school theater troupe trying to impress a teacher for a good grade. You have Eve flailing her arms around when talking about fish, but see her with a poker face when seeing someone die in front of her.
Overall, Stellar Blade‘s plot isn’t one to remember, which I find ironic. With how everything is designed, it is funny to see the flattest thing about Stellar Blade is its story. Characters are extremely forgettable, and while there are a few interesting optional missions, they aren’t enough to carry the narrative. Still, when I realized the plot was going nowhere, I focused on what mattered: the gameplay. And oh boy, it is a marvel.
Gameplay: Action-Adventure Delight
Moving on to gameplay, that’s the bread and butter of Stellar Blade. The combat is, undoubtedly, the highlight of this 20-hour adventure. As a whole, it plays like a typical action-focused game. You have your light and strong attacks and a few skills you activate once you get enough energy to pull them off. However, it holds so many systems tighter than any of Eve’s outfits.
For instance, the first few hours feature a very basic combat. You get four skills, a ranged weapon, and your usual combos. However, once you reach the middle portion of the game, you get four new skills, extra combos, and a Spartan Rage-like mode, which adds many layers to every encounter. To show your moves off, you have plenty of creatures to slice, which I’m thankful for.
Usually, semi-open-world games fail to strike a balance between exploration and combat encounters. I feel Stellar Blade does this wonderfully. The maps aren’t big but have enough verticality to encourage exploration. Enemy variety is perfect; not too cluttered, not too empty. Furthermore, each foe is a real challenge. Even the smallest one can ruin your day if you don’t learn their moves. As I played, I realized Stellar Blade felt similar to a Nioh-like. You have enough buttons to mash, but you still need a souls-like strategy, which is something I love.
Speaking of enemies, bosses are the baddies that steal the show. Visual style aside, which is fantastic, the mechanics of each fight are mind-blowing. You have creatures with a chainsaw for a head, wrecking balls for arms, and even a cyborg with the iconic one-winged, Sephiroth-esque style. Each one tests Eve’s skills to the max. One combo might’ve worked in a previous fight, but not for everyone. All my encounters played like a synchronized dance. I had to learn each move and see what I could do to counter the boss’s attacks. It was challenging, and I died a lot, but in the end, beating a foe was rewarding, and that’s the true souls-like essence: trial and error.
Exploration: Outfits Galore
I feel it’s worth mentioning how exploration played a crucial part in my journey. Usually, I focus on a game’s story; that’s one thing that matters most to me in anything I play. However, as I established, Stellar Blade’s plot never takes off. When I realized that, I started seeing Stellar Blade as this: an outfit Collect-a-Thon. I didn’t care if Adam had a job for Eve or if Lily wanted to make a new gizmo. All I wanted was a new outfit for Eve. And let me tell you: there are many of them.
What made getting almost all outfits engaging was the way they were scattered around the map. You can get a few by heading to a store, but others are more challenging. For one, I had to do a platforming section, break into a guardhouse, and collect a code. I then had to return to an oasis, dive down, open a chest, and all that for a new fan-service-fueled outfit. I don’t regret the time and effort I put into unlocking each nano-suit.
While I feel certain exploration gimmicks need work, traversing around this post-apocalyptic world isn’t boring. Movement can feel weird in platforming sections, but getting off the beaten path usually leads to fun, optional bosses or other collectibles. Ultimately, everyone will decide if the world’s design is their cup of tea or not, but it was certainly mine. It was the perfect mix of ‘filling space with relevant stuff’ without heading into the ‘cluttering everything with icons’ design style we see nowadays.
Graphics & Audio: A Stellar Mix
After Returnal, I hadn’t seen a game that performed so well on PS5. I rarely felt my frames drop below 60, and I was playing at balanced, which I feel is the best graphics mode. I think it was great to see how everything the art team did stood out with such amazing graphical fidelity. Whether it was the refugee city of Xion, the Wasteland full of scrapyards, or my favorite mission that turned Eve into Isaac Clarke in a Dead Space-like scenario, everything was beautiful to watch.
For those wondering about our protagonist herself, she looks fantastic in any outfit. I imagine some people might not like the most revealing ones, but Shift Up gave us enough to pick our favorite. Heck, you can even customize Eve’s hair, glasses, and earrings if you want to make the cyborg of your dreams. My only complaint is that I feel it is criminal not to include a photo mode for Stellar Blade. Fan service aside, Stellar Blade has breathtaking setpieces, and a photo mode would’ve been great for taking some cinematic shots.
Finally, the audio is another thing that deserves a chef’s kiss. Stellar Blade‘s music incorporates so many styles that I felt I was looking at a random Spotify playlist, which I don’t say in a bad way. On the contrary, it felt fresh. You have your Nier: Automata-like music, a clearly Persona 5-inspired track in the main city, and many songs that reminded me of Evanescence. The mix of styles works perfectly, and going from an eerie tune to hard rock is some kind of musical magic a few developers can pull off.
Conclusion: An Almost Perfect Amalgam
I feel Stellar Blade could’ve been GOTY material with a few tweaks. With more care to the story, character development, and a longer playtime, Shift Up’s new game could’ve beaten any other 2024 release. Still, it features one of the best combat systems I’ve played recently, and one I can’t get enough of. I always returned to certain enemy clusters just to try a new combo or find an easier way to beat one particular foe. Also, the visual style is gorgeous. Whether you pay attention to the landscape or Eve in a bodysuit, Stellar Blade‘s style is second to none.
This year, I’ve found replaying certain games unrewarding. I’ve stuck to a play-once and uninstall mindset. However, that hasn’t happened with Stellar Blade. Its amalgam of systems is so perfectly glued together that it can become highly addictive. While I don’t care about the three different endings, I don’t mind reaching them if they are an excuse to pick up Eve’s sword again. Hopefully, the studio won’t abandon what it’s created because it gave us one of the best action-adventure experiences of the year.
Stellar Blade (PS5 Reviewed)
Stellar Blade is one of the most memorable action-adventure games of 2024 thanks to its gameplay, but falls flat with its predicatable story and poorly-developed characters.
Pros
- Addictive combat mechanics.
- Fantastic boss encounters.
- A well-balanced semi-open world.
Cons
- Predictable plot.
- Lack of character development.
