Bilawal Bashir 
Our Stellar Blade review finds this much-hyped game to be an ambitious and at-times successful attempt from a relatively new developer. The game is visually stunning and has plenty of style to boot. Stellar Balde’s clunkiness dampens an otherwise great-looking and playing experience.
Stellar Blade promises exhilarating combat, plenty of boss fights, and some jiggle physics. The combo-based fights keep repetition from setting in. Developer Shift Up’s first AAA game delivers a surprisingly complete package that will give 20-30 hours of action fun.
The Good:
- Stylized and flashy combat
- Attractive graphics and environments
- Likable characters help elevate a predictable story
The Bad:
- Controls feel janky
- Certain sections have pacing issues
Review Details:
- Platforms available: PlayStation 5
- Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
- Official release date: April 26, 2024
Stellar Blade is influenced by the best
In our review, we found that Stellar Blade clearly draws inspiration from the best hack and slash games. Influence from Devil May Cry is particularly evident in Stellar Blade. The game also draws plenty of inspiration from games such as Nier Automata and Bayonetta. It manages to bring genre staples in a package that delivers spectacular action.
Players control Eve, a sexualized protagonist who stirred up the internet when the game was announced. Her jiggle physics and costumes do provide plenty of “fan service,” but combat is the star of the show here. The novelty of perfect proportions fades and the combat takes the wheel.
The story is the weakest link here. It’s far-fetched and sometimes throws all logic and character development away to deliver arbitrary plot twists. Most of these twists are predictable and can be seen from miles away. Stellar Blade falters in the story department with the narrative going off the track often.
Monsters overtake Earth, and Eve is sent to the planet to get rid of them. While the monsters are strong, Eve also has superhuman powers to aid her mission. The protagonist was raised in space and trained with the mission of freeing the remaining human survivors left on Earth.
Some of the game’s side quests are simple fetch missions. Thankfully, a few odd side quests don’t dampen plenty of better ones. Boss fights keep the formula fresh and prevent Stellar Blade from feeling overly repetitive.
Combat, combos, and boss fights are highlights
The biggest reason to play Stellar Blade should be the combat. Despite the controls sometimes getting in the way, the game has brilliantly designed combat augmented by good enemy variety. The enemies are varied in their abilities and require keen observation to defeat. Enemy patterns can be memorized to come out unscathed from battles, but are not compulsory. Stellar Blade isn’t another Soulsborne title, as the combat is not punishing and mistakes can usually be rectified.
As in a FromSoftware game, parries and dodges are essential in Steller Blade. The game isn’t just a button masher; it requires timing and strategy to win. Chaining combos and charging up to a special move is Eve’s bread and butter. Dodging, parrying, and hitting enemies is the only way to survive on this version of Earth.
The problem here is the pacing. Developer Shift Up doesn’t have experience pacing out such a long title, and it’s quite evident in Stellar Blade. Some sections of the game are entirely too long and can feel repetitive. There are a lot of locked doors that require backtracking to open.
The uneven pacing also raises its ugly head with poor enemy placement. There are long stretches of nothing in Stellar Blade. Fighting the same two dozen enemies before reaching an objective can feel tiring, even if the combat is excellent. Taking down enemies can lead to fatigue as well. During our review we found that dying in Stellar Blade wasn’t as punishing as in Elden Ring, but retracing the same path and fighting enemies again feels like punishment enough.
Thankfully, the game looks good enough to ease the pain of mowing down the identical enemies again and again. The soundtrack delivers some great pieces and keeps up with the action on screen. The sound design is a highlight, making all the fighting sound epic.
gameland.gg’s bottom line: Stellar Blade borrows from many genre leaders and delivers an action-packed package worth playing, so long as you can accept its faults.
