The character action genre has no shortage of games as it’s a competitive market. Titles such as Devil May Cry, Bayonetta and God of War come to mind, all which have their own unique traits that set them apart from one another. For developer Shift Up’sStellar Blade, they’re looking to bring in everything we’ve come to love from the genre and put a spin on things. Hack and slash your way through waves of abominations all while uncovering a dark and twisted mystery hidden at the center of the post-apocalyptic wastelands of Earth. The developer has come an exceedingly long way from their mobile gameNikke: Goddess of Victory, creating both one of the best looking and playing games on the PlayStation 5.
Stellar Bladewill undoubtedly be compared toNierandNier Automata, and rightfully so. The story is familiar, hitting similar beats; there’s an overly-attractive, scantily-clad female protagonist who’s assisted by a male counterpart in her ear, the music is emotional and drives the desolate loneliness of the current state of the world, and the character action gameplay is fast-paced and highly versatile. There’s no getting around the comparisons, but with that said,Stellar Bladedoes carve its own identity with its customizable protagonist, Eve.
Not only are you able to fully customize her outfit, giving her style for the way she takes down enemies, but you’re able to change her hairstyle and equip various accessories such as earrings and glasses. On top of that, Eve’s combat kit is highly flexible, with various skills and enhancements that can be obtained through the extensive skill tree. It’s not to the degree where she will be swapping loadouts as most of the skills are set, but the tree is incredibly diverse, allowing for the player to prioritize aspects such as beta skills over, say, precision dodges or counters. And best yet, nothing is locked in place as the ability to reassign skill points is relatively painless.
In the not so Nier future…
Stellar Bladetakes place in the distant future where humanity has been driven to the stars as creatures called Naytiba now overrun Earth. That’s not to say there aren’t any humans on the surface, as throughout Eve’s adventures, she will come across a great number of individuals with their own lives and struggles, but the species is dwindling. Eve is part of an Airborne combat unit from a mothership that’s leading an assault to take back the planet, but even with their advanced technology, it’s far from an easy task as these abominations are unusually organized and capable.
It’s apparent early on that something is amiss with the world, and we’re not necessarily talking about these grotesque Naytiba creatures. We can’t tell if the story is overly predictable, because it feels like the storytellers are intentionally trying to inform the players about what’s going on with the not-so-subtle hints when arriving in the main hub city. The dramatic irony doesn’t go unnoticed as the protagonist and her companions are clueless about what’s going on, but we’re here putting things together almost instantly. It’s a nice change of pace even though it makes us wait quite some time before Eve and company get on the same page.
Speaking of which, this is a surprisingly-sizable experience, taking more than fifty hours to complete the main story and most of the side quests. WhereStellar Bladeshines the brightest is in its linear sections as opposed to the open locations. The latter is fine, albeit boring at times, whereas the core story has been finely tuned and curated to be an epic adventure filled with many memorable events. The open world areas highlight the inhabitants more so than what the world used to be, which seems like a lost opportunity. There are a couple of spots, such as in the Great Desert showcasing a F-Zero-esque travel system, and there are various logs that can be found that help explain what happened to the world – even though it mostly paints the people going mad – but otherwise the open areas are kind of plain.
Fortunately, the side quests, and there are a lot of them, immensely expand upon the world and its inhabitants. This is where the bulk of the content comes from, as Eve will have the opportunity to meet some rather colorful individuals and help rebuild the dwindling city of Xion in the process. Most of the side quests do end up being fetch quests, going to a location and grabbing the items, or refighting a boss from a past encounter at a much higher difficulty, but there are many that help build the lore of the world and establish things as they were before the great war.
More than a Button Masher
WhatStellar Bladedoes exquisitely is its combat. This is a traditional character action title that, outside of Nier, can be compared toDevil May Cry,Bayonetta, and to a certain degree, Souls-likes. There’s even a bit ofDead Spacethrown in here as well. The Souls-like comparison is surprising as it’s not necessarily in the way you might think. It’s mostly how, when Eve perishes in battle, she will revive at what would be considered a bonfire (or in this game a campsite) and any progress she made in the world has been retained with monster spawns being reset.
In addition, even the weakest of mobs can take her down, as when they’re bunched up, they can be more dangerous than the main bosses. The Devil May Cry and Bayonetta comparisons are apparent, though, as there’s a strong emphasis on Eve swinging her sword wildly and performing stylish dodges and counters to get the jump on enemies. The latter is whatStellar Bladedoes immaculately, as dodging and parrying hasn’t felt this good sinceSekiro.
The core structure is straightforward. Enemies have three separate gauges: health, shields and parries. Bringing down their shields will leave them vulnerable, whereas the parry meter is what encourages the player to figure out timing in order to unleash massive damage or instant-kills. The monstrosities that roam the world have been intricately designed around this, as each have their own move sets that need to be learned and mastered in order to defeat them. It’s not just countering, either, as there are also unique tells that can be activated when an enemy is about to perform a strong attack or grab that can be dodged in a fashionable way and allow for Eve to unleash devastating follow-up attacks.
Does Stellar Blade Have What it Takes to be a Stellar Game?
Stellar Blade’s demo delivers deliberate and fast paced combat
It requires a great amount of patience and not going back to our basic instinct of mashing the square button. Then there are sections of the game where instead of hacking and slashing through enemies, it turns into almost a survival horror game like Dead Space, where the only means of defense is the arm-mounted drone. These are short portions of the campaign but nicely break up the gameplay, almost forcing Eve to get used to fighting from afar all while solving some relatively simplistic puzzles. The combat in general is so satisfying and never gets boring throughout the lengthy adventure.
Presentation Wonders
It’s hard to talk aboutStellar Bladeand not mention the presentation values Shift Up has accomplished. Using the power of the Unreal Engine, the developers have crafted a gorgeous game that truly captures the devastation of the post-apocalyptic world. Character models have been elegantly crafted, with the hair physics standing out over the majority. The materials and shaders used on clothing and skin complexity also give aid to the customization of Eve and the company’s wardrobe. With that said, similar to something likeFinal Fantasy VII Rebirth,Stellar Blade’s open world areas suffer graphically in comparison to the more tightly-tuned sections and character models.
While it’s not as bad, there are still plenty of areas where rock formations or other pieces of geometry look out of place in this wonderfully-devastated landscape. Outside the visuals, the music is something that will have you invested. Shift Up has once again taken a cue fromNier Automatain creating beautifully-scored tracks that truly capture the world’s standing. There’s even some Devil May Cry style heavy metal thrown in during some of the intense boss fights. Whether it’s in an emotional battle or just roaming the city, the soundtrack inStellar Bladeis mesmerizing.
Closing Comments:
Stellar Bladedelivers masterclass gameplay, spectacular visuals and a compelling universe. It no doubt will draw comparisons to Nier and its successor, but what Shift Up has done is improved upon the formula greatly in creating one of the best action games of the year. The combat will have you engaged from start to finish, and while the story is overly predictable, the beautiful visuals and mesmerizing soundtrack will have you immersed. It does have fatigue when it comes to the open areas and side quests, and there’s a lost opportunity with the location choices, but the main story has been finely crafted into a wondrous adventure that will last over fifty hours. It helps that the side quests help establish the lore of the world and the characters are compelling enough to keep your interest. In the end,Stellar Bladeis a must-play.
