Stellar Blade Review

Sometimes the hottest ones are good for short fun, but not much more

Introduction:

Stellar Blade is one of the many contemporary games in which its pre-release impressions may offer more food for thought than the actual game itself. Announced as “Project Eve” in early 2019, there were a few different reasons the game captured my interest. For one, it’s always exciting for game studios to pop up from countries I don’t see very often. Much like with Lies of P developer, Neowiz, it’s nice to see Korean presence in the AAA gaming space. It’s also important to note that the game was announced as a multiplatform title, only to be later announced as a PS5 exclusive. Sony saw something here that they wanted. The other reasons Stellar Blade caught my eye were the post apocalyptic setting which echo that of Nier Automata, the outstanding music I heard in the demo, and the disgusting monster designs. And of course, I wasn’t opposed to playing as Eve, our heroine here.

Gameplay:

Many have lumped Stellar Blade into the “Soulslike” or “Soulsborne” category, which is a massive disservice to the game. It may even dissuade those who don’t enjoy Fromsoft games (yes they exist!) from picking this game up. Yes, there are camps where you can upgrade your character. Yes, there is a similar sense of heft to the combat at first. Yes, the bosses can be challenging. But the similarities end there. For one, Stellar Blade has checkpoints aside from the aforementioned camps. And its levels are extremely linear with little possibility of getting lost. You also don’t lose anything substantial like currency or experience if you die. My first two to three hours were the hardest, as I hadn’t unlocked enough skills that allowed Eve to suit my play style. But I quickly discovered my fondness for Beta Skills, which are simply powerful attacks that allow you to chop through enemy health bars or shields with great effectiveness. Early into the game, I put my SP (Skill Points) into skills that allowed me to get more Beta Energy quickly, which let me to do these powerful attacks more often. There are also skills that let you ambush enemies from above or from behind, which are surprisingly one hit kills! By the five hour mark, I was destroying enemies with great ease. The games combat rang more of a Devil May Cry to me rather than a Dark Souls. There’s a fun rhythm to swinging your sword, parrying, perfect dodging and shooting your gun. There’s even two different types of dodging that test your reflexes. There are skills that allow the player more timing to do these dodges, which I needed. I mentioned linearity before, but players hoping to get a few extra hours of the game will be happy to know that there are a few small open world areas ready to be explored. There’s also a bulletin board filled with side quests. Of course most of them are boring fetch quests, but they unlock decent stuff like some incredible costumes for Eve (more on that later). Stellar Blade has a few strange splashes of modern game design. Stuff that makes me raise an eyebrow and wonder if they got notes from Sony. A lot of games today like to take the fun powers and abilities of the protagonist away from the player temporarily. There’s two long moments in the game where your electronic sword doesn’t work, so you’re left with only your gun instead. It felt like the game was going for a very cheap Dead Space vibe, with dark metallic interiors and enemies that try their hardest to jumpscare you from behind corners in tight hallways. It’s in these moments the game loses all difficulty, as your gun just rips through them. And that also goes for the bosses. There’s also the silly puzzles that are meant to slow the player down. I didn’t actually dislike them too much, but they still scream “Sorry we have to slow you down a bit!”. And there’s the very hot topic of the yellow paint. If you’re familiar with the online discourse surrounding Resident Evil 4 Remakes DLC or Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, you’ll know that games have been putting yellow paint on certain ledges or areas so players can know where to go. Surely theres a more subtle solution, but it doesn’t exist in Stellar Blade. Be prepared for a lot of yellow paint.

Overall, I loved the combat and structure of the linear levels. And the open world segments were fun to explore. I realized I have a fondness for exploring giant desert wastelands, since I also loved Shin Megami Tensei V. I just wish the game didn’t take my sword away from me more than once. If you’re afraid of this game being too hard, don’t be. Once you get over the first 2-3 hours and unlock some skills, you’ll be fine.

Presentation:

I’m happy to report that Stellar Blade offer tons of eye and ear candy besides its protagonist. There were many times during my adventure that I stopped to take in the beauty. I’m a sucker for moss covered cities in post apocalyptic settings, which the game provides plenty of. I won’t be spoiling anything here, so I’ll just say two words to hint at levels that took my breath away: elevator and nest. As for the music, the multiple tunes you can listen to at camps stayed in my minds ear. And I love how if a track has vocals, they get louder during combat. I also can’t stop thinking of the pop track that plays when you talk to Lily, which suits her adorable nature. The soundtrack is very strong, but unfortunately, I found none of the songs as excellent and addictive as the song you hear in the demo! The Eidos 7 theme. Jeeze, even now I can hear it in my head. It’s one of my favorite game songs in recent memory, and if the whole game had tracks like that, I’d be bumping this soundtrack for years.

Graphically the game is gorgeous, as it should be releasing in the second half of the PS5’s lifespan. Character designs (aside from Eve of course) like Lily, Orcal and the many enemy/boss designs are excellent. Orcal especially. I love his grand white chamber and his pile of books. It’s a location that’s hard to forget. Lastly, I want to give praise to the costumes in the game. I’m a sucker for multiple costumes in games, and I think Stellar Blade might have the best assortment of costumes I’ve ever seen. Yes, of course many of them try their hardest to enhance Eve’s sex appeal, but they still look damn drippy! So many of the outfits maximize styles such as preppy, modern, streetwear, sexy and gothic. And for those who don’t want to be constantly bombarded with boobs or butt, there are fantastic costumes that cover her up too. Who ever did the costume design in this game needs a raise!

Story:

Usually when I start a new game, I give it my undivided attention for the first 4-5 hours. I try to soak in the world and learn what I can about the characters. If I enjoy both the gameplay and story, I will continue to give it all of my attention. If I enjoy the gameplay but not the story, I will play some music on my phone or maybe a podcast while I play. If I don’t enjoy either, I stop playing. Stellar Blade falls into the second category. And no, it’s not because Eve is lacking in personality. Part of the game is her learning about people. What they used to do and share in as part of their culture. Who they were. And slowly she expresses more and more emotion. I honestly just didn’t feel much for the main trio: Eve, Lily and Adam. Adam especially felt painfully boring for the first three quarters of the game. I need more than just the cliche character tropes of the girl with the high pitched voice acting all bubbly and the stoic sidekick. Granted, we do get more from these two characters towards the finale, but by then I was mentally checked out. It’s your typical sci-fi story where the truth isn’t actually the truth.

The side characters don’t do much for me either. Orcal is kind of interesting, and I remember the information merchant next to the bulletin board, who Eve is immediately rude to for no real reason. Other than that, nothing.

Overall:

Stellar Blade is the video game equivalent of a “popcorn movie”, just something fun to play without reinventing the wheel. The gameplay isn’t revolutionary, but it’s very fun. The story isn’t going to stay with you for a long time like the Nier games. The music and graphical presentation are fantastic. It’s enough for me, but I can see most people wanting more for their $70. If you see it for $50, I think it’s well worth it. And who knows, maybe you’ll find something in the story or characters that I didn’t.

I liked Stellar Blade.

(In an effort to move away from traditional numerical scores, I will use the following metric: Hated, Felt Neutral, Liked, Loved, Can’t Stop Thinking About).