Stellar Blade Review: Stellar Blade carves out its niche with an exhilarating mix of action-adventure elements reminiscent of Uncharted and Tomb Raider. Players will find themselves scaling heights, solving intricate environmental puzzles, and engaging in intense combat sequences punctuated by epic boss battles.
Imagine navigating a heart-pounding Uncharted 3-esque train sequence or reacting swiftly during numerous quick-time events. Stellar Blade embraces its video game essence unapologetically, which adds a unique charm.
You can explore vast, open-world environments like the Wasteland and the Great Desert, which, though captivating, may feel overly similar with their endless expanses of sand and ruins. Other areas, while more confined and mapless, offer rich opportunities for exploration and discovering hidden secrets. Stellar Blade promises a thrilling journey through its diverse, action-packed world.
Meanwhile, Stellar Blade proudly embraces influences from the last two generations of character action games, seamlessly blending themes, designs, and stylistic elements from classics like Bayonetta and Nier: Automata. By examining these roots, one can appreciate both the enhancements Stellar Blade brings to the genre and where it may fall short compared to its iconic predecessors. Developed by Shift Up, this game aspires to not only stand alongside these giants but also to carve out its own unique legacy in the action-adventure world.
“Stellar Blade” is an upcoming action RPG that combines fast-paced combat with a deep, narrative-driven experience. Developed by SHIFT UP, this game promises to deliver a visually stunning and immersive adventure set in a post-apocalyptic world. Here are the key elements of its gameplay:
Stellar Blade Review: Plot
In Stellar Blade, you find yourself immersed in a distant future where Earth is besieged by the Naytiba, taking on the role of Eve, a cyber-soldier on a mission to reclaim the planet. The journey begins with a gripping tutorial where you tragically lose your soldier partner, thrusting you into a solitary path through a rain-soaked city.
Combat revolves around mastering a light/heavy attack system, demanding precise parries and deft dodges. Timing your parries perfectly builds a meter, empowering you to unleash customizable special attacks that evolve through a skill tree.
Alongside a helpful drone companion aiding in an item and objective discovery, early encounters introduce repetitive foes and combat scenarios. However, as you progress, Stellar Blade whisks you away to new locales, introduces new allies, and equips you with an array of ranged weaponry, injecting fresh dynamics into your unfolding adventure.
Stellar Blade: Gameplay Setup
Stellar Blade offers richly detailed environments that players can thoroughly explore, ranging from desolate cityscapes to mysterious underground facilities, each designed to enhance the narrative and atmosphere.
Exploration is highly rewarded, with hidden secrets, collectables, and lore that provide deeper insights into the game’s world and story. Additionally, the game includes platforming segments where players must navigate complex terrains, adding variety and depth to the gameplay experience.
RPG Elements
Character Progression: As an RPG, “Stellar Blade” allows players to level up and upgrade Eve’s abilities. Gaining experience points from battles and completing missions will unlock new skills and enhance existing ones.
Customization: Players can customize Eve’s combat style by choosing which abilities and upgrades to prioritize. This allows for a personalized playstyle and strategic planning.
Equipment and Gear: The game features a variety of weapons and gear that players can find and equip to improve Eve’s combat effectiveness. However, upgrading and crafting these items will be crucial for progression.
Stellar Blade: Storyline
Set in a dystopian future where humanity’s survival hangs by a thread, Stellar Blade weaves a compelling and intricate narrative. The storyline centres around Eve, a skilled warrior on a quest to save humanity from extinction.
Earth has been devastated by an unknown catastrophe, leaving cities in ruins and survivors struggling to hold on. Eve’s mission is not only to reclaim Earth from the mysterious and powerful entities known as the Naytiba but also to uncover the truth behind the apocalyptic events and her own lost memories.
As Eve battles hostile forces, she encounters a variety of Naytiba, each presenting unique challenges that require her to adapt and grow stronger. Along the way, she meets different factions of human survivors, some of whom offer help while others pursue their own agendas. Building alliances is crucial, but Eve must remain cautious of potential betrayals.
Storyline
Her journey is driven by a quest for answers about the past, the nature of the Naytiba, and her own origins. This quest for knowledge is central to the storyline, balancing themes of hope and despair as Eve’s actions and choices determine the fate of the remaining human survivors. Restoring order and rebuilding civilization are major goals in Eve’s mission, involving the reclamation of territories, establishment of safe zones, and discovery of advanced technologies.
Stellar Blade’s narrative is filled with twists and turns, keeping players engaged and constantly questioning the true nature of the world and its characters. As the story progresses, Eve uncovers startling revelations about the NA, the catastrophe, and her own identity, leading to a climactic and emotionally charged conclusion.
Fortunately, Eve in Stellar Blade evolves gradually from a seemingly emotionless living weapon into a complex character with hints of humanity, although her past on the colony remains largely unexplored. Side quests introduce fascinating personalities, such as an old-school food-loving butcher, a critical hairdresser, and an amnesiac singer with prosthetic limbs. One standout is Kaya, a joyful merchant who sees Eve as the “Angel” sent by the colony.
The game’s structure offers flexibility in pacing, allowing players to explore missions in expansive open fields. However, these areas often limit creative exploration, funnelling players down predetermined paths.
Disappointingly, both open zones are desert-themed, missing an opportunity for diversity. The absence of a minimap for these expansive areas and the early cutoff for side quests are additional frustrations, disrupting the gameplay flow that would benefit from a more gradual introduction and exploration of these engaging stories.
Fighting Style: Combat System
Stellar Blade masterfully blends combat and plentiful platforming. Eve, the central character, wields a sword for various attacks and a versatile gun with different types of ammunition. The gun is ideal for taking out weaker enemies, managing groups, and hitting key targets, making it a delight to use.
Switching between ammo types, like shotgun pellets, homing missiles, and a charged laser, adds a dynamic element to battles reminiscent of Ratchet and Clank. The game also features gun-only segments that evoke a Dead Space vibe, which is surprisingly enjoyable.
Meanwhile, the real highlight is the melee combat, which feels incredibly satisfying when everything clicks. Timing parries to deal significant damage, executing combos during brief openings, chaining special moves, and dodging unblockable attacks create a thrilling, fast-paced combat experience.
Eve moves with unmatched grace, performing acrobatic slashes, powerful lunges, and cinematic area attacks. When at its best, Stellar Blade offers a breathtaking spectacle that’s hard to put down. However, the experience is occasionally marred by repetitive enemies and minor control issues that can break the immersive flow.
“Stellar Blade” features a dynamic and fluid combat system that emphasizes skill and precision, engaging players in real-time battles using a mix of melee attacks, ranged weapons, and special abilities. Players can chain together a variety of attacks to perform powerful combos, and mastering these combos is essential for defeating tougher enemies.
Nevertheless, the protagonist, Eve, has access to a range of special abilities that can be activated during combat, turning the tide of battle and providing strategic advantages. Additionally, the combat mechanics include dodging and countering enemy attacks, adding a layer of depth, and requiring players to carefully time their actions.
Graphics and Technologies: Visuals and Atmosphere
Stellar Blade utilizes advanced graphics technology to craft a visually stunning world, with detailed character models and environments that enhance overall immersion. The game’s compelling soundtrack and atmospheric sound design perfectly complement its dark and mysterious setting, drawing players deeper into the experience. With high-quality graphics and meticulously crafted audio, Stellar Blade offers an engaging and immersive journey through its captivating and action-packed universe.
In Stellar Blade, advanced technologies and ancient artefacts are pivotal to the storyline, essential for overcoming the NA and restoring Earth. These artefacts not only grant Eve powerful abilities but also offer insights into the world’s mysterious past, aiding her in her perilous quest.
Visually, Stellar Blade frequently impresses with its giant set pieces and stunning character models. The NPCs vary in quality, with some resembling plastic dolls while others reuse elements from less prominent characters.
However, the main cast stands out with impressive fidelity and animation. Stellar Blade’s advanced graphics technology and detailed character designs create an immersive experience, enhancing the action-packed and intriguing journey through its captivating world.
Stellar Blade Review: Customization
In “Stellar Blade,” customization plays a crucial role in enhancing the gameplay experience, allowing players to tailor their characters and gear to suit their playstyle. Here are the main aspects of customization in the game:
Character Customization: in Stellar Blade allows players to modify Eve’s appearance with different outfits, accessories, and cosmetic features. Various skins and costumes, some with gameplay benefits, are unlocked or purchased.
Weapon Customization: offers a variety of weapon types for Eve, each with unique attributes and combat styles. Players can upgrade weapons with enhancements to improve damage and accuracy and unlock special abilities for strategic advantage.
Armour and Equipment customization: includes finding and equipping armour sets that provide defensive benefits and alter Eve’s appearance. Gear slots for helmets, chest plates, and more can be customized with mods for added perks.
The Skill Tree system lets players invest skill points to customize Eve’s abilities across branches like melee combat or defensive skills. Unlocking skills grants unique abilities to enhance Eve’s effectiveness in combat.
Crafting and Resource Management: involves gathering resources to craft weapons, armour, and consumables. Discovering blueprints and recipes throughout the game world enables crafting more powerful items.
Ability Customization: allows Eve’s active and passive abilities to be customized for diverse combat scenarios. Upgrading and swapping abilities enhance her versatility in both combat and exploration.
Aesthetic Customization: options include customizing visual effects and using emotes to personalize the gameplay experience, adding a social and interactive dimension to Stellar Blade.
Stellar Blade Review: Gameplay
Stellar Blade excels in its moment-to-moment gameplay, where every action feels engaging and thrilling. Whether you’re sprinting down the slope of a desert dune or facing off against a monster, the gameplay is genuinely enjoyable.
EVE embarks on missions packed with dynamic set pieces and numerous monsters, a formula that generally succeeds. Despite a few missteps like jumping sections or occasional puzzles that feel out of sync with the game’s flow, Stellar Blade largely plays to its strengths.
Additionally, the combat system is a standout feature, emphasizing strategic parries and dodges over mere button-mashing combos. Each action in battle contributes to powerful special moves, rewarding players who survive through skilful defence and timely attacks.
Combat challenges are fair, requiring players to learn enemy movements and utilize EVE’s varied abilities effectively. Each defeat serves as a lesson to return better prepared and more knowledgeable, enhancing the depth of gameplay and satisfaction of overcoming challenges in Stellar Blade.
Price:
Stellar Blade is priced at $69.99 on the PlayStation store, and a Digital Deluxe edition is priced at $79.99. You can also enjoy a free 2-hour full-game trial when subscribing to the PlayStation Plus premium plan.
