Fast-paced action-adventure games are something I love a lot. From Bayonetta and Vanquish to Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and even the DmC version of Ninja Theory. But lately, a lot of fantastic action-adventure games have borrowed heavily from the SoulsBorne subgenre. These consist of numerous titles such as Rise of the Ronin, Sekiro, and Star Wars: Jedi. Then there are titles such as NieR: Automata, which have raised the bar for action-adventure game storytelling. We now have Stellar Blade, another thrilling entry in the action-adventure genre. Simply said, the game is amazing, with a compelling plot, fast-paced action, and breathtaking graphics. This is especially impressive given that developer Shif Up is making its first step into the AAA game market.
Story
I can’t say much about Stellar Blade’s plot without giving anything away, but suffice it to say that NieR: Automata is an influence on the game. Take on the role of Eve, an Airborne Squad member sent to a post-apocalyptic Earth to eradicate creatures known as Naytibas. Like in any good video game narrative, you are the one who miraculously survives and will save the day when the game opens with a boom and the Naytibas are killing nearly all of the pods delivering the Airborne Squad to Earth.
Adam, an Earth survivor, greets you right away and leads you to Xion, a colony where the remaining few survivors reside. In Xiom, there exists an “oracle” (yeah, I see the Matrix allusion here too) who provides hope for eradicating the Naytibas from the world. You then set out to rescue Xion (as well as Earth) until you encounter the story twist. There are numerous side missions and important choices that you can make that can influence how the tale turns out. There are several possible outcomes, each of which is dependent on certain crucial game situations.
Speaking of side missions, these span from straightforward fetch quests to an objective that requires you to see a survivor’s wife who is in a state of cryosleep; to reiterate, this feels a lot like NieR: Automata without being an outright imitation, and that’s a very positive thing. Since NieR: Automata and Stellar Blade both have excellent takes on the human-AI-survival of living species topic, you’ll be hooked even though some of the story’s most important moments are spaced a little too far apart. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Gameplay
If you’ve played any of the games mentioned at the beginning of this review, you’ll feel right at home with Stellar Blade. It’s very fast but not button-mashing. You must be methodical in your movements. There’s a normal light attack, a heavy attack, and a heavy attack, and lots of mechs. You can hold down the left or right shoulder button and combine it with the face button for an impressive range of up to 8 unique moves. Your friend’s drone can also be used as a weapon with different types of ammunition, from normal guns to sniper rifles and missiles used to capture enemies. There are also special attacks you can launch after a well-timed parry or after successfully defeating a powerful enemy attack, indicated by a blue, red, or purple color code.
But that’s not everything! Each enemy has two health boosts: armor and protection. A good hit reduces their stability, and some attacks aim to destroy the army quickly. You can use heavy armor to reduce your health after losing an army. It’s amazing how such a fast-paced activity can include complex things that are easy to learn but hard to master. You also have at your disposal a variety of grenades that can reduce armor, stamina, and health, and even stun enemies for a short time. Combat mistakes are not easily forgiven, and that’s where Stellar Blade gets its power from the Souls game.
Enemies are also different. Some throw grenades at you, and other smaller creatures can connect with a fallen enemy and make a loud sound that’s slower but packs a lot of power. There is also an Alpha Naytiba in the game that can be used as a boss fight.
The game has a normal mode and a story mode, and generally after a point I found the combat too difficult for my aging reflexes and used the story mode. Like Final Fantasy XVI, you can expand the window to dodge or dodge, making the game more visible and better. Needless to say, while the game is indeed challenging, there’s just enough going on to keep it accessible to the masses without being punished like the Souls games.
Graphics and Sound
Let’s get the contentious subject out of the way before moving on to the graphics. Yes, the main heroine is a really lovely woman who will undoubtedly win over many young people’s hearts. She reminds me of Jill Valentine from the Resident Evil 3 Remake, the renowned Lara Croft, and a host of other female characters that have defined female protagonists in video games. You may view our list of notable female video game protagonists here.
When it comes to plot, you have the urge to growl and growl during battle, and while Naytibas doesn’t have dialogue per se, they do have the usual noises and sound effects.
The voice acting of the humanoid characters is what you would expect from a game. While that’s all good, there are no real complaints here.
What impressed me was the background score. Sometimes you travel around the world and the background music is pop music, like you’re playing your playlist in a game. It’s not bad or anything, it just seems weird to me.
The implementation of the dual sense in games deserves special mention. There is a part at the beginning where you walk in the rain and the sound of the rain can be heard clearly on the monitor. It’s so simple, but it shows how great the DualSense is as a bleed controller. Stellar Blade is one of the few games that uses DualSense features, and I recommend you familiarize yourself with the game where everything is turned up to 11.
Verdict
Overall, Stellar Blade is a great game. It has an interesting story with many endings, very similar to NieR: Automata, with fast-paced gameplay and soulful gameplay that can be achieved thanks to the easy difficulty setting and numerous parry and doge windows. It’s a game worth playing more than once, especially in New Game Plus (if available) to fully unlock your character’s potential and explore every corner of the world. I can’t say much about the game, although there are hiccups here and there and most of the answers aren’t difficult. Of course, it won’t appeal to Button Stamper fans, as the combat requires you to master the subtle elements.
