Game review: Stellar Blade (PS5)

2024 has already been an impressive year for PS5 exclusives, as we have received some great games already. Two PS5 standouts this year have been Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and also Rise of the Ronin. The year is even going to get better thanks to the release of Stellar Blade this month. 

One impressive thing about Stellar Blade is the fact that this game is made by a first-time developer in South Korea named Shift Up. I have been playing and reviewing the game for several hours and it's safe to say this game is one of the best action titles I have played in recent years. 

Before I begin talking about the game itself, let's dive into its story first. In 
Stellar Blade, you play as a beautiful young girl named Eve, who is from a special platoon of fighters. Their goal is to try and reclaim Earth because the planet has been overtaken by evil monsters called the Naytiba. 

The main mission of the game is for Eve to track down the Alpha Naytiba's nest that will hopefully rid Earth of its biggest enemy. Eve isn't alone in her journey because she is helped by Adam, who has a helpful drone to help her navigate the world. A younger girl named Lily also assists Eve in her fight with the Naytiba later on in the game. 

Graphically, Eve looks awesome because she is both beautiful and feminine. One of the best parts of the game is that you can unlock different costumes for her for free, like Sony's recent Spider-Man games. You don't have to pay real money for extra costumes like in fighting games!

In terms of the game's environment, I am a little disappointed that Stellar Blade takes place in a rundown post-apocalyptic world of planet Earth. I was hoping this game would be set in a bright-coloured futuristic world like seen in Cyberpunk 2077.

Instead, many of the game's levels are rundown and drab-looking due to the game's setting. This isn't really a bad thing, but it's a big contrast compared to the pretty world you are able to explore in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, for example. 

While the graphics are okay at best, the real star of the show is Stellar Blade's stellar gameplay. Stellar Blade's combat system is easy to learn, but can be hard to master. The start of the game can be boring because Eve has no skills. However, things get better as you progress once you unlock better skills and weapons for Eve to use. 

At the beginning of the game, Eve only has access to a sword, but it can do real damage to the smaller Naytibas roaming the land. You use the square button for quick attacks and the triangle button for strong attacks. Later in the game you can gain access to more combos which look pretty cool. 

Dodging is also a big part of Stellar Blade and you do this by pressing the circle button. Thankfully, the game does not have a stamina system, so you can dodge and attack as many times as you want. You can even execute a perfect dodge that allows you to counterattack enemies. 

Another big part of this game's combat is blocking and parrying. By pressing L1, Eve can use a perfect parry to stagger enemies, similar to Fromsoftware's Sekiro video game. When an enemy or boss is staggered, this gives you the opportunity to press a triangle to do huge damage. You really need to learn to perfect parry because they're really important against boss fights. 

Eve also has a lot of other special attacks in her arsenal too. Firstly, there is something called a Beta Gauge, and you earn this by parrying and attacking. When you fill-up this blue meter, you gain access to more special attacks that Eve can do. 

A second meter is also available called the Burst Gauge. You earn this later in the game, and you can fill the bar by doing perfect dodges. These types of special moves are even stronger, and these can be really helpful during tough boss battles. 

Later on in the game, Lily upgrades Eve's drone and it can be used like a gun. This gun can fire machine gun bullets, shotgun shells, and even some missiles. The gun is important because there are some segments in the game where the sword is unavailable, so the gun is all you have to kill enemies!

I also like to mention that Stellar Blade is much more accessible compared to other action games like the Souls series. There is an easy mode you can choose from, and the game gives you hints if you are stuck on a particular puzzle segment. You can even use a setting that slows down enemy attacks and tells you when to block and evade. 

The game also has potions that can get replenished each time you visit a camp. Camps are important save points and you use these to fast travel, upgrade skills, or buy more items and ammo. Camps are plentiful and you will need them a lot because you don't want to lose your progress!

Stellar Blade also has some of the best music I have listened to in a video game in many years. The music reminds me of the songs featured in the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy and even Nier Automata. I am pretty sure gamers will flock to YouTube to listen to their favourite songs again and again. 

Even though I enjoyed most aspects of Stellar Blade, there were some segments in the game that were a bit annoying to play through. Some of these segments involved heavy platforming, and you had to avoid obstacles. The section that involved avoiding huge razorblades took me a long time to get through. 

The machine gun only segments can also be slightly annoying because your map is disabled. I managed to get through these segments, but not having a visible map to look at made me get lost sometimes. 

Overall though. Stellar Blade is one of the best action games I have played all generation. If you liked games like Nier Automata or Ninja Gaiden, you will love this game. This game is highly recommended if you own a PS5 console. 

Verdict: 9.0/10