Stellar Blade, the debut work from South Korean company Shift Up, will be released on April 26th. The highly anticipated release follows a wave of mostly positive reviews that began publication on April 24th.
Although most say it’s a good game, few consider it a breakthrough or a transformative work, despite the clamor for pre-release from PlayStation fans.
Looking at reviews of Stellar Blade across eight major sites, the consensus seems to be that the gameplay – particularly the combat – is what makes Stellar Blade and its heroine, Eve, stand out the most. Almost all of them found the story and characters boring or underdeveloped, or both, although they differed in their opinion on how much of a disappointment this was for them throughout the rest of the game.
All in all, it seems that critics are positive about what is already looking like a crowd-pleaser thanks to some impressive demo download numbers. It could also be that “Stellar Blade” is more of a popcorn film than a cult hit, but also not something that will appear on a nomination list later in the year.
Stellar Blade, published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, is exclusive to PlayStation 5. Metacritic currently gives it a score of 82 based on 98 reviews. The ratings below are normalized to a 10-point scale.
IGN
IGN reviewer Mitchell Saltzman liked Stellar Blade’s graphics, gameplay, and combat, saying it lives up to its inspiration from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. But the storylines, minimal role-playing, and lack of character development gave players little reason to immerse themselves in the sci-fi adventure.
Praise: “Luckily, the most important part of an action game is the action itself, and Stellar Blade pretty much ticks all the boxes when it comes to combat. It’s fluidly animated, challenging, satisfying, has a healthy amount of enemy variety, and while it has a lot of depth, it never became overwhelming in what it required of me.”
Panned: “Both the story and characters lack substance, and some of its RPG elements are poorly implemented, such as: B. boring side quests that often require you to retrace your steps through previous levels without doing very little to make the return journey feel unique or worthwhile.”
Score: 7 out of 10
Gamespot
GameSpot’s Imran Khan also felt that Stellar Blade’s story and inscrutable character motivations were a poor fit with a visual style and gameplay reminiscent of standout titles such as Bayonetta and Nier Automata. Khan doesn’t think the game reaches those heights, “but that it tries to do so without falling on its head is notable enough.”
Praise: “The gameplay is supported by an interesting and exciting combat system, essentially based on parries and dodges. Far from being a combo-fest, Stellar Blade puts meat on the bones by transforming all of your actions in combat into ultra-powerful special moves.”
Panned: When it comes to speed, “the problem is that individual sections of the game are far too long. […] Things that should feel like set pieces to break through start to feel overlong in execution […] In that sense, it’s often as if Stellar Blade wants its rhythm to go both ways.”
Score: 8 out of 10
Game Informer
Game Informer’s Matt Miller awarded Stellar Blade a Game Informer Must-Play badge, acknowledging the game’s “convoluted and predictable” story, but finding the game’s “unusual pace and flow” quite entertaining.
Praise: “The more I played Stellar Blade, the more it surprised me with the depth of its action and breadth of gameplay experiences. I never liked the story, but the world-building, top-notch art and silky-smooth animation certainly made it.”
Panned: “Eve is largely a blank slate of a character, and it’s disappointing that we see so little character development throughout her long adventure.”
Score: 8.75 out of 10
The edge
Ash Parrish of The Verge noted the same discrepancy between story and gameplay, but felt that this discrepancy detracted from the enjoyment of Stellar Blade more than some of the more lenient reviews.
Praise: Parrish found Stellar Blade’s opening act to be “incredibly boring”, so much so that she “considered very seriously about quitting altogether”. But the gameplay saved the game: “Enemies, even simple ones, became frustratingly hard and reached the level I would expect in a Soulslike,” meaning that’s exactly what she wanted in combat. “Once the game starts (which can take between five and seven hours) […] Normal enemy fights are much more difficult and much more exciting than some boss fights.
Panned: “The platform Fuck and there is far too much of it. […] Unlike combat, where you at least learn “Somewhat, when you die, the platforming in Stellar Blade felt more like you were fighting through horrible, way-too-long sections until you finally figured out what exactly the game was asking you to do.”
Score: The Verge does not rank its reviews.
More reviews and comments from critics
Polygon: “The fast-paced opening and rollercoaster ride of a final act make up for a padded middle section, which, combined with the lack of combat variety, leaves the game unable to achieve true excellence.” (Unrated)
GameRant: “Unsurprisingly, the nearly naked main character draws a lot of attention, but removing that element from the equation leaves you with an absolutely incredible action game that offers satisfying challenge and rewarding hand-to-hand combat.” (9 or 4.5 out 5 stars)
GamesRadar: “Repetition mars the world, a few lovable characters can’t keep the story from losing momentum, and annoying inconsistencies in core mechanics hold Stellar Blade back from true greatness.” (7 or 3.5/5 stars)
PC Magazine: “Tight defense systems, superbly designed enemies and bosses, an intriguing setting, and bombastic character designs combine to create a PS5 game worthy of our Editor’s Choice Award.” Action fans shouldn’t miss it.” (9 or 4.5 out of 5 stars)
Images via PlayStation.com