Stellar Blade Review: More Than Skin Deep

It's fine to take issue with Stellar Blade's fanservice, but don't write off what else it has to offer.

By Tanner Dedmon

For one reason or another, a lot of people are going to miss out on playing Stellar Blade. That may happen either because they've been dissuaded by talks how the main character, EVE, is presented in the game, or it could be because the game's a PlayStation exclusive which inheritably limits its reach. Whatever the reasoning is, it's a shame that Stellar Blade may not end up maximizing its reach, because beneath the fanservice and comparisons to NieR Automata and the Bayonetta games, Stellar Blade boasts some surprisingly involved combat systems and fantastic creature designs all in a relatively compact experience.

After Stellar Blade players got their hands on a slice of the game from the PlayStation demo, it attracted comparisons to things like the aforementioned games, the Devil May Cry series, and the Dark Souls games. While it's got some camp-based systems where enemies respawn when you rest, that's about as far as the Dark Souls similarities go, so don't go into it thinking you're playing another Soulslike. Comparisons to its combo-heavy counterparts are much more apt, so if you're fond of those, you'll like what Stellar Blade's combat has to offer. 

The fighting in Stellar Blade is comprised mostly of combos both readily available from the start and others learned by navigating several different skill trees. When starting a new game, there's an easier difficulty and the base experience, so while button-mashing will probably get you through the "Story" mode, Stellar Blade demands players to learn the ins and outs of its combat system if you want to make it anywhere in the normal mode.

stellar-blade-ps5.jpg

Stellar Blade doesn't really do anything new with its combat, but the developer, Shift Up, has refined it to create something quite coherent. You've got your basic light and heavy attacks on two different buttons, special abilities governed by an energy meter, and a block button that doubles as a parry depending on how well-timed your attacks are. Both EVE and any formidable enemy have shields to lessen damage, and beefier foes typically have a balance meter that allows for a critical strike when depleted by successful parries and certain attacks. 

Again, all pretty basic components, but it's deeply rewarding to get your combos memorized and understand which ones are best used against certain enemies. Combos can be ended prematurely for other actions, so once you get more comfortable fighting, weaving your own lighter attacks in between enemies' swings makes it feel more like an actual fight as opposed to taking turns using moves. It can feel a bit frustrating, however, to see how some enemies react -- or don't react, in this case -- to your attacks. This isn't a game where you can stunlock an enemy into oblivion, at least not without the use of some special abilities that stagger or knock down. So while it's easy to throw up your hands and get frustrated with enemies after they soak up hit after hit while you're interrupted by even the smallest jab, it's important to remember that Stellar Blade pushes players towards mastering its combat rather than bullying enemies with basic attacks.

Going back to the comparisons to other games, it's still true that Soulslike isn't the best descriptor for this game, but I was surprised to see some similarities to one of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice's best mechanics: the parry system. On the normal difficulty, blocking attacks still makes EVE take chip damage, so turtling isn't nearly as beneficial as parrying nor is it as exhilarating. If there's a basic enemy or mid-tier foes that are giving you trouble, it's absolutely in players' best interests to practice parrying on them, because there are some pretty intense difficulty spikes when fighting certain bosses. Even when these difficulty jumps happen, Stellar Blade remains quite fair in its combat in that everything in front of you can be beaten without any grinding so long as you've been honing your combos and mechanics.

There's really nothing to grind for in Stellar Blade anyway since this isn't really an RPG where you're hunting for loot. You get gear that augments abilities and stats, sure, but none of those gear options feel like they're make-or-break items nor are they particularly hard to get. Through currencies, side quests, and some light exploration, you can get basically everything you need in Stellar Blade to get you through a playthrough, though the exploration system wasn't so enjoyable to me that it made me want to 100% everything in a single run.

Stellar Blade has a mix of linear and more open-ended exploration segments, but the former were much more engaging as opposed to walking circles in a desert trying to figure out how to get up on a ledge. These linear parts feature the most cinematic moments, too, as well as some surprising genre-bending levels where it's clear the developers at Shift Up have some appreciation for Resident Evil and Dead Space games. In either type of level, platforming and puzzle-solving make up most of your distractions, though both of those would be much better if there weren't so many codes to find everywhere and if EVE would stop trying to mantle over every waist-high obstacle she bumps into to the point that you almost fling yourself off of a ledge.

While the story of Stellar Blade is engaging enough, it's largely predictable throughout with even twists and turns anticipated far before they happen. Exposition in Stellar Blade is often geared towards worldbuilding, but that means there's plenty of conversations where characters just go on and on when all you really want to do is go try out that new skill you just unlocked. The narrative isn't lacking by any means, but it's certainly not what you'll remember most from this game either.

stellar-blade-boss.jpg

Combat and level design aside, there's still the topic of EVE and her design to be addressed. EVE's appearance is based on real-life model Shin Jae-eun, and it's clear from comments shared by Stellar Blade director Hyung-Tae Kim that Shift Up paid special attention to not only "the back of the character" but the front, too. EVE's breasts move so much in cutscenes and normal animations that it's honestly a bit distracting at times, and though boss fights and quick-time events are as cinematic as they come, it's impossible to ignore how many camera angles have you looking up EVE's skirt.

EVE is 100% sexualized in that sense, but Stellar Blade doesn't take that further than its perspectives and body physics. No character is ever sexual towards EVE in any way, for example. Some of the only interactions regarding her appearance involve a character who mildly implies she finds EVE attractive and looks forward to seeing her again, another who compliments the athletic capabilities of EVE's body, and someone else getting embarrassed when asked how EVE looks after adopting a new hairstyle. With well over 20 different outfits to choose from that have no associated stats combined with other customization options, you can also change EVE's attire yourself if you'd prefer to not be looking up her skirt the whole game. One of my favorite outfits, for example, was a Kill Bill-style jumpsuit that I always fell back on after trying out other outfits for awhile.

Buying Stellar Blade solely for EVE's appearance seems a shortsighted as totally dismissing it for that reason since you'll be missing out on everything else the game offers either way. Naysayers have been quick to knock EVE as a 2B or Bayonetta imitator, and while I do think the fanservice is a bit excessive here, writing her off as such seems a bit unfair and premature. EVE is leagues ahead of other Stellar Blade characters in being level-headed and composed in any situation and boasts an endearing desire to help others as well as being open to learning that things aren't as she assumed.

I'm not saying that puts her on par with other characters since those are pretty standard traits and hoisting her up to the status of other icons would be just as premature, but EVE is far beyond a doll-like character. Considering her potential and Stellar Blade's surprisingly deep combat system and intense boss fights, I'd be interested in seeing how she and other parts of the game evolve further if Stellar Blade ever gets a sequel.

Score: 4/5

A PS5 review code was provided by the publisher. 

Trending Now: