Stellar Blade Reviews
Had Eve been a character with agency and personality, who actually responded to the drooling and leering that she’s meant to embody, well, she’d be Bayonetta. If her emptiness was hiding deep existential secrets that the game revealed with patience and empathy, she’d be 2B. Instead, Eve is a busty, long-legged cipher of a doll who has no idea just how far up her hind quarters the game’s camera is designed to go, and seems somehow quite comfortable wearing sci-fi heels that make her feet look like horse hooves. Perhaps it’s unfair for this to be the sole focus for some players, but, unfortunately, there isn’t a whole lot else going on to draw their gaze away from it.
Stellar Blade is an unremarkable thrill ride, one with a forgettable story marred by predictable twists and a lack of compelling character development. While it's a visually stunning experience, it's let down by its lackluster cutscene direction and inconsistencies in the character animation. Fortunately, its combat is stellar, offering a rich and varied set of systems that feel endlessly fun. Similarly, exploration is rewarding, albeit a little clunky. If you're looking for a combat-focused experience, then Stellar Blade's 20-25-hour runtime will surely suffice. However, don't expect to come away having had a memorable time.
The explicit and self-confessed influence of NieR: Automata ends up having just enough importance in Stellar Blade—an enjoyable, solid action game, somewhat confusing and overloaded, and without much to say.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Ultimately, Stellar Blade is a game that focuses on style over substance with aa developer being overly ambitious for their first AAA console title. Let's hope that SHIFT UP continues to improve with their future games because with further refinement and a more specific tight focus on sharpening and honing its good mechanics instead of mixing everything in a mess like throwing crap at the wall to see what sticks, Stellar Blade could have turned out to be a much better game.
Stellar Blade’s potential was clear, but as its ambitions expanded into something greater, it lost focus. As soon as Stellar Blade tries to bring everything together, it merges into a single figure that looks deformed and uneven. The quality is unquestionable but it wasn’t the final product I was slowly building in my head as I went through the game’s first half.
Stellar Blade is a masterclass in style, but it's lacking substance.
Stellar Blade is a hard game to pin down in the end. The combat really sings in its moments and the boss fights are some of the most memorable you’ll encounter in this genre, but it’s bogged down by a bland story, uninteresting characters and the need to make boobs wobble in every second of every cutscene.
If you take just the combat and the music from Stellar Blade, you’ve got a fantastic game. Sadly, this is not the whole package.
I'm as conflicted about Stellar Blade as it seems to be about itself. It's competent and occasionally interesting with combat as unique and rewarding as it is repetitive and frustrating. Less style over substance than it is beauty over brains, there is a good time to be had in Stellar Blade, but it comes at the cost of knowing there are better versions of this game that will never be realised.
Stellar Blade is a fun hack-and-slash that leaves a little to be desired. The story is decent, the combat is challenging, but traversal and some mechanics bring the experience down. There is a lot to enjoy here, and despite its flaws, it should keep you entertained for a while.
Those who simply wish to marvel at a Korean goddess and not concern themselves with a game’s finer details, then Stellar Blade might be the game. It’s a game that wants to be a masterpiece but simply isn’t. It isn’t a bad place for SHIFT UP to start, but don’t censor anything next time.
Stellar Blade is a substantial and gorgeous-looking action RPG with exciting combat, but its narrative is undermined by flat characterization and frequently lifeless storytelling.
It all contributes to Stellar Blade being a bit of a mixed bag, checking off boxes for what constitutes an action RPG in this modern age. That is not exactly a bad thing per se, but it is most certainly a missed opportunity for positioning the game as the leader of a new generation of experiences that build upon the successes that have come before. This title might not be the sharpest blade around, but it still has an edge that players can enjoy. Come for the visuals, stay for the combat, and try to ignore the suboptimal portions of humankind's latest attempt to take back the Earth.
Stellar Blade is a solid action game that blends rewarding exploration and mesmerizing visuals to create an enjoyable experience, even if the story and world leave a lot to be desired.
Stellar Blade is a pretty enjoyable game to swing your hairband sword at, so long as you don't mind the obvious sexualisation. There's a few rough areas, but nothing to spoil things overall and there's plenty of interesting story to uncover as you fight your way through giant monsters with circular saws for heads and weird tentacles for legs.
Stellar Blade is more ambitious and varied than expected, but also about as clunky as expected, resulting in a stilted action RPG with a level of jank that you just have to accept. Meet it on its terms, and either tune out or embrace the odd sexual veneer, and it's a solid 20 to 30 hours of fun.
Stellar Blade is great in all of the most important ways for an action game, but dull characters, a lackluster story, and several frustrating elements of its RPG mechanics prevent it from soaring along with the best of the genre.
Stellar Blade is a mostly enjoyable action game with solid combat, strong presentation, and good enemy designs. Its scantily clad heroine is not very interesting, and neither is the story, but there is enough here to warrant a peek.
Stellar Blade is a game that does his own thing with mild influences from other games. The game looks great at the top level and it plays well, although it contains quite a challenge. There is a story fashion for those who don't like the challenge. The game will still not interest everyone. Those who do interest it is at least a good time waiting, in this game of quality with beautiful soundtrack.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Stellar Blade, as remarked several times during the review, turns out to be a collection of elements taken by weight from other productions and put together into a composition that while cohesive, seems soulless.
Review in Italian | Read full review