Stellar Blade. A strong exclusive combination.
The South Korean studio Shift Up launched its big exclusive bet on PS5, I’m talking about the AAA video game Stellar Blade, a combination of the best of action and Hack and Slash. Thanks to Playstation Global at Tripton Games we played it long in advance to tell you everything in detail in this review.
Development and history:
Stellar Blade starts off frantic, as frantic as the first Bayonetta’s «plummeting clock tower» level. We find ourselves in a war where a spaceship begins to throw capsules with warriors that immediately engage in a pitched battle with the beings that extinguished humanity. It is at that moment that we meet the Naytibas, the main antagonists of this story, however, As we progress the plot begins to introduce very interesting interludes at the plot level, but perhaps they do not develop in the best way.
After our squad completely falls in battle, we meet Adam, one of the few humans standing in an apocalyptic and totally dystopian world, Adam saves us from certain death at the hands of those known as an Alpha Naytiba. .
But despite this promising first look, what about the rest of Stellar Blade? Well, many things to tell; Stellar Blade mixes many styles and various condiments, in the first instance we feel like we are in a Nier or Bayonetta itself, we will have combos and as we advance we will obtain powers with our weapon «an electric sword» such as different types of cuts, and finishing for our enemies, However, we also feel that the game tries to fuse a Souls (Dark Souls or Elder Ring type games) with a frenetic Hack and Slash action, and more than anything I mention this because we will see that Eve, our protagonist, will have pills to recover her health, which They recharge at each “checkpoint” or “rest” and it was at that moment when my Gamer brain related it to the classic Dark Souls bonfire and at first it was like that, however as the game began to show its benefits All this took a 360 degree turn, and although it is true that the game perhaps wanted to cover too much, it was not a big problem for me to get used to this.
Progress and an open world to discover.
As I said, as the game progresses, it will show many benefits. After killing the first Naytiba Alfas or big bosses, the game will make several RPG elements available; examples are all kinds of items, such as stun grenades, paralyzing grenades, and all kinds of medicines to support us in our battles that will become increasingly tougher. All this said is supported by a vast skill tree in which we can improve our Beta energy to perform special attacks, improve the latter, our defense, etc.
Also as the game progresses we will discover a city where there will be an electronic bulletin board with favors, this is where the secondary missions and favors come in; These are different from each other, in that in the favors we will never see the client’s face, we go, we do the mission and we collect our reward just like that. However, the secondary missions are given by somewhat subdued secondary characters, yes, perhaps, but the truth is that because they are secondary missions, their plot and side quest are not bad at all.
The open world of Stellar Blade is about asides, by this I mean that first we will go to the Wasteland, for example, but when we finish everything we have to do there, we will be able to return to that place without taking as long as it happened to me in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, a game not reviewed on the site, but every time this happens in Role-playing or Open World games, it bothers me a lot.
Stellar Blade has a lot of things to do on each map, from favors to secondary missions, and when something can’t be completed, it’s better to leave it, because when you come back you realize the solution right away.
Finally, we have the loot, and it is coarse and large, we can collect modules, and other pieces that the creatures we kill leave us to create costumes, which range from the most sensual, cybernetic, to sports, glasses and earrings. And also improve our protagonist Eve’s equipment, which ranges from exoskeletons, modules of all kinds; life, defense, combat, all of this equippable and upgradeable up to three levels. And not only will we find improvement items in the dead Naytibas, there will also be treasure boxes where we will have to find passwords in dead soldiers to keep the loot.
Combat, bosses and a lot of creativity.
The combats are key, we will have to learn to dodge with somersaults like our beloved Cereza (Bayonetta) does or block at the right moment to stun the enemy and counterattack, doing this against the Naytibas Alfas or bosses will be crucial to obtain victory, since which are in those moments where the game gets more difficult. However, for our protagonist Eve, performing these feats is not as easy as in other action games, so pay attention to this point.
The bosses are another high point, and not only that, all the Naytibas and even androids that we will have to face have incredible creativity.
The graphics.
The graphics are ok for the Playstation 5, Sony’s great console, however, that is not the strong point of the game, it is a great truth, and with this you imagine that there are other exclusives that make the most of the console ten times better, There is no doubt about that, but it also doesn’t leave “Stellar Blade” against the wall or anything like that.
In conclusion:
Stellar Blade is an excellent PS5 exclusive. Maybe it tried to cover too much, but I am sure that the South Korean studio Shift Up is on the right path in the industry.
Grade: 9. Excellent
Editor: Joe Tesone
We are grateful to Playstation LATAM and Global who provided us with a copy in advance to bring you this review before its release.
More info: https://shiftup.co.kr/about/
