Stellar Blade™
" Dynamic action-adventure RPG with fluid combat and stunning visuals but shallow story depth "
Stellar Blade™ Review
Stellar Blade™ is widely praised as a visually stunning and well-optimized action RPG that blends fast-paced, Souls-like combat with a stylish, sci-fi post-apocalyptic setting. Players appreciate its smooth gameplay mechanics, tight parrying and dodging systems, and challenging boss fights that reward skill and strategy. The PC port is notably excellent, running smoothly even on mid-tier hardware, with minimal bugs or crashes reported.
The game features a captivating heroine, Eve, whose character design and animations receive significant attention, often highlighted with fanservice and a variety of customizable outfits. The soundtrack complements the gameplay with immersive and energetic music, enhancing the overall atmosphere. While the story is generally considered straightforward and somewhat shallow compared to narrative-heavy titles like NieR: Automata, it still supports the game’s thematic elements and action focus.
Exploration and platforming add variety, though some critics note minor jankiness in these mechanics. The modding community is active, expanding customization and replay value. Despite some camera issues and occasional repetitive side quests, Stellar Blade stands out as a polished, enjoyable experience for fans of action games and stylish aesthetics.
Highlights
Players highly praise Stellar Blade's fluid and satisfying combat system, which combines precise parrying, dodging, and fast-paced combos. The graphics and animations are lauded for their beauty and detail, especially the character design of Eve and the diverse enemy models.
The soundtrack is frequently described as a masterpiece, perfectly matching the game’s mood and intensifying combat encounters. Exploration is rewarding with well-crafted environments and collectibles that encourage thorough map traversal.
The PC port is noted for its excellent optimization and stable performance, even on less powerful systems, setting a high bar for AAA ports. The active modding community further enriches customization and player engagement.
Criticisms
Common criticisms include the storyline being somewhat shallow and clichéd, lacking the depth and emotional impact seen in comparable titles like NieR: Automata. Some players find the character personalities underdeveloped, particularly Eve’s, who is viewed as "super dry" beyond her mission.
Platforming mechanics receive mixed reviews, with occasional jank and imprecision during climbing and jumping sequences. Camera angles can be problematic, especially in tight combat scenarios, sometimes distracting players.
Side quests are described as repetitive and occasionally unrewarding. A few users report frustration with Denuvo DRM causing temporary lockouts, although these issues seem limited. Finally, some consider the heavy fanservice distracting from the narrative experience.
Pros
- • Combat system is fluid, challenging, and rewarding with tight parrying mechanics.
- • Graphics and character animations are stunning and highly detailed.
- • Soundtrack is immersive and perfectly complements gameplay and atmosphere.
- • PC port is exceptionally well-optimized with smooth performance on various hardware.
- • Exploration is engaging with rewarding collectibles and well-designed environments.
- • Customization offers a wide variety of outfits and mod support enhances replayability.
- • Boss fights are challenging, fun, and visually impressive.
Cons
- • Story is shallow and lacks emotional depth or originality.
- • Character development, especially Eve’s personality, feels underwhelming.
- • Platforming controls can be imprecise and occasionally frustrating.
- • Camera angles sometimes hinder combat visibility and player focus.
- • Side quests tend to be repetitive and offer limited rewards.
- • Denuvo DRM caused lockout issues for some players.
- • Fanservice may distract from the narrative for some players.
Rating Criteria
About This Game
Special Edition
Edition includes:
Stellar Blade™
Planet Diving Suit (Captain) for EVE
Fluffy Bear Pack for the Drone
Bonus content:
Stargazer Suit for EVE
Half-rim Glasses for EVE
Quadruple Rectangle Earrings for EVE
Stargazer Coat for Lily
Stargazer Wear for Adam
Stargazer Pack for the Drone
2,000 SP EXP
5,000 Gold in-game currency
Stellar Blade™: Twin Expansion Pack:
Stellar Blade™ x NieR:Automata™
Stellar Blade™ x GODDESS OF VICTORY: NIKKE
Outfit CD-KEY to redeem time-limited Stellar Blade costume in GODDESS OF VICTORY: NIKKE free-to-play mobile game from Shift Up
This CD-KEY can be issued until 11/12/2025, 03:00 (UTC+0:00)
This CD-KEY can be used on GODDESS OF VICTORY: NIKKE servers (Korea, Japan, Global, North America, Southeast Asia, and Hong Kong/Macau/Taiwan) until 12/12/2025, 03:00 (UTC+0:00)
Pre-Purchase Offer
Pre-purchase to receive:
Planet Diving Suit for EVE (White Edition)
Classic Round Glasses for EVE
Ear Armor Earrings for EVE
Special Offer
Game progression required to unlock, or unlock immediately when PSN account is connected (in countries that support PSN)
About the Game
Experience the acclaimed PlayStation®5 hit Stellar Blade™ from Korean developers SHIFT UP, now optimized for PC.
The future of humanity is balanced on the edge of a blade. Ravaged by strange, powerful creatures, Earth has been abandoned, and what is left of the decimated human race has fled to a Colony in outer space.
After travelling from the Colony, EVE arrives on the desolate remains of our planet with a clear-cut mission: to save humankind by reclaiming Earth from the Naytiba – the malevolent force that has devastated it.
But as EVE tackles the Naytiba one-by-one, piecing together the mysteries of the past in the ruins of human civilization, she realizes that her mission is far from straightforward. In fact, almost nothing is as it seems…
Engage in blisteringly fast combat as you slash a path through the remnants of Earth. Unleash graceful yet brutal attacking combos, unlock new moves and weapon upgrades, and face epic boss encounters that will challenge both brain and brawn in equal measure.
Become immersed in a highly detailed post-apocalyptic world that blends beauty and horror to spectacular effect.
Unravel a gripping human fate story, with mature themes, a thought-provoking narrative and emotionally-charged revelations from beginning to end.
New content
Test your skill and strength against the fearsome warrior Mann, the leader of the Sentinels in Boss Challenge Mode.
Chinese and Japanese voice over and lip-sync support.
25 costumes, three pairs of glasses and six pairs of earrings.
PC features
Ultrawide monitor support
Journey across breathtaking science fiction-inspired environments through support for ultrawide screen setups, including 21:9 and 32:9 aspect ratios.
PC optimized graphics
Bring this stunningly vibrant world to life with support for performance-enhancing technologies including NVIDIA DLSS 4 AI-powered graphics, NVIDIA DLAA image quality enhancement, NVIDIA Reflex system latency reduction, as well as AMD FSR 3.
Unlocked framerates
Unleash the full power of your hardware to unleash the full fury of EVE’s electrifying fighting style with support for high framerates and enhanced visual fluidity.
Texture pack support
Enrich the stellar Blade universe through a 4K option for the environment texture quality.
Controller and keyboard support
Leap into the adventure with a PlayStation DualSense® controller on a wired USB connection, or with full mouse and keyboard support.
Haptic feedback
Feel the thrill of combat as your blade slashes its way to victory, with sensations enriched by the DualSense controller’s responsive vibrations.
Adaptive triggers
Unleash devastating yet graceful acrobatic moves, and interact with the technological remnants of an abandoned Earth using the DualSense controller’s adaptive triggers.
Save humanity from extinction in post-apocalyptic action-adventure Stellar Blade™. Experience blistering combat and a twisting storyline as you unravel the mysteries of Earth’s downfall.