REVIEW: ‘Stellar Blade’ Is A Worthy Addition To Sony’s Exclusives (PS5)

Stellar Blade, the action-adventure from SHIFT UP, is a fantastic new entry to the PlayStation 5 exclusive catalog. Blending elements of Nier: Automata, Uncharted, The Legend of Zelda, and Team Ninja, Stellar Blade manages to create something all its own. It stands shoulder to shoulder with Sony’s other exclusives, combining an interesting and compelling narrative with tight gameplay and big moments-even with its mature themes.

The game gets better as it goes, with new gameplay elements layering onto one another in a way that feels natural and genuinely changes combat encounters. While there are a few parts that don’t stand as strong, there is a lot to love in Stellar Blade. From the rendering of outer space and the desolate remains of our planet now void of humankind to stargazer wear and the razor-sharp combat that has a spectacular effect.

One of the major questions I had coming in from the demo was the quality of the narrative and whether or not it would be an unforgettable adventure. In its opening level, Stellar Blade does not tell you a lot other than showing you the highly detailed post-apocalyptic world. EVE, a member of the 7th Airborne Squad from Colony, arrives on a post-apocalyptic Earth in the ruins of human civilization.

Powerful creatures, known as Naytibas, are running havoc, and it’s EVE’s responsibility to take them down, save the humans still there, and eliminate the Elder Naytiba. Pieces of background and lore are dropped as you continue through, but you don’t really have a clear understanding of the world and its inhabitants.

That changes immediately at you get to Xion, the game’s hub city. EVE and her new companions, Adam, a scavenger, and Lily, another Colony member, are quickly tasked with recovering cores from Alpha Naytibas. Xion itself is fantastic, feeling like another character in its own right. It looks old and new at the same time, with futuristic character design and destroyed buildings and remnants of Earth’s past making up its infrastructure.

Picking up data pads and talking to its inhabitants slowly peels back the story’s central mysteries. What are the Naytiba? How did Earth end up like this? Is everything really all as it seems?

EVE starts the game oblivious and new, unaware of the horrors she faces. She’s experiencing everything for the first time, with even her combat kit initially feeling clunky and heavy. The further the story progresses, the more EVE comes into her own as a character, evolving with the changing situations that the narrative presents her with. The story may start slow, but once it picks up, it’s thrilling.

I thought I knew where this story was going, and it consistently surprised me. You’ll have seen pieces of all of it before, but it tells its story well and in a clever way, subtly playing with those expectations. The back half of the game specifically is non-stop thrills and reveals, and the ending of the game is one I’ll be thinking about for a while. There are multiple endings, as well, and I’m excited to dive back in to see what the others hold.

One of my favorite parts of Stellar Blade was its set pieces, which feel as big and exciting views into the decimated human race. The camera work and use of quick time events throughout them make each one feel engaging and loud in the best way possible. Blending set pieces together with the boss encounters, as Alpha Naytibas tower over you with sawblades for faces, teeth snarling, keeps you constantly engaged in each fight. The boss designs are all unique, and each fight is different than the last, with a small bit of horror.

The combat, like EVE, changes a lot as you play. While EVE starts off clunky and heavy, the more skill points you pour into the 5 skill trees, the more agile she gets. The combat will never feel like Devil May Cry, but it was initially hard to get into because of its weight. The combat worked but didn’t feel smooth. However, once you start to learn the combos, get the hang of the parry, make a successful perfect dodge, and begin upgrading the abilities you enjoy, everything clicks. This only gets better as you move farther through the story and unlock the other skill trees, like the Burst tree.

The Burst skills are awesome and over the top. They essentially use acquired Burst Energy to turn you into a shonen protagonist—so much so that you want to yell the special moves at the screen. The Burst meter fills as you fight, supplementing the Beta abilities that you start with. One attack clears enemies around you, and another breaks shields, but my favorite was one that required you to stay still and charge. Suddenly, the screen breaks with slashes running across it, paralyzing enemies briefly before sending them flying. There are other badass attacks and abilities that I won’t spoil here, but rest assured, they are so satisfying to use in any epic boss encounters.

The game is tough, with the standard difficulty being a constant challenge. Using your full combat kit will prove incredibly important, and some difficulty spikes are definitely higher than others. Feel like you’re getting your teeth kicked in too often? The story mode actually helps you learn how to play. It’ll slow down fights if you’re consistently getting thrashed at points to teach you when to dodge and parry and ease off when you’re playing well. It makes the game feel more accessible without taking away a ton of difficulty, as even story mode can provide some tough fights.

EVE also gets a host of ranged abilities early on. The drone that Adam and Lily use to accompany you on missions snaps to EVE’s hand, turning into an arm cannon. Initially, the single shots will help take out enemies, but upgrades to shotguns, explosive blasts, and a massive laser beam will make you feel like Samus in no time. Some dungeons will limit your melee abilities, creating a reliance on the ranged attacks that change up gameplay in a fun way. Outside of those, combining the melee and ranged attacks gives EVE a huge combat kit with tons of variety.

Stellar Blade is made up of linear dungeons and open zones to explore and complete side quests in. The Zelda formula shines through here. Puzzles are scattered around, ranging from clever and interesting to standard fare. One platforming puzzle specifically will have you looking down at your controller as you make your way across crumbling platforms. The platforming is rough at first, with EVE feeling simultaneously heavy and floaty, which leads to a lot of missed jumps. These get a lot better after you unlock the double jump.

The dungeons are largely fantastic, with the back half of the game having some of its best. The open zones are also done well, though feel similar to one another. Environmentally, there isn’t a lot of variety amongst the deserts and wastelands. The linear sections have much more versatility, and if SHIFT UP makes a sequel, I’m hopeful the open zones would have more to differentiate them from one another.

The side content in Stellar Blade ranges quite significantly in quality. Xion has exclamation marks on its map, and most of these side missions are genuinely fantastic, driven by the character’s individual stories. One side quest line featuring a singer and a bar owner is a particular highlight.

These side quests are important to the narrative, and even though the majority of them are fetch quests that have you going to specific locations, they are wrapped in an interesting story. You’ll want to make sure to raise your bond level with merchants in Xion as well, as that will lead to not just expanded shopping options, but more quests as well.

The notice board found in the city, on the other hand, is all right. Here you’ll find quick missions that don’t take long to complete and reward you with gold and materials. These don’t have the same level of depth as the previously mentioned quest, but are good for farming and don’t take long.

Graphically, Stellar Blade is stunning, an incredible visual experience. Playing in performance mode, it’s consistently impressive when it comes to visuals, especially in the game’s bigger moments. There also wasn’t any input lag or performance issues whatsoever—not even any frame dips.

Ultimately, a completely solid all the way through. The music is also incredible. The soft, jazzy-like tracks that can be found in the supply camps are soothing in between moments of frantic fighting. The metal tracks that crash in during fights and boss encounters are constantly hype, pushing you further into each combat encounter with shredding guitars and massive drums. The graphics and music are standouts in an already fantastic package.

There are a good amount of outfits for EVE and her companions, as well (with more in the Stargazer Pack available with the Digital Deluxe Edition). They can be found in the open world and bought from vendors while unlocking them takes a combination of gold and resources. The item economy in the game is balanced well since players are always able to unlock one or two at a time.

Once you have enough gold, you’re able to buy a ton of the needed resources from vendors, allowing me to unlock everything, too. The outfits range from really creative and awesome to some that just feel revealing for the sake of it. There’s also an unlockable hair stylist, who will allow you to change EVE’s hairstyle and color.

The only issues I had with Stellar Blade melted away as I played more. The beginning is slow and isn’t as fun, but that quickly changes as the game goes on. The narrative isn’t the easiest to understand, but as you sink into the game’s lore and more is unveiled, it clicks quickly.

The environmental design in the open zones is similar, but again, the back third of the game brings in much-needed variety. Picking up items constantly with R2 was annoying, but I realized there was an option in the settings to automate that process, which I turned on as fast as I could. The lack of photo mode feels like a strange ommission and one I hope they add in later. Given the time and budget, I really believe that SHIFTUP could knock a sequel out of the park and mitigate what feels like a lot of first-game concessions.

Stellar Blade is a fantastic addition to the PlayStation-exclusive library. The combat is slick and fun, the story deep and interesting, and the set pieces all bigger than the last. It’s obvious why Sony scooped this one up, fitting into its story-rich third-party pedigree of titles. While there are a few issues, these all fade the deeper you go. SHIFT UP has a hit on their hands, and I can’t wait to see what they can do with a sequel.

Stellar Blade is available on PS5 on April 26th, 2024, with a demo available now that carries over into the full game.

Code provided for review by PlayStation Canada.