Stellar Blade

More than just a Soulslike with a protagonist to serve as eye-candy, Stellar Blade has far surpassed our expectations, offering varied gameplay, outstanding visuals, a sublime soundtrack and an engaging story. It's a must-play for action game fans.

Stellar Blade stands toe-to-toe with some of the best games of the character action genre. This package offers a satisfying combat system with plenty of progression, beautiful visuals, and one of the best soundtracks in years.

Offering superb combat and rewarding exploration, Stellar Blade is let down only slightly by somewhat flat voice acting, odd quality of life oversights, and a narrative that has a full skeleton, but wants for more meat on the bone. Hopefully a sequel can smooth out these rough edges.

Stellar Blade delivers masterclass gameplay, spectacular visuals and a compelling universe. It no doubt will draw comparisons to Nier and its successor, but what Shift Up has done is improved upon the formula greatly in creating one of the best action games of the year. The combat will have you engaged from start to finish, and while the story is overly predictable, the beautiful visuals and mesmerizing soundtrack will have you immersed. It does have fatigue when it comes to the open areas and side quests, and there’s a lost opportunity with the location choices, but the main story has been fi...

In a year when Sony's marquee first-party offerings seem to be almost distressingly thin, Stellar Blade's dogged pursuit of an engaging and polished single-player action adventure experience is more welcome than ever - even if much of it feels like a loving greatest hits interpretation of past genre luminaries. Nonetheless fans of gorgeously rendered, high-octane action adventures with style to spare will find much to enjoy in Shift Up's stellar PlayStation debut.

Stellar Blade has a fair bit of weirdness, but its killer tunes and vibey, flow-state combat - plus a transformative hard mode - are enough to leave you entranced.

Fluid and adrenaline-fueled combat, a compelling setting, and a stylish aesthetic make Stellar Blade an action game well worth experiencing.

Stellar Blade is an exceptionally well-crafted game that has learned from its influences and honed their teachings to a highly polished standard that can only be commended. The fluidity of its combat is something special. A perfect conglomeration of the flow of NieR: Automata with the cadence and rhythm of Sekiro’s parrying.

A strong battle system and exciting moments make Stellar Blade more than just an imitator.

Despite its half-baked story, forgettable characters, and insincere world-building, I couldn't help but enjoy my time with Stellar Blade. Perhaps it's because it knows what it is, and I knew what I was getting into. What you see is what you get. The combat is the heart of the experience, but so is playing dress-up with Eve. If you're okay with all of that, Stellar Blade is a game worth your time and money.

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 masterclass in style, but it's lacking substance.”