Stellar Blade Reviews

Stellar Blade recalls the classic era of character-action games in truly inspired fashion. It might struggle to deliver on its core narrative, and its platforming is often more frustrating than it isn't, but neither of those things are enough to bring down a thoroughly enjoyable action experience. It wears its inspirations on its sleeve, but manages to build on them in engaging fashion with a deliciously layered combat system and gorgeous presentation to boot.

Exciting combat and a plethora of sexy costumes can't totally save Stellar Blade's middling story and occasionally questionable level design.

Steel, style, and substance: Stellar Blade finds its true form on PC.

While not without flaws, Stellar Blade‘s PC version is the definitive version of the game, thanks to the upgrades and all the included content. The game remains fun and engaging a year later, with the experience only getting better.

Despite not vibing too well with the demo, we were utterly in love with Stellar Blade by the time the credits rolled. Shift Up has done a tremendous job with their first triple A project and sets a high bar for modern action role playing games. There are some pacing issues, and the narrative's delivery stumbles, but the game as a whole is near perfect: the themes, the visuals, the music, the combat, the exploration, the world, and the technical performance. A modern masterpiece.

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.

Stellar Blade makes a bold first impression with its standout visuals. But does it have the narrative and gameplay chops to back it up?

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 is a phenomenal game that will have you slaughtering Naytibas all day long as you work on perfecting your craft with Eve. For Shift Up’s first console game, Stellar Blade is, well, Stellar.

“Stellar Blade is a masterclass in style, but it's lacking substance.”

Stellar Blade currently sits at the top of the table and has become the hottest PlayStation 5 commodity since its release on April 26. In the game, we find ourselves playing as EVE, a member of the Airborne Squad dedicated to freeing Earth from the Naytibas, a dangerous species that has conquered humanity’s planet. This review will take a deep dive into the game’s elements, ranging from the presentation of the story to how the graphics and sound design hold up against the demands of the modern era.

Stellar Blade is one of the most memorable action-adventure games of 2024 thanks to its gameplay, but falls flat with its predicatable story and poorly-developed characters.

Stellar Blade’s remarkable core combat and overwhelming commitment to style carries the weight of its uneven exploration and muddled narrative.

It's great whenever something as unique-looking as Stellar Blade releases so sharpen your steel and let's see if it can cut the mustard.

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.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before. A malevolent force has devastated planet Earth, and you’re the only one who can save it, by slicing and dicing your way through vicious creatures and saving humankind. This is the well-worn premise of Stellar Blade, a focused and thrilling action game that takes a lot of tried-and-true concepts from the genre and implements them excellently.

Stellar Blade combines slick and challenging action combat with an engrossing, albeit not wholly original, story wrapped together in a gorgeous package with plenty of optional eye-candy.

Although parts of Stellar Blade may be controversial to some people, I don’t believe that they detract from the overall quality of the game. Reducing the game to the way Eve looks is a disservice to all the artists and developers involved.

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.

Despite some flaws, Stellar Blade is a thrilling take on the modern action-adventure which any post-apocalyptic aficionado should check out.

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. The future of humanity hangs in the balance in Stellar Blade, an all-new story-driven action adventure on PlayStation 5 Review copy provided by company for testing purposes.

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 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.

There's a difficulty spike with the last couple of boss fights, but for the most part, Stellar Blade is like a breezier, sci-fi Sekiro. The near-naked main character is unsurprisingly stealing a lot of attention, but remove that element from the equation and what's left is an absolutely incredible action game that provides a satisfying challenge and rewarding melee combat. Simply put, Stellar Blade is the next great action game and one of the PS5's best exclusives.

Looking back at my time with Stellar Blade, I believe it has the potential to turn into a franchise instead of just a one off deal. There is still a good deal of story to tell involving Mother Sphere, potentially even a prequel so we can see how things got so bad on Earth in the first place. With Stellar Blade being just the second game from this South Korean studio, the future looks incredibly bright.

Stellar Blade is not just a fan service – there is a level of elegance and passion to its design, that it is easily one of PlayStation 5’s most exciting offerings. There is no denying that the game has left a mark on gaming these past months before release, spawning countless online discussions, positive or negative. Regardless of your opinions, Stellar Blade is an amazing title to experience, one that not only celebrates beauty but also offers solid and thrilling combat along with easily...

Stellar Blade’s opening minutes are an apt encapsulation of the game ahead. A beautifully rendered but confusing cinematic sets up big sci-fi stakes. A splashy character intro moment focuses on the lead character’s sex appeal. A bombastic action sequence leads into a stylish and visually arresting boss battle. It’s truth in advertising from the very start, and developer Shift Up seems to be making a statement in those opening minutes: This is what we’re about – climb aboard, or jump ship – the choice is yours.

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.

Not only has SHIFT UP successfully established itself as a formidable console game developer, but it has provided PS5 players with a worthwhile AAA action game in a year that’s set to be exceptionally quiet for Sony’s first-party studios. Stellar Blade might not pack a narrative punch, but it’s a competent soulslike with satisfying combat and mechanics that make it an exciting challenge from beginning to end.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 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 finely crafted into a wondrous adventure that will last over fifty hours. It helps that the side quests help establish the lore of the world and the characters are compelling enough to keep your interest. In the end, Stellar Blade is a must-play.

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 an above-average title. Well-developed, with a captivating story from the first moment, and most importantly engaging due to thoroughly well-planned and competently executed gameplay. The South Korean studio Shift Up performed exceptionally well, and despite my initial skepticism, I ultimately saw it as one of the top games of 2024.

From Bayonetta to 2B, the Hack and Slash, Action RPG genre boasts a pantheon of formidable female protagonists. With their striking designs and brutality in battle, they possess a captivating blend of grace and ferocity. Poised to make its mark as Shift Up’s first console release, Stellar Blade is a stylish Sci-Fi adventure that aims to deliver a slick slice of seductive action. However, will it distinguish itself enough to cut through the competition and soar past comparisons altogether?

Stellar Blade sets a high bar, and its combination of exhilarating combat, sumptuous graphics, and deep systems makes it flourish in an era chock-full of high-class contemporaries.

Stellar Blade is the first console game from South Korean developer, Shift Up, but does the PS5 exclusive feel like a first rodeo from the studio or is it ready to stand with the likes of Bayonetta and Nier Automata’s 2B as gold standards in the action genre?

Stellar Blade is a competent mix of character action and Soulsborne, but with a dull protagonist and uninspired narrative.

You're going to enjoy this triple-A action romp, if you overlook the rear-end and don't make an ass of yourself.

Stellar Blade is an excellent hack-and-slash action-adventure game that takes full advantage of the PS5's horsepower. Featuring thrilling combat sequences, an engaging story and drop-dead gorgeous graphics, this is a PS5 exclusive worth owning.

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.