Stellar Blade: Early Reviews Are Here and They Are Mixed  

Stellar Blade has been the center of one controversy or another for a while now and now the release is a couple of days away, it is back on everyone's mind. The review embargo was lifted on April 24 so we can all see what critics are saying about the hack-and-slash adventure. The opinions do seem mixed.

We will have a look at what some of the reviews say about Stellar Blade and see if it is worth our time. I recommend giving it a go and making up your own mind about Shift Up's new game but if you are on the fence, these opinions might help you decide. 

Stellar Blade: Expectations and Reviews

We all knew that we were in for a beautiful game and after reading a multitude of reviews, it seems most gamers think that Stellar Blade did that right. People have reported repetition with some of the dungeons but we are in for a visually-pleasing experience. 

There is a wide range of enemies, even if a few are the same creature with different weapons. The Naytiba has been designed well, being both grotesque and beautiful at the same time. 

Think Dead Space’s gangly aliens mixed with Halo’s Flood. Though the exact nature of what the Naytiba is one of the game’s central mysteries.

-Paul Tassi, Forbes

We cannot ignore the whole drama surrounding the main character, Eve, and some reviews have brought up the fact that she is attractive again. Despite this, it seems the fact that she is sexy is no longer the issue. The majority of opinions agree that what Eve has in looks does not make up for her lack of personality. 

This is the same for all the characters in Stellar Blade. They all are attractive in some way or another but don't have the persona to make you care about them. 

After 30 hours I can barely tell you anything noteworthy about Eve outside of the fact that she’s fiercely dedicated to her mission; she’s very close with her fellow 7th airborne squadmate, Tachy; and she doesn’t like getting wet. We’re never given any sort of insight as to who she really is as a character, she’s got no sense of humor, and her interactions with her companions Adam and Lily are incredibly shallow.

-Mitchell Saltzman, IGN

As stated above, we know we're in for an attractive game, and it has delivered but if you want some substance to the pretty characters and landscapes, you might be a little disappointed. Now the controversial visuals are out of the way, we can move on to something that everyone has something good to say about. 

The combat in Stellar Blade has promise and some people have nothing but compliments but others say it lacks the spark to make it shine. Critics have compared the fighting to a soulslike game but more simplistic and not as engaging. 

In soulslike games, you’re essentially dropped into the deep end in the first minutes. Everything is lethal and every encounter requires all of your combat faculties or else you will die. But with Stellar Blade, it on-ramps you slowly, starting you off with hard-hitting but relatively simple enemies that go down easily, more like an action RPG than a soulslike.

-Ash Parrish, The Verge

Some people believe that before we get to the difficult and interesting parts of the combat, we can expect to lose interest because the story doesn't hold our attention as it should. Critics have referred to the side missions as tedious and not worth the effort. The main storyline seems to be predictable for many players. While there are some twists along the way, the end result does come across as lackluster according to some reviews. 

When you look at the narrative, there's a temptation to call Stellar Blade 'style over substance'. You fight a flurry of bosses who seem in your way for convenience rather than with any great purpose, and it loses itself in a narrative that is both messy and predictable - there are some plot twists telegraphed early on with the sort of subtlety you'd expect from a game about the fate of humanity whose central characters are named Eve and Adam.

-Stacey Henley, TheGamer

Reviews have praised the soundtrack and that seems to be the one thing everyone can agree is actually good about Stellar Blade. Everything else has pros and cons but ends up appearing as average. While Shift Up added platforming elements to Stellar Blade, most people have said that it is frustrating and doesn't work as it should. 

Let's not disregard the fact that, as a studio, this is Shift Up's first console game release. It's an impressive feat, to say the least, when you consider the quality of Stellar Blade as a title. It's certainly an amazing-looking and sounding game, but even more than that: I can confidently say Stellar Blade stands toe-to-toe with the greats of the genre.

-Austin Suther, TechRaptor

There is some love for Stellar Blade and we can hope that it grows when it reaches a bigger audience. We do have to understand that this is Shift Up's first console game and there will be a learning curve but in this day and age, most gamers might want something more than what Stellar Blade can offer. 

The one thing that is repeated over multiple reviews is that Stellar Blade doesn't know where it should fit in. There are open-world elements but also linear missions. It has aspects of a hack-and-slash game but also pieces of RPG. There are plenty of side-quests but critics say the rewards are not worth the time you will waste. You can collect outfits but they have no impact on the story so it is just for visual appeal. 

There are some great elements to Stellar Blade but as it stands, the reviews are projecting expectations for an average experience. In these modern times, with the quality of games, "average" might not be enough to leave an impression. We will have to see for ourselves and take the time to make up our own minds.