It was born as Project EVE a few years ago, and then changed identity and transformed into a completely different title. And practically only the name of the protagonist remained of Eve. The future of humanity hangs in the balance Stellar Bladethe brand new apocalyptic sci-fi action adventure, exclusively for PlayStation 5, created by the team Shift Up and coming to Sony's next-gen console next April 26. Although until recently a free demo version was available and open to the public, now the world unfolding in front of us is even more powerful and engaging. We immersed ourselves in this vast and long-lived adventure to tell you about our experience in this review, without too many spoilers!
Stella Blade, when NiEr Automata meets Bayonetta
Well yes, our subtitle announces some of the similarities that immediately caught our eye with other successful Triple A titles launched in recent years, but which are not the only ones to be remembered in this apocalyptic sci-fi. Stellar Blade is very reminiscent of not only that NieR Automata or Alita: Battle Angel and Ghost in the Shell. We can also quote Devil May Cry e Bayonettaespecially given the gameplay, and many others elements borrowed from the soulslike genre.
It is a title that has tried to combine many different elements, and which also seems to have what it takes to enjoy good success with the public. Stellar Blade tells the story of a young girl, named Eve, member of an air team sent to planet Earth with the aim of repelling the attack of some space creatures. Are the Naytibasresponsible for the partial extinction of the human race.
From the beginning we learn that the main key figures of the story, as regards protagonists and supporting actors, are precisely Eve, Tachy e Adam, three important characters for the story, as well as throwing us into medias res to learn the basics of combat. Content that the players of the demo had already encountered (and from which they will then be able to import their progress into the definitive version of the game).
Devastation surrounds us…
The definitive version of this title starts from the preview story shown to us in the demo, and of which we provide a brief summary here. Ravaged by strange and powerful creatures, Earth has been abandoned and what remains of a decimated human race has fled to a colony in space. After leaving the colony, Eve, member of the 7th Airborn Squadarrives on the desolate remains of our planet with a very specific mission: save humanity by reclaiming Earth from the Naytibathe evil force that devastated her.
But as Eve faces the Naytiba one by one (and there will be many of them), also trying to reconstruct the mysteries of the past among the ruins of human civilization, the girl realizes that her mission is anything but simple. However Eve is strongas well as being supported by a small, great team, while immediately taking root and discovering the secrets hidden among the ruins of Eidos 7the now destroyed city that now hosts only so much desolation and just as many deadly creatures.
…but not in the graphics sector
So far the description we have given you of Stellar Blade seems really reductive, but we assure you that its substance is really quite substantial. This title immediately shows its highly cinematic component, and references, as mentioned, to NieR and several other relevant titles in the gaming world. This aspect certainly facilitates the immediate involvement of the player, who reinterprets in Stellar Blade the ability of the South Korean developer team in re-proposing themes and design concepts already known to the public, but in a still fresh and interesting way.
Let's start with the protagonist Eve, who, being human, seems perhaps a little more emotional than 2B, but she knows how to alternate moments of stoicism and determination that make her similar to the android we have known for many years. We also observe the care placed in the graphics sector, especially evident during the prologue. In the space of a few minutes she stages a truly impressive amount of special effects, as powerful aliens emerge from underground shaking the earth, and Eve's companions are massacred one by one.
If attention to these details allowed the team to reduce several imperfections shown in the demo version, maintaining a impressive glance, there still remain two slightly more “unfortunate” aspects. The first concerns i obvious glitches in the hair animation of Eve, very long almost to the floor and with very obvious defects. The second is in the regiawhich during the prologue lingers a lot on the forms of the protagonist, still represented with prosperous aesthetic canons and totally adhering to the Japanese stereotype.
As fascinating as it is deadly
Not just aesthetic beauty. Eve knows her stuff and, once the crash landing is complete, we immediately take control of it in third person, learning the basics of combat in a fairly important escalation from the very early stages of the game. Between light and heavy attacks, and alternating them with different types of combos (close to those of Devil May Cry), the protagonist also puts into practice special abilities, associated with the various buttons on our controller, as well as a di parate system and Sekiro style. These allow for sometimes even devastating repercussions.
When the fights become slower and based on specific strategies, you can feel the proximity to soulslike, making Stellar Blade a genre hybrid that works well. Especially when we can start spending experience points to acquire new skills, and empower our heroine accordingly. All thanks also to various hidden objects (and more) that will be displayed from the pod of our faithful android, which looks a lot like a mix between Death Stranding's scan and Assassin's Creed's hawkeye mode. Just to mention other important videogame franchises.
Eidos 7 hides quite a few secrets for us, but exploration it is, also in this case, very close to that of soulslike games. For example, there are gods base camps where you can recover life points and healing, purchase items and spend skill points. Fortunately, by dying you do not lose the accumulated experience, but the challenge level is however a little higher than expected, regardless of the difficulty selected. However, everything is supported by an important game engine, which makes the experience enjoyable and fluid, in loading and in the various action phases of the title as a whole.
Stellar Blade: our review of the sci-fi action exclusive to Sony PlayStation 5
An important exclusive, the one that Sony has acquired with the South Korean development studio Shift Up. Stellar Blade presents a story that in some respects seems like an important pastiche between Triple A titles well known to the gaming public, but this does not mean it translates into an apathetic and insubstantial “more of the same”. On the contrary. There is a lot of substance and there care taken it is not only highlighted from a narrative point of view, but also in level design and in the exploration phases. Stellar Blade is the game we expected to have in our hands, an action RPG that combines sci-fi and soulslike, with an important narrative component and a very respectable longevity. Not to mention that Eve deserves to soon be counted among the most important heroines of video games. And now, the apocalyptic Eidos 7 awaits you.
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