Stellar Blade: PS5 Review

Developed by Shift UP
Published by Sony Interactive
Platform: PS5

Shift UP's entry into the action-adventure world is a slickly polished piece of HD fluff that somehow finds a way to keep you engaged in its somewhat formulaic story.

A simple story of a protagonist named EVE who finds herself at the front of a post-apocalyptic battle against an invading enemy, Stellar Blade is more about the visuals and basics of a game than a deep dive into the worlds of RPGs in the mold of Final Fantasy. 

Refreshingly easier on the combat front, Stellar Blade is about guiding the player into the top tiers of the action, providing opportunities to build combos and unleash on baddies with ease, rather than forcing a player to complete a series of actions before rewarding them with a smackdown.

There's a feeling of simplicity which permeates the game throughout and while there are elements that will be familiar to those who have played the Nier: Automata games, Stellar Blade glosses over the familiarity with ease, settling for a well-executed copy of what many games have done before.

It helps that the game looks gorgeous throughout - aside from its obviously over-sexualised imagery and presentation of the female form. But don't expect to be immersed in the characters - they're largely cyphers for the story and dialogue and any perception of depth likely comes from the polished way they look.

Battle scenes are wonderfully rendered, there's little blurring of the action as the fights are enacted - and while cut scenes are a little middle of the road and less emotionally engaging than perhaps you would expect, Stellar Blade acquits itself well in the genre pool it's playing in.

There's a lot to enjoy in Stellar Blade, and while it may fade in the pantheon of its genre, thanks to a lack of development of skills that have been deployed in other games, its polished look and presence will guarantee it a degree of longevity that may surprise.