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I have a tentatively good feeling about Stellar Blade.
I’m also pretty sure it’s not going to be anamazinggame.
Instead, I expect a solid-to-above-average game that appeals to me specifically.
I played the demo and now I want to play more, which is a positive sign.
And it is basically that, just with somehow even more sexually exaggerated character designs.
Indeed, even some of the surprisingly grisly Naytiba monsters have oddly prominent busts.
That’s about all I can tell you about the story; the demo is not very long.
The opening pitch is simple: hack and slash your heart out.
I’m down for that, video game.
But then Stellar Blade hits you with the entire action-adventure playbook of the 2000s and 2010s.
There are honest-to-god quick-time events, stealth kills, and even plunge attack insta-kills.
I’m still holding out for the inevitable turret section and motorcycle level.
OK, I know where I am now.
I found a cool new collectible on my second run of the demo, which bodes well for exploration.
Fun but uneven
All that being said, I’m primarily here to fight things.
You start with a wide range of sword combos that chain light attacks and heavy attacks.
There’s a variety of dodges, too, with several attached to Sekiro-like color-coded attacks.
However, the normal dodge is so unbelievably unreliable that I’ve just been parrying everything instead.
It feels like Eve dodges one half-step out of the way and has approximately two frames of invincibility.
Movement is a bit disjointed in general.
The walk speed is slow and even the sprint feels a little sluggish.
There’s a disruptive pause after finisher animations that prevents you from acting or attacking immediately afterward.
The rule of cool is definitely doing a lot of heavy lifting.
It is base kinetic satisfaction, but it’s working.
So far, Stellar Blade shines in the boss battles.
It’s got the action down for the most part, which is half the battle.
Here’s hoping the full game improves as it goes along.
While you wait for Stellar Blade, check out the otherupcoming PS5 gamescoming this year.
