Announced in September 2021 as Project EVE, the game we now know as Stellar Blade is finally available in playable form. Even though it is a demo with just the first chapter, it is the first global contact with Stellar Blade from the Korean company Shift Up, which after achieving success on mobile devices, is now trying to captivate international attention with its first effort for consoles, on PlayStation 5 .
The demo will be available to everyone in two days, but I’ve already had the opportunity to play it and can confirm that it’s ready to generate great excitement among curious players. It is one of those demos capable of awakening confidence among everyone who has already decided to buy Stellar Blade. It lasts less than 30 minutes if you focus on the main mission, but if it’s a faithful sample of the entire game, when the demo ends you’ll be more excited than you were when you started it.
Korean action with Japanese inspiration
From the first trailer, Stellar Blade makes us think of titles like Bayonetta and NieR: Automata. It’s easy to get the feeling that the Korean team was inspired by the works of producer PlatinumGames to create the basis of their first console experience. This is precisely the feeling that the demo gives us, that we are playing a title very similar to what we would expect from PlatinumGames, which for fans of this Japanese house can only be seen as good news as we want more and more.
The demo begins with an introduction focused on visual spectacularity, in a linear scene reminiscent of big blockbusters (explosions everywhere) for a very dynamic and effective tutorial. The basic concepts are easy to learn for fans of action games and as you already know, your reflexes will be tested, along with your dexterity for combos, but this will be done gradually and progressively.
This initial linear scene, the tutorial, ends with a boss fight that explains familiar concepts: some blows you can’t block, you have to dodge them, parrying the blow at the perfect moment allows you to apply a response that starts with a stronger blow, and You have skills that you can use when the bar is full. In the second part of the demo you will learn that dodging at the right time is also rewarding, that you can unlock more combos and combo extenders, new abilities and more, but this is just the beginning. It’s a really small sample.
Knowing when to attack and not getting lost in pressing buttons, reading enemy movements, protecting in time, and knowing when to dodge are basic elements that many are already used to. In this kind of marriage between NieR and Bayonetta, Shift Up shows that it has studied the lesson well and reveals the potential to achieve an effect similar to what the Korean Round8 Studio achieved with Lies of P, by introducing its own touch into a very well studied and of great quality from FromSoftware’s Soulslike efforts, but here with PlatinumGames’ action and style.
The general story of Stellar Blade itself seems highly inspired by NieR: Automata, but the cutscenes I saw are few, despite the good quality and sparking interest in the characters I saw, especially Tachy and the protagonist Eve.
STELLAR BLADE IN PT-BR
The second part of the demo, before the final boss of the chapter, places you in a less linear area, with space to deviate from the main street of a ruined city, but the game area is not especially large and I found no gameplay opportunities particularly different. They suggest that Stellar Blade alternates between linear and not-so-linear design to look for secrets or curiosities.
Something that reveals effort and dedication on the part of Shift Up are the three existing visual game modes, already present in the demo: Graphic, Balance and Performance. By default, the demo started in Balance and I enjoyed the experience, but where I was impressed was when transitioning to Graphics mode. The graphic quality has improved immensely, especially because the image becomes much sharper, and I didn’t experience any performance problems.
For those more used to it, the drop in fluidity will be noticeable, which makes Performance mode the main option, but for many others, those who prefer to focus on graphics, Stellar Blade is quite satisfactory in this small sample.
A promising action title
Stellar Blade feels like a familiar experience, with concepts that we already know, capable of recalling the best action and hack ‘n’ slash games that we love to play. With a graphic quality worthy of praise, a combat system with enormous potential and immense charisma among its cast, the Korean company Shift Up has in its hands the ability to deliver an unexpected success to the PlayStation 5.
