Stellar Blade PS5 Preview

As someone who never connected with the Bayonetta and Devil May Cry series, my expectations for Stellar Blade were low. The PS5 exclusive Stellar Blade preview under promised, over delivered and has left anticipation very high for the full release date of April.

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Stellar Blade begins on a high note with a cinematic intro that instantly transplants you to another universe and keeps things at a high level until the very end of the demo. The visuals are stunning (PS5 worthy), set pieces are a spectacle to behold and we haven’t even got to the mechanics of the game yet.

Stellar Blade felt more analogous to the FROMSOFTWARE games and although it does still feature ultra stylistic action, it always remained grounded, which struck the perfect balance between mechanics and style.

All the FROMSOFTWARE signatures are here including lock-ons, parrying, supply camps instead of bonfires, respawning enemies after saving and loads of ways to increase the strength of Eve, but Stellar Blade does plenty to set itself apart from all other challengers.

Early on in the demo, you will face a lot of failure, but as you properly learn the timing of Stellar Blade, the scale slowly tips back towards the center. As you progress, the difficulty of the enemies constantly goes up, but so do your skills as you add more mechanics to your toolbox. These two systems run parallel in perfect harmony, which leads to a constant rewarding gameplay loop that always has you on the precipice of your comfort zone. There are even Quick Time events, but they are spiced in at rare instances where they elevate the experience rather than putting it in autopilot.

Outside of combat, traversal also plays a large role in Stellar Blade. The game is far from an open world, but there are plenty of areas to look for hidden loot, including resources and codes, which can unlock chests. Stellar Blade also incorporates Batman Arkham Asylum Detective mode for reasons both of the combat and exploration variety.

As an echo for how much thought was put into every aspect of this game, all upgrades can be tried with training before or after purchasing, which eliminates the disappointment with purchasing a skill with hard earned XP that doesn’t work as intended. You can also just spend extra time in training practicing your parry timings and combos, which you should because it makes a huge difference.

Stellar Blade is one of the few games that looks and plays like it would only be possible on the PS5, which does also tie in to one of the few shortcomings from the demo, which was that Stellar Blade didn’t take full advantage of the Dualsense making it a true next gen only experince. The other area where Stellar Blade came up short was the voice acting felt a little stiff, but fortunately it wasn’t due to lack of good writing, as the story was quite engaging

While there are a lot of apt comparisons with FROMSOFTWARE, Bayonetta and Devil May Cry, I kept being reminded of 2019’s Remnant: From The Ashes. On the surface, it features a post apocalyptic world with grotesque enemies, but underneath it all, Stellar Blade also feels like it will tread the same path. It will surely surprise a lot of people, it will find a cult following, it would be shocking if it didn’t become a series moving forward and I can see a world where Stellar Blade 2 is a PS6 launch title to showcase the power of next gen.

If the rest of the game is anything like the demo, it’s easy to see a world where Stellar Blade is in the conversation for game of the year.

STELLAR BLADE FAQ

Is Stellar Blade PS5 Exclusive? Yes, Stellar Blade will only be available on PlayStation 5 at launch.

What is the release date for Stellar Blade? Stellar Blade releases on April 26, 2024 exclusively on PS5

Is Stellar Blade a Souls like game? Stellar Blade is a blend of genres but if it had to be called something, souls like would be accurate.

Is Stellar Blade getting a physical release? Yes, Stellar Blade will be available in physical format.

Will Stellar Blade be difficult? Stellar Blade requires a lot more skill than the average action RPG, as it leans heavy into the souls like elements where patience and timing is required to succeed.

Is Stellar Blade Open World? Stellar Blade features open areas with plenty of opportunity for exploration, but it isn’t a true open world.

How long will Stellar Blade be? According to the developers, Stellar Blade will take about 25-30 hours for the average playthrough.

Is Stellar Blade an RPG? After playing the demo, it would be safe to call Stellar Blade an Action RPG. There is plenty of action, but there are five skill trees and plenty of other areas to upgrade, customize and personalize.