Each time Sony Interactive Entertainment has offered a glimpse at Stellar Blade, the ambitious console debut from Korean developer SHIFT UP, just about everyone (myself included) has been quick to compare it to NieR: Automata. From that first glance, back when it was known as Project Eve, there was clear inspiration from Square Enix’s bizarre post-apocalyptic epic: players controlling a beautiful but somewhat detached assassin, mowing down enemies amongst crumbled skyscrapers with acrobatic grace.
Now that this debut action-adventure has finally arrived, the comparison still feels apt—yet, there’s more to Stellar Blade than this similarity.
In a future where humanity has withdrawn from Earth to an orbital colony, driven off our homeworld by strange, alien creatures known as Naytiba, players assume the role of EVE, a member of the 7th Airborne Squad, as she embarks on a quest to take the planet back. This endeavour requires her to seek out powerful “Alpha” Naytibas in order to root out their origin and destroy it.
Along the way, Eve teams up with Adam, a scavenger from the last bastion of human civilization, and Lily, an engineer from another Airborne Squad whom she rescues early in the game. Adam and Lily assist her with a floating drone, which doubles as both an environmental scanning device and, later, a multipurpose gun-type weapon.
(So, you can probably see already where the NieR influence kicks in.)
Stellar Blade is, at its core, a hack-and-slash adventure with a heavy emphasis on stylish fighting. Reading your enemies to either parry or dodge their attacks and exploiting Eve’s skills to follow up on those openings is paramount. Players can unleash powerful combos and a plethora of punishing specials, unlocking and improving more options with skill points earned along the way. In between encounters with the alien Naytiba or semi-autonomous gun robots, Eve traverses either tighter levels or larger, open-world-esque environments in search of materials, collectibles, and other secrets.
“Stellar Blade challenges players to use all of these tricks in Eve’s repertoire, and the result is fulfilling.”
On paper, Stellar Blade might seem familiar. There’s a similar setting to NieR: Automata (albeit a tamer one), a healing mechanic that’s nearly identical to Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (where Eve has to toss her health potion in the air dramatically before downing it), and save points evocative of Final Fantasy VII Remake‘s rest stops. Like most games with a dash of Soulslike DNA, using a healing/save spot respawns enemies.
However, SHIFT UP takes these popular, fundamental building blocks and makes their own new tower with them. The combat in Stellar Blade feels refreshingly original for the most part; Eve’s fighting style and the literal flow of gameplay are compelling, and the enemies are just relentless enough to make even rote encounters worthy of your attention. I could have lived without the delay in healing, but it does apply another layer of tactical thinking—can you get clear of danger enough to slam a potion, or should you take your chances on dodging and parrying?
At a sufficiently stimulating pace, Eve can unlock new items and abilities to gain the upper hand. There are different types of healing potions, while a small arsenal of attack items can make opponents stumble or erode their balance and shielding. At her (eventual) disposal are two different types of special Skills, Beta and Burst, and a limited-time super mode activated by pressing L3+R3 (the name of which I dare not spoil), which has its own unique attacks.
Stellar Blade challenges players to use all of these tricks in Eve’s repertoire, and the result is fulfilling. It should prove a fun challenge for most players, though those who have invested hundreds of hours into Elden Ring and each Dark Souls may not necessarily feel the crunch on the standard difficulty. (Those who may struggle with reading parrying and dodging patterns can switch to the Story Mode difficulty for assistance via on-screen prompts that show you the right button prompts.)
That’s not to say combat is without its foibles. I was disappointed to see the return of janky, over-reaching enemy attacks where you can get hit even if you’ve dodged in time. This sort of thing was my biggest irritation with PS4-era games like Marvel’s Spider-Man, and we’ve started to move away from it as an industry.
There are also mandatory segments where Eve can’t deploy her sword and can only use the drone’s multi-function gun to clear the level, and it’s here where Stellar Blade starts to treat itself like more survival horror than action-adventure. These can wear a touch long, especially when they start to incorporate some more precise platforming; Eve’s movement is great for broad exploration but not necessarily optimized for jumping platform-to-platform over horrifying voids.
Exploration is another huge component of Stellar Blade, and likewise, SHIFT UP has crafted some compelling areas to delve through. Wisely, these environments are sizable sandboxes instead of endless open-world expanses. Enemies, landmarks, side-quests, and collectibles are all scattered efficiently across them, enough to encourage curiosity without feeling rail-roady. The lines between these open areas and the more prescribed “levels” blur nicely to create a relatively natural world.
Again, that being said, there are still some flies in the ointment. Stellar Blade can’t seem to decide if it wants you to have a map of your current area or not. Map functionality doesn’t appear until after clearing the first real environment; after that point, you’d think that had been unlocked as a permanent feature, but certain zones continue to be unmappable (which doesn’t do those gun-only segments any favours).
“Eve is the core of Stellar Blade, and she mostly lives up to her potential as a heroine.”
Stellar Blade also has a bit of a thing for throwing recent bosses at you again as a surprise, shortly after their initial encounter, with extra BS. At one point, I was trying to complete a totally unassuming side quest, only to get repeatedly bodied by the same Alpha Naytiba boss I had vanquished on the first try just half an hour prior. It also likes to deprive Eve of camps in new areas until she’s restored power to a nearby solar tower, which can be a slog if that tower is guarded by one of those repeat bosses.
Narratively, Stellar Blade tries to put its own mark on the post-apocalyptic wasteland genre and mostly succeeds when its own writing allows it. Perhaps this is a quirk of the English translation, but many interactions feel slightly wooden or outright awkward, especially when it comes to recurring NPCs. (Eve’s standard interactions with Kaya, Roxanne, and Barry are excellent examples.) The main trio of Eve, Adam, and Lily have a good rapport to hold the story’s core together, at least, and several of the people in Xion have interesting personal side-quests.
There’s an attempt to make players question the bigger picture, largely thanks to cryptic hints found on fallen scavengers casting doubt upon the validity of Xion’s leadership or the very nature of the Naytiba. These mostly pay off, though some of that woodenness extends to the game’s full-blown story cutscenes. There are some big revelatory or emotional swings that mostly land but aren’t given the time to fully develop before we’re ushered to the next story beat.
“Narratively, Stellar Blade tries to put its own mark on the post-apocalyptic wasteland genre and mostly succeeds when its own writing allows it.”
Eve is the core of Stellar Blade, and she mostly lives up to her potential as a heroine. The story gives her moments to shine and show more complexity than simply being another dress-up doll or emotionless assassin, even if it does rush through them. One particular standout is a moment where she discovers the remains of a human community in an unexpected place and marvels at the various artifacts left behind, like instruments and teddy bears and a memorial to their dead. Her written responses to the various side quests granted by the in-game bulletin board also help flesh out her personality and inner workings.
My favourite subplot in Stellar Blade‘s worldbuilding is its big collecting side quest. Throughout the game Eve can pick up intact cans of various made-up beverages, like energy drinks, sports drinks, and coffee. Each time she does, there’s a funny little fanfare noise, and she strikes a dramatic pose, brandishing the treasure like Link holding up a shiny new rupee. After collecting a few, there’s a dialogue between her and Lily where they muse on the nature of these bizarre relics from humanity’s ancient past. It’s a charming and welcome moment where Stellar Blade stops trying to be uber-serious and has a little fun with its characters and setting.
Story and gameplay alike are expressed through some truly outstanding graphics. Many of the human characters (or those with exposed faces, at least) look incredibly realistic, and some almost uncannily so. There’s variety in the environments and the enemies that dwell within, with those survivor-horroresque moments punctuated by truly horrific details. SHIFT UP clearly drew upon the PlayStation 5 hardware’s potential, right down to the use of haptics in its fishing minigame.
Amongst the sea of action titles on the PS5, Stellar Blade manages to carve out a name for itself at the end of the day. It takes some popular conventions and translates them into a refreshingly unique and surprisingly balanced new experience despite some little missteps along the way. Action fans will surely be exploring the depths of its world for some time.
As the console debut for a relatively green studio, Stellar Blade is an incredible achievement. Despite its foibles, I was still eager to keep exploring its post-apocalyptic Earth and see what its multiple endings had in store—and likewise, I’m curious to see how SHIFT UP can follow this impressive debut.
