Stellar Blade review: Stunning visuals and exhilarating action - who knew ... trends now
Stellar Blade (PlayStation 5, £69.99)
Verdict: Almost too slick
Want a crash course on video gaming in the 2020s? Then play Stellar Blade. It's a mishmash of some of the best games of the past decade or so.
There's the die-and-try-again brutality of Dark Souls. The powered-up combat of Final Fantasy VII: Remake. The overgrown post-apocalypse of The Last of Us. And the plaintive sci-fi tone of Nier: Automata – oh, and that same game's sword-wielding future-babes, too.
Although 'mishmash' might be a bit unfair. Stellar Blade is one of the slickest games I've ever played. In everything from its marble-smooth combat to its exhilarating cutscenes, it shows off what can be achieved nowadays, given enough time and money. It doesn't so much steal things from elsewhere as give them a makeover and wrap them up in a pretty bow.
Stellar Blade is one of the slickest games I've ever played. In everything from its marble-smooth combat to its exhilarating cutscenes, it shows off what can be achieved nowadays, given enough time and money
A super-soldier called Eve - who's trying to reclaim Earth from terrible monsters - is the game's main character
There's a lot of razzle-dazzle, and quite a lot of fun to be had, too. Though there's always something about Stellar Blade that feels a little too polished – like it's an advert for games in 2024
Or do I mean a corset? There's no evading the fact that Stellar Blade's main character - a super-soldier called Eve who's trying to reclaim Earth from terrible monsters - is treated as something of a doll. You can change the length of her hair in the options menu, though her legs always remain improbably long, and there's a variety of skimpy costumes in which to dress her. It's not how I'd save the planet.
Still, there's plenty around Eve to also catch the eye. Stellar Blade is a stunning-looking game, one of
