Demo Talk: Stellar Blade
by William Hernandez
Stellar Blade has generated some heavily divided opinions in what little time the demo has been available to play. There are plenty of people embracing the game's overt sexualization of its characters, seeing it as the game's one and only redeeming trait. On the flip side, you have just as many people who are so disgusted by the oversexualized character designs that they're throwing insults at the director.
Truthfully, I'm just here to talk about how the game feels so I'm not trying to get too deep into that discourse. I can guarantee, though, that there won't be any blatant disrespect of the developers here. Trust me, I have criticisms to give - as well as compliments, of course - but personal attacks provide nothing of value. Stellar Blade is an ambitious project and clearly the people at Shift Up have a lot of talent. Sure, the highly-defined models stick out the most, but, trust me, there's a lot more to talk about.
Gorgeously Gloomy
What little environments that are available to play through in the demo look incredibly well-made and clearly make great use of the hardware. Now, the premise may not be all that original, but Stellar Blade might honestly be the most visually impressive game to date to explore the concept of an abandoned Earth. The world is grimly beautiful - dystopian to the max. The quality of the lighting stands out in particular, giving players a cinematic-level experience. The color scheme also plays a sizable part in making the dark, dystopian mood feel so strong. A primarily muted color palette makes up the majority of the world, conveying the lifeless and desecrated nature of Eidos 7. The world feels as bleak as it should and that makes it ever more inviting as a setting.
And if you want to talk about good vibes instead of dreary ones, the music absolutely has you covered. What a gorgeous soundtrack. The dynamic overworld background music is such a good touch too, adding extra intensity to battles while still feeling like a seamless transition from exploration. The stark contrast between the moods of the environment and music is honestly remarkable, but it works very well. If you want a strong atmosphere, Stellar Blade definitely looks like it has you covered. And even if you don't end up playing it, something tells me that its full soundtrack will definitely be worth a listen.
Genre-Blending Combat
Stellar Blade is no regular ol' hack-and-slash, That's for sure. While its default difficulty isn't exactly anywhere close to the likes of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, one of the game's main sources of inspiration, it is no cakewalk. A lot of the enemies in the demo deserve more respect than you'd think, being much more than just fodder for you to tear through. Stellar Blade wants you to dive deep into its mechanics and the available skill trees allow you to play in the way that you want to play. There's a good amount of ways to customize your experience, both for the sake of having fun and performing better against enemies. You can prioritize flashy attacks early on to improve your damage. Alternatively, you could focus on improving your evasive skills, strictly thinking about your matchup against bosses. And, guess what, eventually you'll be able to have both. The depth is apparent just from the demo and there's even more waiting in the full game.
Stellar Blade's combat isn't exactly perfect, though. If you're coming from a similar type of action-adventure game, the inputs will feel a little awkward at first. The timing for dodging, in particular, just doesn't feel right. I don't think there's necessarily a problem with input response times; the window for dodging just seems obtuse and unstandard. Blocking and parrying also takes some time to get used to because enemies will continue their attacks even with a perfect parry. Muscle memory will betray you if you're used to being given a free opening. Parrying is 100% worth it, though, and is undoubtedly the most useful innate mechanic against bosses.
Stellar Blade's battle system is a little unconventional and we would need more time with the game to really have any strong opinions on it. There's a lot of potential here, but there's also plenty of room to estrange players. I could see the overall game finding plenty of appeal, but what's actually available within Stellar Blade might be a little too niche for a lot of people.
The demo is very informative. If you've been curious about Stellar Blade in any capacity, I absolutely recommend playing through the demo. It sets the stage for the full release and is a valuable resource in terms of getting a feel for what the game has to offer you. Stellar Blade releases on April 26, 2024 for the PS5. Check it out if you'd like. I'll definitely be waiting for the full soundtrack to drop.
