By Isaac Espinosa

The Earth has fallen to the wrath of the monstrous Naytiba enemies and bosses. As you wander the desolate remains of what used to be, it’s your mission to destroy them all. Stellar Blade is a brand new title created by Shift Up, and released to the PS5 today. The game puts you into the story of EVE, an Angel sent by the Mother Sphere to help aid in the destruction the varied grossness of Naytiba, and to uncover the secrets of this scarred and ruined Earth. Does Stellar Blade accomplish its mission of creating a wondrous and mysterious experience, or fall short of this goal? 

To begin the adventure, EVE is seen heading towards the Earth alongside her fellow Angel, Tachy, who is the commanding officer of her squad. The two are heading to the planet in order to ensure the destruction of the gross monsters that have contaminated the planet with their presence. Both members of the 7th Airborne Squad are about to land swiftly, but the baddies cause them to crash-land, and their squad is easily taken out. To make matters worse, an unknown Alpha Naytiba strikes the two without warning, leaving Tachy no choice but to sacrifice herself in order to save EVE’s life. With no time to properly mourn the death of her commanding officer, EVE is rescued by Adam, a human who wishes to aid the Angel in her quest. But there’s one condition: EVE must help Adam retrieve what’s known as the Hyper Cell, and help his cause along with her own. 

The element of Stellar Blade that I found most compelling is its incredible, atmospheric mystery. Around every corner of the planet lies some kind of secret, or an unanswered question, like the surprisingly ambiguous origin of the Naytibas, or the vague intentions of Mother Sphere, the corporation responsible for creating angels like EVE and Tachy. It’s all laid out through carefully-scattered breadcrumbs that led me toward the truth. For every satisfactory answer that greeted me, I was introduced to a new idea. Thankfully, these never derailed the story; rather, they continued to unveil the plot and made the history of this world that much richer and full of life. Combine that with the game’s staggeringly beautiful visuals, and awe inspiring score, and you have yourself a recipe for brilliance. And EVE herself is a wonderful character, who acts with a sense of compassion for those around her, while also having the straight-faced demeanor of a machine on a mission. As you journey with EVE, you’ll continually hope not only for her safety, but also that she gets to the bottom of everything that’s going on, so that she can have closure. For me, there’s no better way to construct an engaging story. 

The gameplay, however, was where I feel Stellar Blade really shines. Built for combat, EVE is very capable out of the gate, able to execute combos and strong attacks to assist her in fights. And as you continue, you’ll gain access to many upgrades that’ll make EVE grow even stronger, like the Skill Tree, which gives you access to unique counter options like a Parry that lets you perfectly block enemy attacks, a Perfect Dodge that allows you to evade enemy attacks with proper timing, and other offensive and defensive options that make the combat both flashy and fun. The best aspect of the gameplay comes from how engaging in battle will continue to give you rewards that make you more powerful, such as skill points to help your skill tree flourish, or upgrades that increase your attack capability or reduce the damage you take. And with the vast array of Naytibas in the world, combat never grows stale or uninteresting, as there are so many enemy patterns to learn and master in order to be victorious. This is even more true of the bosses, who put your skills to the test as you try to survive the immense amount of damage they can inflict. 

Here, it’s important to mention that Stellar Blade is brutally hard. Although there is ample training for every skill you seek to acquire and each new attacking option you want to test, the game does not hold your hand when it comes to difficulty. Enemies will end you quickly if you don’t go in with at least some caution. EVE isn’t fragile, but she isn’t entirely defensive either. Health upgrades aren’t a dime a dozen in Stellar Blade, and even with the HP buffs and damage reduction gears, you’ll have to be careful. It’s on you to properly master how to fight each enemy, which means you have to go into fights pretty often in order to get used to parrying and dodging at the proper times. Stellar Blade, while not on the same level as Dark Souls or (especially) Elden Ring, will try your skills in ways you couldn’t imagine. But once you master the combat, you’ll be raving at how satisfying every encounter feels. 

Stellar Blade doesn’t have many faults.  But if I had to nitpick one thing, it would be the voice acting. Main character EVE is incredible, and there are other characters who are standouts, like Adam, your main guide throughout the game, and Lily, a supporting member of the Fifth Airborne Squad. But a lot of the NPCs and unnamed characters are, well, less than stellar. I have no doubt that everyone involved is an incredible voice actor, so I fault the direction: a number of lines feel rather stagnant. This is especially noticeable in the town of Xion, your main hub throughout the game. Unfortunately, while Xion is portrayed as an amazingly humble town filled with life and free spirits, the unremarkable voice acting doesn’t portray those themes. It wasn’t enough to take me out of the game. But it’s definitely something I noticed and wished to comment on.

Before Stellar Blade was released, there was a lot of Internet controversy over EVE’s outfits, which many called out for being too sexy, and for catering to the male gaze. Some would go on to write off Stellar Blade as another example of the objectification of women in games. I’m distancing myself from those claims in this review, primarily because I believe they don’t define the whole of Stellar Blade. EVE’s appearance is frankly insignificant compared to how EVE is an awesome character that has a presence outside of her design. While potential players should know about the body jiggling and very skimpy outfits, I believe it doesn’t detract much from everything that Stellar Blade does correctly. This game is a phenomenal piece of work that continues to impress me the deeper I dive into this corrupted version of our world. It has incredibly well-thought-out combat, a carefully planned and executed story, and it’s really one of the best games you can grab on the PS5 right now. The journey of the Angel EVE is an adventure that I can confidently describe as a masterpiece.

Bronx native Isaac Espinosa is a Member at the New York Videogame Critics Circle. Along with being named the Circle’s first assistant Mentor, Isaac also coaches students for CEI Esports.

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