Stellar Blade Review (PC)

Stellar Blade arrives from the South Korean studio SHIFT UP Corporation, the same team behind the popular mobile title Goddess of Victory: Nikke. As SHIFT UP's first major console and PC endeavor, Stellar Blade had much to prove. Initially launched on PlayStation 5 in April 2024, the game quickly garnered attention for its hyper-polished visuals, kinetic combat system, and overtly stylized protagonist, Eve. 

Drawing influence from games like Nier: Automata and Bayonetta, Stellar Blade did more than copy its inspirations; it learned from them. With the release of its Complete Edition on PC, including crossover content and a host of visual and mechanical improvements, Stellar Blade reaches its most refined state yet.

Set in a distant future where Earth has been ravaged by the bio-organic scourge known as Naytibas, Stellar Blade casts players as Eve, a soldier from an orbiting space colony sent to reclaim the planet. Humanity's remnants cling to hope in cities like Xion, a cyberpunk hub nestled within the wasteland's decay. Eve's mission is clear—eliminate the Naytiba Alphas and find the secrets that are hidden in the ruins of society. Adam, a mystery guide, and Lily, a fun tech expert who helps and makes her laugh, join her on her journey.

While the story treads familiar sci-fi themes—AI, lost humanity, and redemption—Stellar Blade adds unique flair through its Korean voice acting, cinematic presentation, and subtle world-building. Side quests offer deeper glimpses into the lives of Xion's citizens, while environmental storytelling fleshes out the desolation of Earth. However, the characters lack emotional depth. 

Eve and her companions often feel more like visual archetypes than fully realized individuals. This undermines the weight of the game's heavier themes, and some twists lack resonance due to underdeveloped relationships. Still, the presence of multiple endings, story-branching decisions, and late-game revelations ensures the narrative stays engaging enough to justify its 25+ hour runtime.

Stellar Blade combines character action with Souls-like gameplay, making exploration, fighting, and light RPG elements work well together. This part of the game is what makes it fun. Eve starts out with easy three-hit combos, but as she plays, she slowly gains access to a wide range of dodges, counters, air juggles, and special attacks. Timing is crucial—perfect dodges slow time, while well-timed parries break enemy armor, opening them to devastating retaliation.

Beta and Burst skills function as flashy finishers, consuming energy built through combat rhythm. The game also introduces Rage Mode, a temporary power-up that enhances damage and abilities. As Eve levels up, players can specialize her build through perks, skill trees, and gear upgrades, tailoring playstyle to favor speed, defense, or raw damage. Stealth assassinations, crafting, gear modding, and optional exploration objectives fill out gameplay between missions.

While combat is the heart of Stellar Blade, there's plenty to do outside of slicing monsters. Exploration is organized around hub zones and large, empty sandboxes that are linked to each other. Puzzles, hidden chests, collectibles, and additional activities like fishing, treasure hunts, and collecting soda cans make the game more fun and interesting. 

New Game Plus, which was added in the Complete Edition, makes the game more fun to play again by letting you save your progress and giving you more skills and Nanosuits. The Goddess of Victory: Nikke crossover content adds new missions, gear, and a shooting gallery minigame, expanding the sandbox with meaningful distractions.

Combat in Stellar Blade is equal parts stylish spectacle and mechanical mastery. Inspired by games like Sekiro, Devil May Cry, and Nier: Automata, it revolves around reading enemy telegraphs and responding with tight reflexes. There is a lot of focus on blocking, avoiding, and keeping your stamina up to keep the attack going. Each move in Eve's attack routines flows smoothly into the next, and visual and audible cues help you get through even the most difficult fights once you know how to do them.

Bosses are fun, and they usually want Eve to use all of her tools. From bizarre insectoid monsters to broken androids, these encounters mix learning patterns with playing by reacting. But the platforming and shooting gameplay aren't as good. The first one has bad camera views and tricky controls, while the second one has limited ammunition and slow aiming. The melee heart is still rock solid, though.

Stellar Blade does a great job of making the battle loop fun. The perfect dodge slow-motion parts make the game look more like a movie, and the different Beta, Burst, and Rage skills give you a lot of options for how to play. Every fight is more exciting because of how heavy Eve's attacks are, how she moves, and how the enemies react.

The combat method isn't perfect, though. The lock-on camera acts up sometimes, especially when there are not many people around. Without careful skill investment, difficulty spikes can feel like they happen for no reason. The platforming parts look and feel old, and the close-quarters fighting never quite clicks. Still, these problems aren't as big of a deal as the game's main fighting system.

Stellar Blade's XP is mostly earned through battle, but side tasks and collecting items also give extra rewards. Eve gains experience points (XP) that help her three skill trees: Survival, Combat, and Beta Skills. Eve's skills get better with each unlock, from longer combo chains and more damage to stealth finishes and parry windows that are easier to land.

Stellar Blade doesn't have a lot of grindy parts like many other action RPGs do. Instead, it awards exploration and mastery. You can get useful perks and crafting materials by completing extra tasks or beating rare enemies. The amount of XP given out is generous, so players never feel like they're stuck. New Game Plus deepens progression further, letting Eve carry over her growth and face tougher challenges with enhanced tools.

Stellar Blade is a visual showcase, particularly on PC. Built-in Unreal Engine 4 and enhanced for modern hardware, the game supports ultrawide resolutions, DLSS 4, ray tracing, and unlocked frame rates. The settings vary from dystopian cities and bright research rooms to rust-colored wastelands and sparkling underground safe-havens. 

There are some great lighting and particle effects, like the sparks that fly during battle and the soft glow of Xion's bright lights. The environment has a lot of detail, with lots of clutter, shadows, and layers that make every corner feel real.

The characters are also very well drawn. There are Nanosuits for Eve that you can unlock and costumes that you can buy as DLC. All of them have high-resolution patterns and physics for the fabrics. The enemies, on the other hand, have moving parts that look unusual and bodies that are either scary or artistic. 

Care was taken to make the switch to PC, making sure that every visual aspect was optimized without affecting performance. The only drawbacks are occasional framerate dips in larger biomes and some UI menus that retain a console-centric 16:9 layout.

The audio design of Stellar Blade complements its visual elegance with layered soundscapes and kinetic effects. Every slash, parry, and impact is punctuated by sharp audio cues that give weight to actions. Metal clashes, energy pulses, and monster roars are all mixed together in combat areas to keep players grounded in the chaos.

The music is lively and varied, with ethereal tracks for quiet exploration and soaring orchestral pieces for boss fights. The Korean voiceover, which can be chosen, makes the conversation more culturally accurate and emotional. The English dubbing works, but some of the actors don't do a great job. 

At rest stops, music from a campfire offers a moment of calm in the chaos, adding to the emotional beat of the game. Certain field themes play too often, though, during long tasks, and the soundscape would be even better with more variety in the background music.

Stellar Blade is a brave and well-made first game that shows SHIFT UP's goals are not only big but also attainable. On the surface, its focus on overly stylized looks might make you doubt it, but it's actually a complicated and very satisfying action RPG. The PC version is the best because it has better graphics, smoother framerates, more material, and more detailed performance settings.

The story falls apart because the characters aren't very interesting, and the sci-fi tropes are overused, but the world-building and atmosphere more than makeup for it. Combat is still the best part, with just the right amount of skill and ease of use. Every encounter feels earned, and customization ensures no two playthroughs are identical.

The Goddess of Victory: Nikke DLC and New Game Plus mode add further incentive for both new players and returning fans. Exploration is engaging, the environments captivating, and the combat relentless in its elegance. It's a game that dares to be provocative in design yet traditional in execution, marrying the spectacle of modern visuals with the challenge of classic action gameplay.

In an era of risk-averse AAA development, Stellar Blade dares to embrace style, difficulty, and identity in equal measure.  It delivers everything a premium title should for action RPG fans. And for SHIFT UP Corporation, they established the studio not as a curious newcomer but as a rising force in the genre. A dazzling hack-and-slash reinvention that shines brighter on PC.