Shift Up
Korean developer Shift Up first made a reputation for itself with cell video games like 2016’s Destiny Child, a turn-based RPG, and 2022’s Goddess of Victory: Nikke, an on-rails third-person shooter. Now, Shift Up is throwing its hat into the ring of AAA recreation improvement with Stellar Blade, an motion recreation starring a younger girl named Eve who’s making an attempt to reclaim Earth from an invading alien species. The developer’s first try at crafting a premium console expertise is already a lot stronger than I anticipated.
Ahead of its public launch, I spent two hours taking part in Stellar Blade’s demo, which consists of its first chapter. Its slower real-time fight has a stunning quantity of affect from the Soulslike facet of the motion style, however I can already see how that may evolve to create flashier and extra fluid battles in a while.
Taking again the planet
Stellar Blade‘s opening cinematic part instantly grabbed my consideration. In it, a gaggle of spaceships hover over Earth and deploy pods containing Eve and her comrades to battle the Naybita alien risk on the planet. Those ships get shot down and scraps of steel enter the ambiance like meteors alongside the pods. Eve then awakens in a fiery abyss, with aliens slaughtering her squad. This is the place the demo transitions into the tutorial.
Stellar Blade, on the very least, nails its dystopian-cyberpunk setting. Ruined buildings with vegetation are scattered all through the surroundings, with streetlights dimly illuminating the environment, making it really feel paying homage to Stray. The soundtrack bounces between angelic choruses whilst you’re exploring its linear ranges and blood-pumping electrical guitars if you’re in battle. When combating the Naybita, the music made me really feel like I used to be taking part in a Devil May Cry recreation.
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Stellar Blade opts for realistic-looking visuals fairly than the cartoonish model of Bayonetta or the anime-inspired Nier sequence. Eve herself seems to be beautiful, and the grotesque Naybita aliens actually spotlight the distinction between the foes. The Naybita are lined with disgusting appendages, making them seem like they crawled straight out of Resident Evil.
Eve additionally has a companion named Adam (after all), who remotely pilots a flying drone subsequent to her. One stray thought strikes me: Eve’s English dub voice actor speaks with a British accent, which contrasts with Adam’s American accent. Their character dynamic jogs my memory of 2B and 9S from Nier: Automata, with Eve being extra reserved whereas Adam is extra right down to earth and never afraid to point out his feelings.
Surprisingly Soulslike
Stellar Blade doesn’t maintain gamers’ palms, however it is going to reward endurance. Eve can block, dodge, and parry assaults, however the window to carry out the latter two choices is way smaller than in a recreation like Rise of the Ronin. In a way, the fight feels extra like one thing you’d expertise in a Soulslike recreation fairly than a straight motion recreation. In reality, Stellar Blade has its personal model of bonfires. These are checkpoints that may resurrect the entire enemies you’ve defeated when activated, similar to in a Souls recreation.
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I can additional really feel that style affect in Eve’s preliminary lack of intricate combos. Parrying assaults construct up your Beta meter, which, when full, permits Eve to execute quite a lot of highly effective Beta assaults. These assaults embody one the place Eve expenses up a big vitality blade and launches it ahead, and one other one the place she triggers a fast triple thrust transfer. They deal a hefty quantity of harm, and each the visible and haptic suggestions made them really feel satisfying to drag off. The finish of the demo had me going through off in opposition to a Pyramid Head-looking Naybita monster with lightning powers. While I used to be capable of defeat it, it took each ounce of talent and all of my therapeutic potions.
Combat looks like it’ll get a lot deeper within the full recreation. Stellar Blade includes a talent tree the place Eve can unlock new abilities and skills. These embody traversal mechanics resembling double bounce and nullifying fall injury. There are additionally fight abilities, resembling the skills to extend the window for parrying and to have the ability to dodge twice. I’m wanting to see how that widens the fight past its simple opening hours.
I’m pleasantly shocked to see an excellent suite of accessibility choices right here that make it really feel like a first-party PlayStation title (it’s not, however Sony is closely selling it like it’s one). The checklist contains color-blind filters, in addition to the choice to robotically succeed at quick-time occasions.
But wait, there’s extra!
After defeating the demo’s massive boss, I used to be instantly proven a video montage of extra superior gameplay that we’ll see later within the recreation. As the demo booted me to the primary menu once more, I unlocked a Boss Challenge mode — and, boy, did it take a look at my limits. The boss I confronted off in opposition to is named Stalker, a four-legged creature with a fleshy chain noticed appendage hooked up to its head.
Shift Up, PlayStation / Shift Up, PlayStation
Thankfully, this model of Eve within the Boss Challenge mode had extra abilities unlocked. She might even remodel Adam right into a gun, briefly turning fight into a normal third-person shooter. The parrying and dodging home windows felt a bit extra forgiving right here since these respective abilities had been unlocked too. While the gameplay nonetheless isn’t as quick and flashy as your common motion recreation, it’s encouraging to see {that a} extra offensive playstyle is feasible down the road.
In Stellar Blade, Adam leads Eve to the final surviving metropolis on Earth, Xion. There, Eve builds relationships and helps to rebuild the town. However, the demo doesn’t go there and there’s not a lot indication as to the place the story goes to this point. Even so, I’m excited to see how Stellar Blade unfolds. I’m hoping it nails the story and characters, as glorious worldbuilding is what makes its contemporaries like Bayonetta and Nier: Automata so particular.
Stellar Blade launches on April 26 for PlayStation 5.
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