- Tested on PS5
- Game purchased in physics and code transmitted by the publisher
- Finished after 42 hours of normal play
- A few hours played in the hard New Game Plus and in the boss Duel mode.
- 95% of secondary quests completed
- To focus on performance, we played in Balance mode.
- No technical problems encountered. *
- Homeshots.
This will have escaped no one, four months after its release on PS5, not without stir on the public side and social networks, Stellar Blade can already boast of being a commercial success thanks to sales figures above expectations, which can start a sequel without further delay. It's like this today, developments are sometimes so long and expensive that they force studios to constantly beat iron while it's still hot. When it's not a question of a patch to deploy to catch up with a prematurely deployed soft. What is the game of Shift Up, still recently unknown to the battalion?
BayoEveMata
How not to think of the current news, with a Black Myth : Wukong out with a bunch of bugs. Conversely, Stellar Blade We have reached a more than satisfactory state, which we are no longer accustomed to, we must say. Not to mention that Korean Shift Up teams signed their first production for consoles there. To the ambitions far removed from the mobile achievements stewing the CV of the members of the studio. Known especially for the friendly shooter, and no less solicitor, Goddess of Victory : Nikke, their new and ambitious license, supervised by Magna Carta designer and leader of Shift Up, Hyung Tae-Kim, is a beat « eyelashes ».
When he exited, many compared to Bayonetta and NieR Automata. Without being false, these influences being mentioned by Hyung Tae-Kim himself, it must be understood that it is not in the gameplay, but on the aesthetic part that we will find them in Stellar Blade. All you have to do is start a first game to convince yourself. The pretty introductory cinematic announces the color and leaves little doubt as to the importance of Yoko Taro and Platinum Games in the genesis of Stellar Blade.
Moreover, even if, attests to this, the scene in which Eve is extracted from her capsule clearly referring to adaptation Ghost In The Shell by Mamoru Oshii, or combinations of angels echoing those visible in Evangelion The inspiration is not essentially from the video game. However, if the project Stellar Blade was born, it's good because NieR Automata exists. The universe of SF with its lot of humans in perdition and automatons, the narrative that goes so far as to address themes already present in the title of Yoko Taro confirms this. Narrative mastery less that says.
In terms of BayonettaIn addition to the perfect esquives triggering a slow pace, it is rather on the side of the heroine's physics, his athletic skills and the staging of confrontations, especially against bosses, that one feels the affiliation. The murders carried out by Eve, the protagonist, recapture the aestheticization of violence and the spectacle dimension dear to the beats of Hideki Kamiya. We're just as thinking about Bayonetta than DMCOf course. It is also difficult not to see Cereza in the silhouette of the protagonist of Stellar Blade.
Focusing on female forms and hair, to a different degree here, long legs for a smaller bust, despite a body partially modelled from that of the Shin Jae-Eun model. That said, unlike our favorite witch, Eve doesn't shine through her personality. It's not surprising, therefore, that the sexy side of heroin mainly passes through costumes, several dozen of which delight all tastes and enjoying a meticulous design work, when Cereza displays a limited wardrobe and plays her body to accentuate her extraverted and charming attitude. In addition to enjoying a narrative justification.
Angel in the Shell
For his main character, Stellar Blade seems to be more inspired by 2B, the two women sharing a certain sweetness, also modesty. However, Eve does not take advantage of a scripture and a sufficient presence to mark the spirits as well. Without being soulless, however, it is constantly in retreat and, above all, does not receive sufficiently extensive treatment. Eve can't impose herself because of a little dominant character, but especially because despite situations « dangerous », our Angel is never really suffering and its evolution seems too measured, not to mention the limited social relations.
Writing, like narration, is clearly the most notable weakness of the soft. We already said, NieR Automata remains the main inspiration, for the creation of the universe of Stellar Blade, as well as for the topics discussed, in particular questions about what defines a human, the place of machines or what relates to ideological fanaticism, religion and war in a certain way, with all the lies that can hide behind.
Shift Up teams have nevertheless brought variations, so the almost mechanical approach to the bestiary of a Nier Automata the Naytibas. Injection of a dose of biopunk that is not to displease us. As for philosophical reflections, it is not on the menu. In any case, the narrative is hard to convince, let alone the generally foreseeable plot. It is counterbalanced by a bet that can captivate and delight, without equalling a DMC.
Only, in the absence of a memorable casting, one emerges from the game with some disappointments, because, it is rather admitted, a good story starts with good characters, especially the hero and the main antagonist who, on their own, can leave an indelible trace. Unfortunately, this is not the case here. The lore is still of minimal interest, which affects Naytibas is not uninteresting. The contrast operated by angels such as Eve, whose NPCs do not deprive themselves of complimenting beauty and angelic status, with the organic monstrosities crossed, finds meaning in the narrative.
Eve get up and dance with life
Not to mention Eve, who questions his humanity and condition, experiences the horror and beauty of life. Moreover, the question of beauty is more or less addressed in a secondary mission asking us to help a PNJ and an android singer of opera. Mission that we found quite successful, precisely for the emotions transmitted and the attention given to the music, the beauty that emanates from it. Even if we were entitled to hope for more emotional power.
The sound atmosphere plays an important role in spreading emotions, and here we touch an important and valuable element in the Stellar Blade experience: the soundtrack. Composed by Monaca Studio, the band created by Keiichi Okabe, the man behind the NieR franchise OST and also present on several opus Tekken. Each one will go from its sensitivity, but the plethora of distilled pieces during the adventure, ranging from melody to most electro has not to blush against the compositions of the games signed Yoko Taro.
As much in their diversity as in their use, it is generally excellent job, several music still haunt us after playing. The real regret is the evocative and emotional power that one was entitled to expect from soft and that remains too shy. The effort is still to be noted. In addition, given the structure, the title segmented into several distinct zones, two of which are distinguished by their larger size (these are also two deserts), it was important that musical loops did not end up making us deaf or forcing us to cut the sound.
This only commits us, but the trip would not have been as pleasant and acceptable for 40 hours without a sound atmosphere to the height. At the height of the environments, too; we have been surprised several times to enjoy the landscape sitting on a bench, taking the time to appreciate the calm so proper for desolation. The artistic direction presents its set of detailed decorations, with good variations while managing to breathe life into them. On this point, Stellar Blade This contrasts with the worlds imagined in Yoko Taro's works, with the less diverse biomes where redundancy is felt, not to mention the feeling of permanent emptiness.
The Taxi Driver
Shift Up preferred to set aside such radical gamedesign choices to favor a wider audience experience. Less tedious also, despite a still high lifespan for the genus. Regarding the gameplay game, once in action, Stellar Blade takes on a completely different dimension, far from the cabrioles of a Platinum Games license. Among the many influences that Hyung Tae-Kim has mentioned, we find God of War (read our critical), the 2018 formula, and Jedi Fallen Order.
The placement of enemies, likely to take you by surprise from a dead angle, the camps regenerating health and reappearing previously defeated enemies undeniably bring the proposal of a FromSoftware, that being said, when it comes to evacuating the dubious creature Eve has a whole new energy. Beyond the high-quality visual and sound feedbacks that greatly contribute to making the jousting, punchy, where it is felt that the teams have tried the above mentioned titles, it is also athletic ease of Eve that impresses, transcended by the work on animations.
We chain the blows and combos, we counter with harshness, we dodge with a certain elegance, from the already seen on the paper, but with a formidable efficiency controller in hand. If we regret the absence of various weapons – we are confined to a single sword from beginning to end – the tree of generous skills brings what it takes to enrich the gameplay. One cannot deny that the limits appear before reaching the end credits; However, the learning curve and the challenge offered by some bosses, especially the latter, keep awake.
Without being perfect for that, the mechanics dodge requires a time of adaptation and slight inaccuracies can occur, the whole remains solid and greying, which is moreover faced with a bestiary there so convincing. Note also the desire to vary pleasures. There are secondary quests, although most of them are lambda and mainly bring elements of lore that can take on a little or little interest, and more varied sequences: passage exclusively to the gun in an atmosphere pulling towards horror, without totally succumbing to it unfortunately, an oasis lost in the desert where it can be allowed to go to a fishing party, not to mention pleasant, but too short, moments of slide.
A certain and very appreciative generosity, in the vein of an opus stamped Capcom, compensates for other worries such as indications a hair too present and a verticality, certainly present, but too underexploited. More problematic, on his secondary quests Stellar Blade Recycle bosses, to our great regret. On the other hand, the soft lends itself well to the exploration that it adequately rewards, through useful materials, equipment or notable improvements for Eve and, if it is something you like, know that the plethora of unblockable costumes is done in the game, with a majority accessible without great effort. A nice carrot.
Without succeeding in shining thanks to his writing and narration like a NieR Automata, Stellar Blade nevertheless managed to offer an attractive universe, with careful artistic direction, supported by a truly convincing staging. Without being fully involved in the story, because of its predictable side and poorly defined characters, and not escaping a slight excess of ambition that is felt in the questionable interest of secondary quests and boss recycling, it is clear that Shift Up's soft knows how to entertain. The fans of beat-em all can only have a good time as the gameplay is catchy and striking. A generous title that digests very well its multiple influences to have its own personality and, difficult to deny, is already one of the best games of the genre in recent years.
For
- Universe as pretty as it is attractive
- Excellent OST
- Number of outfits to unlock
- Vibrant combat system
- Satisfactory progression curve
- Attempts to diversify gameplay
- Rewarded Exploration
- Fair Challenge
- Quality dubbing (VOST)
Against
- Disappointing Scripture and Narration
- Characters without relief
- Uninteresting side quests
- Eve is limited to one weapon
- Recycling of bosses on auxiliary quests
If I had PS5, no doubt I would have bought it. Thanks for the Neomantis test! 🙏
Thank you Wolf Celeste, the pleasure is for me