© Shift Up
It's been a few days now since we were able to complete a brand new PS5 exclusive: Stellar Blade. Developed by the Korean studio Shift Up, of which it is the first “big” game, Stellar Blade could make you fear the worst, with its excessively sexualized heroine and numerous areas of mystery… After more than 20 hours spent on the game, we can tell you, Stellar Blade is an excellent game, and possibly one of the 5 best exclusives for the PS5.
Stellar Blade, the outcast from nowhere
You may know this if you have followed PlayStation news in recent weeks, in Stellar Blade, the future of humanity hangs on a thread, the Earth being ravaged by strange and powerful creatures. We play EVE, whose mission is to save humanity and take back the Earth from the clutches of the Naytibas, the malicious creatures who destroyed it. She is accompanied by Adam, an Earth survivor, and Lily, a genius engineer.
© Presse-citron.net
As mentioned above, it's difficult not to see Stellar Blade as a very sexualized game, given the trailers released by Shift Up. So yes, EVE is scantily dressed, she adopts a walk and an attitude inspired by Bayonetta of the first name, we can style her hair, put earrings on her, make her wear glasses, and we can change her costumes… ;#8230; But all this remains secondary, and a thousand miles from what the game actually offers. Not to mention that we can absolutely make him wear a standard outfit, and keep it throughout the game. We would even come to regret this communication, which could moreover (and rightly so) ) scare some players away, as Stellar Blade actually has to offer.
An excellent action game… as we do more ?
Because yes, Stellar Blade is above all an excellent action game&# 8230; “like we don't do anymore” one would be tempted to say. Besides Bayonetta, the game happily draws inspiration from other titles, with Dark Souls-style camps, a Horizon (or Death Stranding)-style radar, Devil May Cry-style combat… And the good news is that all these beautiful people live in perfect harmony in Stellar Blade.
© Presse-citron.net
Understand from this that the game returns to a real pleasure of playing, which consists of memorizing relatively simple combos, but terribly effective at the same time ;#8217;screen. Likewise, if you can evolve your arsenal and EVE's capabilities, everything is very intuitive, and there is no question here of finding plentiful loot and numerous equipment. As such, we keep, for example, the same sword and the same ranged weapon, from the start to the end of the game.
© Presse-citron.net
Controller in hand, this translates into around twenty ;#8217;hours of pure gaming pleasure rediscovered. The fights are terribly satisfying, relatively demanding, but without falling into From Software difficulty. The same goes for the puzzles, with chests to unlock and other mechanisms to operate that call on our thinking and our reflexes. Add to that a few small QTEs which are also quite well felt.
© Presse-citron.net
The game's different regions also offer their own personality and 'openness', but Stellar Blade never falls into the trap of the modern open-world. Note that we benefit here from a central hub, Zion, a small haven of peace in which we will gradually breathe life back into our adventures. It is here that we will find the majority of side quests.
Scenario and lifespan< /h2>
Scenario-wise, we remain in the conventional, with its share of very clichéd characters, but again, everything works rather very well in reality, and we let ourselves be drawn into this with pleasure. trip of good humans against bad aliens, as we used to do in the cinema for Starship Troopers or Independence Day. In addition to the main plot, you can also opt for various side quests, as mentioned above.
© Presse-citron.net
And here again, Stellar Blade manages to make these last… interesting! Indeed, unlike Final Fantasy XVI whose side quests were as bland as can be (apart from 2 or 3), Stellar Blade is the exact opposite, with side quests that are very successful for the most part. , and which allow you to learn more about the story, but also to discover new environments, new enemies… and new costumes yes.
So no, everything is not perfect in Stellar Blade. We can in particular mention a somewhat long section a little before the end of the adventure, without forgetting platform phases, fortunately quite rare, but often clumsy, without forgetting a certain lack of “life& #8221; in the characters. For the rest, Stellar Blade is an impressive technical success, without the slightest bug or slowdown, with the added bonus of some sublime panoramas and visual effects. Truth be told, it’s probably one of the rare games that can justify its “next-gen” with the naked eye, without the need to zoom in on a grid or trees in the background.
© Presse-citron.net
However, it is also difficult not to wince at a certain lack of personality sometimes, despite some excellent finds, since everything (or almost) will make you think of something in Stellar Blade. Despite everything, the magic works, it even transports us, and unlike certain more 'modern' titles, it is undeniably the pleasure of the game that takes precedence here, not to mention a few passages truly memorable, especially in the last quarter of the adventure.
© Presse-citron.net
Lifespan side, count approximately 20 hours to complete the main plot. However, we cannot advise you enough to also look into the side quests before starting the final assault. Note that the game offers two different endings, as well as a valuable New Game+ mode (added by the day one update, put online today).
The latter are indeed very successful overall (even if we don't escape a bit of FedEx and fishing quests), but also allow us to prolong the pleasure of game, while always immersing yourself more and more in this really well-crafted universe.
Subscribe to Lemon Squeezer
Our opinion on Stellar Blade
Out of nowhere, Stellar Blade stands out as one of the best PS5 exclusives! and one of the best games “next-gen” quite simply. If it does not shine with an overflowing personality, it offers a very worked universe, a technical section (finally!) worthy of a PS5, a very honorable lifespan, really combat exhilarating, but also (and above all!) an immense pleasure to play. In short, don't miss out if you like the genre at all.
📍 To not miss any news from Presse-citron, follow us on Google News and WhatsApp.< /p>