Summary
Shift Up’s action-adventure titleStellar Bladeis proving to be a hit, despite any controversy it has faced up to this point. In fact,Stellar Bladehas been so successful that it is nowone of the PS5’s highest-rated games. This is all thanks to its challenging yet satisfying action-packed combat, breathtaking visuals, rewarding exploration, and gratifying progression.
For the most part,Stellar Bladeis a fairly straightforward experience, especially for Soulslike veterans. That being said, there are a few unwritten rules any newStellar Bladeplayer should be aware of before they dive into the game.
Parrying Is the Secret to Success in Stellar Blade’s Combat
Stellar Blade’s combat is without a doubt the core component of its gameplay. From a difficulty standpoint, it takes after populargames from the Soulslike genre, but its most prominent influence is arguablySekiro: Shadows Die Twice. This is primarily because parrying is of the utmost importance inStellar Blade, just as it is inSekiro. Performing a perfect parry on an enemy will decrease their balance. Once their balance meter is depleted, players will be able to pull off a powerful attack, so timing those parries just right is the secret to success inStellar Blade.
Stellar Blade’s Beta and Burst Skills Shouldn’t Be Put on the Back Burner
Aside from parrying, players should take advantage ofEVE’s Beta and Burst skills. EVE will begin the story with Beta skills, but players will need to progress further to unlock Burst abilities. These powerful abilities can sometimes mean the difference between life and death inStellar Blade, so players shouldn’t neglect to use them when necessary.
Death Is Not the End in Stellar Blade
Unlike typical Soulslike games, which see players severely punished when they die,Stellar Bladeis more forgiving on this front. Specifically, when players die, rather than losing any resources or experience they’ve gained up to that point, they will simply respawn at the lastCamp or Supply Campthey rested at, or at the beginning of the boss fight that killed them.
Exploration Always Pays Off in Stellar Blade
Shortly afterStellar Blade’s prologue, players will arrive in Eidos 7 and be allowed to explore its unique world.Stellar Blade’s worldis more than worth exploring, as there are plenty of valuable items to find. However, the most valuable “item” players can find while exploringStellar Blade’s wasteland is SP.
SP is the primary form of currency players will need tounlock new skills inStellar Blade, and it can be acquired by looting, investigating, or searching almost anything. While completing side and main quests are a great source of SP and other resources, sometimes exploration can be just as rewarding, if not more so.
Stellar Blade’s Side Quests Are Worth Doing for the Rewards
Stellar Blade’s side quests aren’t all that stellar when it comes to content and storytelling, as many are simple fetch or kill quests. Even so, they are worth doing just for the rewards they provide. Most side quests reward players with Gold, consumables, and crafting materials, but many others can eventually result in newNano Suits for EVEor important upgrade materials for EVE’s blade, Tumbler, and the Drone.
Most ofStellar Blade’s side quests can be picked up from the city of Xion, which players will arrive at shortly after the game’s opening chapter. More side quests will become available as players progress through the story, so they should revisit the city often and use the map to determine where to find the quests. Furthermore,Xion’s Bulletin Boardalso provides plenty of worthwhile side quests for players to complete.
Fortunately,Stellar Bladearguably can’t be appropriately classified as a Soulslike game, so it’s not too punishing for those new to the genre. Still, it can be helpful to know these essential unwritten rules, as the entire world ofStellar Bladerevolves around them.
Stellar Blade
WHERE TO PLAY
RECLAIM EARTH FOR HUMANKIND The future of humanity hangs in the balance in Stellar Blade, an all-new story-driven action adventure. Ravaged by strange, powerful creatures, Earth has been abandoned, and what is left of the decimated human race has fled to a Colony in outer space. After travelling from the Colony, 7th Airborne Squad member EVE arrives on the desolate remains of our planet with a clear-cut mission: to save humankind by reclaiming Earth from the Naytiba – the malevolent force that has devastated it. But as EVE tackles the Naytiba one-by-one, piecing together the mysteries of the past in the ruins of human civilization, she realizes that her mission is far from straightforward. In fact, almost nothing is as it seems…
