Summary
You have to wonder what must be going through the heads ofStellar Bladedeveloper Shift Up right now. Of all the potential pitfalls of discourse that could have befallen this game, its loudest fans suddenly turning on it at the eleventh hour in the face of impressive reviews was one of the least likely. And all because of a tiny scrap of black lace on an outfit that isn’t even the most revealing. Because of this, it’s been hard to talk much about Stellar Blade away from Eve - but I want to take a breath and talk about just how cool a weapon her sword is.
I’ve written about Eve myself, both about howembarrassing the ‘controversy’ wasbefore the game launched, andhow little she lives up to her billing. Theidea that the game has been censoredis ridiculous when the original costume was already approved bySony, and when other, unedited costumes in the game are more revealing anyway. This is a non-issue that has been manufactured into one by commentariats banking on taking the ‘woke journalists tried to killer Stellar Blade hype’ angle suddenly having to shift gearsin the face of its Mighty score.
Eve’s Weapon Is The Most Iconic Thing About Her
Okay, that’s the last I’m saying about it. Back to the sword. Early on in Stellar Blade, I found combat to be a bit of a slog. You don’t have a lot of special attacks and thanks to the parry and beta button being one and the same, wasting them was common. You didn’t have a lot of range when approaching enemies either, and I just parried endlessly until an opening appeared to attack with the same repeated slashes.
Thankfully, it gets very good very quickly. More specials, the addition of burst attacks, and ways to sneak up on or drop down on enemies, plus a greater range in their approach to allow for more defensive strategies, arrive in rapid succession and the character-action heart beneath the Soulsborne flesh can be felt braying at the ribcage.
It gains a lot more aesthetic flair too, with slow motion dodges and stylised pirouettes of violence. Though still slower than the more graceful hacks and slashes we see in Bayonetta and Devil May Cry, Eve gains speed as the game goes on and gives the players more tools to succeed. There is a deep sense of style to Eve, which is probably why the fairly ugly outfit was ‘censored’ (okay, now I’m done). Even equipping the blade sees her fold it into the ribbon of her ponytail rather than a traditional sheath by her side.
Skateboarding across abandoned tracks on her sword has gone viral too, possibly the only clip of the game not stuck in the record scratch of her appearance to do so. I never even found this in my 30 hours with the game, so I bet there are other moments like this when we see a little bit of flair tucked away. Eve lacks personality to bring this coolness home, but Stellar Blade itself does have a little bit of a swagger.
Stellar Blade’s Ranged Combat Doesn’t Match Its Melee Attacks
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for her firearm. This gun, much like the sword, has a bit of creativity to it - it’s not a gun Eve constantly carries but a guidance droid that floats by her side, and the way Adam and Lily communicate with her. While you unlock new ways to slice enemies open often throughout your journey, the gun is disabled entirely for the first half of the game, and it takes far too much effort to upgrade the droid enough to get each type of artillery.
By the time I beat the game, I was still one short even though I was upgrading steadily and did my share of side quests. Then there’s the way ammo is limited, forcing you to restock after every defeat, making you hold back on whether you should even use it at all. Though accurate, powerful, anda crucial tool against some bosses like the Maelstrom, Stellar Blade never quite trusts the firearm.
It’s locked for half the game then temporarily disabled at several key moments, and never lets off the leash the way the titular blade is. It’s a shame because the combat flourishes are one of the game’s most interesting aspects, but when Eve has the gun on her arm there’s very little happening. Still, at least when we’re talking about her gun we’re not talking about a scrap of black lace representing the downfall of Western masculinity, so let’s load up the cannon and chat about the bullets all day.
Stellar Blade
WHERE TO PLAY
Stellar Blade is an action-driven game from Shift Up, originally revealed as Project Eve. It follows the aforementioned Eve as she battles the alien Naytiba invaders, in a bid to reclaim the Earth for humanity.
