Hello Gamers! This past week the demo for the highly anticipated PlayStation exclusive Stellar Blade was properly released and wow it has been an amazing experience. This new IP plays so well, I actually found myself coming back to replay it multiple times, including multiple attempts at the special boss run that unlocks when you complete the demo for the first time. The last time I remember ever coming back to play a demo that much, was many years ago when the demo for God of War 2 was released through PlayStation magazine. It was so fantastic I replayed that demo more than 4 or 5 times, and I had to do the same here with Stellar Blade. Here are my first impressions.

The Look of Stellar Blade

As usual, the visuals are the first thing you notice in a new video game, and here the graphics are gorgeous across the board. The main character Eve is a stunning female with a powered armor / suit called a body frame (the demo doesn’t explain how much of her is the frame). Her design features a futuristic / cyber style with a green and white color scheme and a super long ponytail that is one of the most beautiful things to see in the game. Her hair is almost its own character, and sometimes feels like a dragon flowing in the wind behind her as she traverses the levels. It’s downright lovely. As well her main weapon is a collapsible sword that folds into a magnetic hairpiece when not in use. The concept for the weapon storage was quite unique and I was shocked when I first noticed it. Next thing to note on visuals are the stunning environments, as the demo first starts you on a beach after crash landing your space pod. The lighting affects here are gorgeous as they highlight the true chaos that is being unleashed upon you and your team in the opening moments.

Combat Mechanics And Enemy Design

Combat in Stellar Blade features some of the smoothest hack and slash mechanics in recent memory with some of the slickest death animations. What I noticed right away was how your killing blow – no matter how it landed – will stop an enemy in its tracks and it will just drop mid attack. It creates a great deal of satisfaction and surprise each time a random hit knocks out an enemy and a part of their body falls off. Combat is also filled with tons of other mechanics like timed parrying / countering, special timed moves, special attacks called Beta moves, and quick time events, which all leave you on the edge of your seat once things start to heat up, especially against bosses.

You can check out footage of my first run through of the opening moments of the demo below:

Once combat begins, the fusion of the core mechanics come together and here lays a beautiful duality between the gorgeous heroine you play as and the sheer brutality and gore as you cut down the hideous creatures who are slaughtering your team. These monster designs are also refreshing as they are all unique and grotesquely detailed. One could argue that they are equally designed as beautifully as the main character, because they are each a different level of nightmare running around. Together though, the combination of a lovely female character capable of laying waste to these horrific creatures is such a strong theme to build a video game that I’ve personally missed this kind of game for a long time. It actually reminded me of the days when Lara Croft ruled the gaming scene as this badass heroine raiding tombs and uncovering their secrets.

Why It’s So Special

When I first played Stellar Blade, it felt like a breath of fresh air. Something new and exciting that reminded me of the older days when games were straight up fun to get into. Altogether Stellar Blade feels like a delicious hot pot fusion of: NeiR Automata, Bayonnetta, Devil May Cry, and a dash of Lies of P / Demon Souls. The game shares a few influences from each of these, yet it remains unique through its character design, over the top enemies, and buttery smooth gameplay. Many AAA games have been generally underwhelming lately to say the least, but Stellar Blade is special because plays nothing like those games. It actually feels like a real video game, a new experience to dive into not being held back by questionable mechanics and odd design decisions. It’s unafraid to be itself, an artistic expression of high quality visuals and engaging gameplay and I can’t remember having that much fun with a game in a long time.

Final Thoughts

My time with Stellar Blade was nothing short of awesome. Eve is a visually striking character and her hair mechanics are beautiful to watch. She’s in this beautifully designed destroyed earth trying to eliminate the Alpha Neytibas and I’m curious to continue learning about these master boss enemies and where they come from. As well, I am interested to learn more about her world, where she comes from, and how she was trained with this elite female death squad. She also seems completely unconnected from the world as she asks the character Adam questions about the world around her and even comments on seeing rain for the first time. I’m interested to learn more about the full story of the game and what the bigger missions looks like for Eve.

I had an awesome time with the Stellar Blade demo and it felt like it kept on giving as you kept playing it. After you were done with the campaign levels, you unlock a boss mode where you can challenge a previously unseen boss with new gear for Eve’s body frame and new costumes. It gave it so much more replay value and it was great trying to get better at mastering the boss battle with nailing down the timing for perfect dodges and parries which also opened up other fighting animations. Again it was so enjoyable and it felt so refreshing to dive into, and my itch for mastering combos and timing from my Devil May Cry days came back in full force. I cannot wait for this game to come out. If you’re interested in trying a new single player hack and slash action game, Stellar Blade may be one to pick up. Stellar Blade releases later this month on April 26th, 2024 exclusively for the PS5.

As always gamers, thank you so much for reading this post. I hope you’ve enjoyed the gameplay clips, and are having fun with the Stellar Blade demo as much as I have. Have an amazing weekend!