Stellar Blade‘s review embargo officially lifted on Wednesday which means that scores have finally started coming in for the next PlayStation 5 exclusive. Formerly known as Project EVE before developer Shift Up adopted the Stellar Blade name, the PS5 game stars EVE, an “angel” tasked with fighting off an invading species known as the Naytiba. Due to its protagonist’s appearance and the combat mechanics shown off in gameplay and in the PS5 demo, the game’s attracted comparisons to to other series like Devil May Cry, NieR, and Bayonetta.
The combat in Stellar Blade is heavy on combos, parrying, and a mix of special moves, so from that alone, it’s easy to see why those other series come to mind. Aside from combat and similarities to other series, much of the discussion pre-launch for Stellar Blade has also been about EVE herself and the way she’s portrayed in the game. EVE’s been compared to NieR’s 2B and Bayonetta because of the focus put into her appearance combined with a number of revealing outfits players can equip, so between combat and EVE, Stellar Blade has had quite the pre-launch discourse to wade through.
But the reviews are out now, so what do critics actually think of the game? Right now, the game’s sitting at a solid 83 on Metacritic. That puts it squarely in the “green” zone as far as scores go with over 15 scores ranking it at a 90 or above to help push that average up. Many of those reviews boasting higher scores for the game praised its combat mechanics, the stylized action sequences, and the design of bosses and lesser enemies alike. Even some of those more favorable reviews acknowledged some issues with narrative pacing, but many felt Stellar Blade makes up for that misstep with a refreshingly lived-in world.
Our own review was still big on Stellar Blade but had it just below those scores at a 4/5 which translates to an 80 on Metacritic. The intense combat that was surprisingly more engaging than anticipated was a high point of our review, though Stellar Blade has some issues with its more open-world segments, some clunky traversal mechanics, and indeed with narrative pacing that could be improved on.
“Considering her potential and Stellar Blade‘s surprisingly deep combat system and intense boss fights, I’d be interested in seeing how she and other parts of the game evolve further if Stellar Blade ever gets a sequel,” reads a summation of our review.
But what about those on the lower end of the review spectrum? The sexualization of EVE showed up in reviews regardless of whether the score was high or low, but it does seem to be a factor in why some knocked some points off the game’s score. Rather than being prudish about EVE’s design, some of the lower scores pointed out how disjointed some of EVE’s outfits when she shows up in them during otherwise dramatic and emotional cutscenes. Some of the more middling reviews echoed a point from our own that acknowledged the way EVE’s presented while saying you can take it and appreciate what else the game has to offer or can leave it if it’s not your kind of game.
Stellar Blade releases exclusively for the PS5 on April 26th.
