45 hours later and it's a wrap. I did everything I could possibly do but still missed 2 camps for that trophy and I'm missing the Naytiba researcher trophy which is weird since the database is filled. Putting all that aside, let me get to my overall analysis of this fantastic new IP.
I said a couple of months ago SB would be this gen's DMC/Bayo and the fact is I was right lol. A stylistic character action game that makes the entire industry perk up and take notice, a game everyone seems to be talking about and for good reason. Yet, the game SB is *most* reminiscent of is Nier Automata. Structurally, thematically, sonically, environmentally, this is a Korean, android cousin to 2B and co's dystopian adventure right down to the floating robo companion following you around and the "chips" to augment your build. Ultimately I believe Automata is a better game but for now I'll just focus on Stellar Blade. Oh and this is *not* a "souls-like", I say this as an OG Souls fanatic. Maybe some shades of Sekiro with the parry mechanic but that's about it.
EVE is, without a doubt, the hottest protagonist in the history of the medium. Those curves, that jiggle, those jaw-dropping outfits, that angelic face. Putting the censorship controversy aside (I'm always anti-censorship anything) can we take a moment to count our lucky stars that in the year of our Lord 2024 this game even exists? All the thirst trapping in the world wouldn't mean jack shit though if SB didn't have the gameplay to back it up. Luckily, it has that in spades.
The combat in this game *sings*. I was thinking what EVE's movement most reminded me of and it's *water*, her animations are an aquatic ballet of death and destruction. The swordplay has heft and impact, the gunplay is better than it has any right to be. There is no reinventing the wheel here, you've got your multiple skill trees, your QTE moments, your slo-mo perfect dodge, your "rage mode", it just does it all really *really* well and the exceptional DualSense haptics elevate the combat feel to 11.
Traversal on the other hand could feel smoother and I wish there was some kind of vehicular mode of transport for the large stretches in open areas to keep the flow of the game going. This brings me to another criticism of pacing. I absolutely *love* that there is a lot to do/collect but it should have been dealt out better. Once you reach a certain point almost all side quests become available, cue 20 hours doing everything except progressing the story. Would have been better to have half a dozen missions, finish those, progress story, another half dozen open up, repeat. A lot of these side missions leave a lot to be desired too, once again Automata is on a completely different level though there are a couple of standouts here (hello Enya).
Naturally that leads me to the central narrative. It's...alright. Nothing terribly original, none of it's "twists" got much of a reaction out of me. There are some genuinely great characters amongst it's supporting cast though with some truly Kojima-esque design language. The enemies likewise are excellent top to bottom and I appreciated the overall variety, something many games lack. Ultimately it's all just an excuse to wreak havoc with one bad bitch and I'm OK with that.
In conclusion I hope this is the beginning of a new series of games set in the SB universe, there is a lot of potential here with different planets/environments. OST is an instabuy if it gets a physical release. Overall I think I have Stellar Blade as my current number 3 of 2024 behind Rebirth and Unicorn Overlord, it delivered the goods, it's flaws are minor, it's a remarkable release in today's political climate. Fantastic get for Sony, PlayStation is having quite the year with arguably 3 GOTY contenders in it's first four months (Rebirth, HD2, SB), can't wait to see what these devs do next (sequel!).
