L'hybridization of a kind is something complex, but amazing: of course, it can lead to birth of horrors that can't even be played for more than half an hour, or they can generate little irreplicable jewels, titles that become the zenith of something that hadn't even been conceived until recently. Surely Stellar Blade tries to do something like this, and despite some mistakes, some not even so small, it has a brilliant idea behind it, which we will now try to explain to you in this review.
Hack & Soul
Before proceeding, let's try to explain well what is Stellar Blade: Shift Up he tried to take two very distinct genres, that often where one arrives the other stops, that is soulslike and thehack & slash. The substantial difference lies precisely in the style of play: where the second rewards speed and combos, proposing a dodging system rather than parrying, the other instead focuses on precision, the timing of the enemy attack pattern and the management of resources.
The Korean team but he decided to merge the two things, trying to connect the dots where possible: something definitely came out of it differentboth on one side and the other, but which however presents a couple of difficulties to discuss.
But let's start from the beginning: the future of humanity hangs in the balance, very powerful creatures are destroying everything and the few surviving humans are in a colony in space. In the game we will take on the role of EVEmember of the 7th Air Squadron, who will have to fight against the Naytibatrying to save humanity and reclaim the planet.
The plot of the game tells of events that are not too obvious, with the right twists placed every now and then: sure, some things seem very derivative, but all in all it is an Action RPG that places a lot of emphasis on gameplayand the level of texture we found was of good quality.
Applause for the inspirations that the game has as the basis of its plot: let's talk about many themessome even close to the myth of the creation of man, with references that are not at all obvious that will make the most nerdy people looking for connections happy, as well as fans of similar works that they will be able to find in Stellar Blade a treatment close to the world of sci-fi: if there is one thing that science fiction has done well for some time, it is taking and creating re-tellings of concepts already seen, and Stellar Blade is no different. Don't worry though, this is not a slavish copy-paste, but rather a work of writing that is certainly of a high level.
Some lapses in style are clearly visible, however, in the focal points of the plot's advancement: they are evident speciousthey push you to believe that to complete your goal you will need to collect a n number of things, or defeat a n number of enemies, a dynamic that perhaps in a 90s game could have been fine, but which today is a bit surprising.
Evasive or Paro?
For what concern gameplay, the game offers various dynamics which, for obvious reasons, struggle to take off in some cases. Taking inspiration from games like NieRthe classic soulslike and some hack and slash, the game mixes the various dynamics proposing a particular style. For example, in the game you will have the opportunity to parry, even make perfect saves, but you can also opt for perfect dodges and dodges: of course, in some cases one solution will be inadvisable while the other is more effective, giving less importance to the player's choice, but all in all you will find yourself able to choose based on what you prefer.
Another example is given by the attacks: although you will be able to make light or heavy attacks, the combination of the keys will allow you to carry out various combos, and by holding down the guard button you will be able to launch precise skills (expending a kind of accumulative energy called Beta). However, this dynamic, of all things, becomes a little imprecise when you find yourself parrying and dodging in close quarters: by pressing L1in fact, and then circle, sometimes you will randomly launch the ability positioned on that button, messing up resource management.
To close everything then there will be a dronecommanded by one of your companions, who will give you technological support and can become, as you progress through the game, even a firearm can be used with different ammunition. Speaking of the enemies you will encounter, the detail with which they were thought out Naytiba is not the most original, considering that you will have monstrous creatures of various kinds to defeat, but their differentiation will be fundamental in the gameplay, especially when you find yourself having to fight more than one at a time. This is where that unexpected genre fusion comes into play: if in fact in the soulslike fighting with the target on an enemy is fundamental, in those cases it becomes more useful not to have it, giving free rein to the management of spaces with the analog.
As regards i bossInstead, various life bars will have to be knocked down while you try to manage enemy attacks, pushing you to study carefully how and when to push the accelerator. Then breaking down the shields of the larger enemy will allow you to make critical attacks, special blows that will take away a lot of vitality from the enemy.
As regards the growth component, in the game we will have the opportunity to enhance the flasks – which will allow us to heal some Health Points – the weapon damage and obviously the others bars of special attacks and the shield, taking collectibles which you will not always find on the street, but which will actually push you to have to explore the maps further, especially vertically. In fact, some areas will have spaces for climbing, all obviously marked with yellow, leading you to discover unexplored and secret areas.
You can then upgrade, through skill points that you gain by defeating enemies, additional skills, enough to give you the right differentiation depending on whether you want to focus everything on dodging, parrying, using special attacks or other options.
As we said, the game is a Hack & Souland for this very reason even in the part of healing objects and skill points it is quite outside the box soulslike: in fact, the latter will not be lost in the event of defeat, but you will always find them available. For objects, however, you will be able to purchase them with another currency that you can collect, effectively increasing the possibility of healing yourself (with less powerful but still powerful potions) and making everything easier. Of course, if an item was consumed for a try, and you are defeated, you will still have wasted it.
Open to an open and enigmatic world
The game doesn't skimp on two things we never expected: puzzles And open areas.
Speaking of the former, the various puzzles you will find throughout the game will be quite controlled, but still fun to solve. Obviously the more they will be disconnected from the main mission, more difficult they will be, and some of these will be nothing more than mathematical riddles in disguise. All in all, however, solving them will be satisfying and fun to find suggestions around. It's a shame that the title falls into the trap of simplify as soon as one of these is from the main mission.
For example, in the very first phase of the game there will be a clock tower it's a numpadand the hint that you receive – capable of solving the puzzle in 2 seconds – will be shared with you by your droid companion as soon as it takes you more than a few moments to understand what to do.
As for the open areasthey will push you to manage various secondary missions, to be taken on a bulletin board, very basic and simple, not to say monotonous, but which all in all will give you extra points and will push you to explore these vast areas, perhaps finding them interesting lore documents.
The setting proposed by Stellar Blade finally it is really well done: the various biomes, as they are structured, will lead you to discover what is left of the world by offering a coherent environment. The enemies will be too, depending on where you are.
Graphics and Sound
For what concern technical sectorthe game can be played easily in balanced mode, guaranteeing good fluidity, but you will also be able to bet everything on quality or performance, giving you total freedom of choice. The character models are pretty good – although some characters fall off too much stereotyped traps – and well characterized, giving space not only to the visual component but also to how you will interface with these various characters you will meet.
Music is then fundamental: despite some poorly done fades, it is capable of describing with sounds what happens in the game, effectively becoming the player's faithful companion from exploration to combat, even passing through the quieter areas of rest and refreshment.
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