Stellar Blade Review

Director Hyung-Tae Kim has been clear about his intentions with Stellar Blade: he set out to create a visual and gameplay showcase rather than a narrative-driven masterpiece. After playing through its 30-hour campaign, that vision is unmistakable and largely successful.

This is a gorgeous, highly stylized action game with thrilling combat, memorable monster and boss designs, and a surprising amount of depth in its RPG systems. But it’s also weighed down by weak storytelling, underdeveloped characters, and some questionable balance decisions. At its best, Stellar Blade is a dazzling, ferocious action-adventure. At its worst, it’s a dull grind.

A Familiar Story in a Stunning World

The setup is familiar: Earth has become an apocalyptic wasteland overrun by the Naytiba, horrifying creatures that forced humanity to retreat to space colonies. You play as Eve, a soldier in the 7th Airborne Squad sent to the planet’s surface to eliminate the Naytiba threat and reclaim Earth for humanity.

From there, you’re tasked with finding and securing four hypercores, each guarded by a massive boss and tied to key revelations about the fall of Earth and the origins of the Naytiba. The story beats are serviceable but predictable, and while the second half of the narrative does deliver more intrigue, nothing here will shock or deeply move you.

The world itself is a visually breathtaking environment that is varied and beautifully designed, from decayed cities to eerie subterranean tunnels. The creature and boss designs are particularly strong, often evoking grotesque elegance and genuine menace.

Where It Stumbles: The Characters

Unfortunately, while the world is pretty, the characters that inhabit it are flat and forgettable.

Eve is committed to her mission and close to her squadmate Tachy, but she lacks any discernible personality beyond being dutiful and serious. The supporting cast, Adam and Lily, fare no better. The game assumes their bond is self-evident, but because we never see that bond develop in meaningful ways, their camaraderie falls flat.

The result? Even during emotional climaxes or big revelations, there’s little reason to care. Stellar Blade’s narrative lacks charm, humour, or character depth, and that emotional hollowness keeps it from being truly great.

Combat: Where the Blade Truly Shines

Thankfully, Stellar Blade excels where it matters most: its combat and gameplay loop.

Combat is fast, fluid, and punishing. Eve’s arsenal evolves throughout the campaign with new weapons, abilities, and combos that reward skillful timing and mastery. Boss fights are a real highlight: creative, challenging, and beautifully choreographed. There’s also a surprising amount of enemy variety, keeping fights fresh well into the later stages.

You’ll also find:

• There are plenty of missions and side content to keep you busy.
• A robust crafting system and multiple outfits to unlock.
• New Game+, encouraging repeat playthroughs.
• Multiple endings to discover, offering replay value.

But combat isn’t perfect. The difficulty curve can feel inconsistent, and some abilities look flashy but deal disappointingly little damage. Worse, weapon and gear upgrades don’t seem to make much tangible difference — which diminishes the sense of progression.

And there’s an annoying penalty for failure: if you die during a tough boss fight, consumable items you’ve used are gone for good, which means you can run out of money trying to buy more health packs just to continue.

Polish and Presentation

Visually, Stellar Blade is a triumph. The graphics are stunning, the character and monster models are meticulously crafted, and the environments are rich with detail. Its musical score is fitting and dramatic, and the voice acting does its job well, even if the script doesn’t give the actors much to work with.

That said, some areas of the game feel poorly optimized, with occasional frame drops and stutters that can pull you out of the experience.

A Blade That Cuts Both Ways

Stellar Blade is a flawed but undeniably compelling action game. Its narrative and characters leave much to be desired, but when it comes to visual spectacle and exhilarating combat, it’s razor-sharp.

It’s clear that Hyung-Tae Kim designed this as a gameplay-first experience, and that choice pays off in many ways. If you’re here for the story, you’ll likely be disappointed. But if you’re here to slay monsters, master combos, and revel in the aesthetic grandeur of its world, Stellar Blade delivers.

Code Provided for PC Review