In the midst of various controversies surrounding the game, I had the opportunity to play Stellar Blade thanks to a key sent to us by PlayStation. And I couldn't be happier with the opportunity I had, because as well as being gratified to be recognized, Stellar Blade gave me a surprisingly good experience, which I'll talk about later.
But I'd like to go into this controversial subject a bit, give my opinion on it, but if you're not interested, just jump to the topic "let's get to the game", just click on it.
Empty polemics (opinion)
But to begin with, we can talk a little about this controversial subject, which concerns the sexualization of the character Eve, the game's protagonist. After finishing the game, I can say that I didn't feel uncomfortable at all, and I can say that I played the game with a woman and she didn't feel uncomfortable either.
Of course, this doesn't mean anything, it's my experience and not universal, but it's a topic that has always been in the spotlight. We had similar cases in NieR Automata with 2B mainly, in Metal Gear Solid The Phatom Pain with Quiet, not to mention the various fighting games we have on the market.
One thing these games have in common is that most of them are developed by Asian studios, which for various reasons have more freedom to explore such things. An example of this is anime, which even the most childish ones have some traces of sexualization.
We have a cultural issue here, and in the West, coincidentally, the cultural issue goes against the one mentioned in the East. It's everyone's right not to like something, but that doesn't change one fact: the game was made following the vision of its creator. You have to be aware of this and accept it. If you can't, simply don't buy it or play it.
I've seen people claiming that the director has never seen a woman in his life to have made such a vulgar design, but not only is the character modeled after the body of a real actress, all the altered features of the model were made by the director's own wife. Now, another point is that Western culture has to be respected, but how can you get respect without respecting another, a bit hypocritical, isn't it?
We're at a time when everything needs to be problematized, especially here in the West. We're at a time when everything is about representation, and if there's something that doesn't represent me, there's a problem. All this simply to feed some fragile egos.
Don't get me wrong, representativeness is important, an agenda that has only succeeded after decades or hundreds of years of struggle on the part of minorities. But to belittle yourself so much that you simply want to appear without having a reason or motivation that makes sense in history is curious, to say the least.
Someone may not feel represented by the protagonist's body, but if you do a simple search on instagram, you'll see that there are not just thousands, but millions of women like this. So, if you don't like it, I repeat, don't buy it and don't play it, or go after what you think is right and do better.
Let's get to the game
Now to what really matters, Stellar Blade. Well, ever since it was announced, when it was known as Project Eve, I was interested in the project, and that brings me a certain happiness nowadays. I've seen how this project has changed over the years, growing in scope, and when it finally got its real name, it was already much bigger than it was at the beginning.
But since its first appearance, one thing has always stood out: its combat. We hadn't gotten our hands on the game yet, but visually, it always looked fun and challenging. To begin with, it's a hack'n'slash, but not one that's all about smashing buttons.
How does the game work?
As I said, the game is a hack'n'slash, but it's one of those where simply hitting isn't enough, and it gives you lots of ways to defend yourself. But starting with the basics, you can perform weak and strong attacks, the weaker ones being faster and the stronger ones slower, obviously. Pressing these buttons in succession will generate combos, and you can even press them in different orders.
Using the "little ball", you can dodge attacks in all possible directions and use L1 to block them. But it doesn't stop there. If you press L1 but any of the other four buttons, a special type of attack will be activated. And later on in the game, if you press R1 and any of the four buttons, another special attack will be activated.
If you press R2, you'll have access to a gun and can shoot with it, using several different types of ammunition. And if you also press L3+R3, you'll have a "fury" mode similar to those in God of War or Final Fantasy XVI, for example. There's no shortage of ways to defeat your enemies.
TPS
The game has several skill trees, each of which relates to some aspect of the game. For example, these moves with L1 and R1 can be improved, as can all the others mentioned. And I haven't yet mentioned an important gameplay element, the long-range strikes.
You can use your sword to strike from a distance, but the game goes beyond that and introduces a gun, which literally turns the game into a TPS, a third-person shooter. In some places you can only use this weapon, and at these moments, the game turns into a very cool Resident Evil like. You can also upgrade the weapon and access different types of ammunition.
Linear?
Well, if we consider the game's campaign, we can say that the game is linear for the most part, but there are some scenarios that are more open. In these scenarios, you can walk around freely, without a predefined path. And that's where you'll do most of the game's side missions.
The game has a wide range of side quests, which can be a bit repetitive, but which bring very good rewards. To explore the scenery, as well as running, you can jump, including double jumps, and use dashes in the air. Eve also has the ability to climb some walls, which adds to the verticality of the game.
One thing the game does well is vary its gameplay. As I've already said, there are moments of hand-to-hand combat, shooter moments, exploration at different levels of the scenery, and you can even use your sword as a board in certain places. It's a game that's unlikely to tire you out.
Variety of enemies
I'll make it clear from the outset that there's a wide variety of enemies in the game, and from the weakest to the most challenging. Each enemy has a well-defined attack pattern, with both normal and more powerful blows.
To defend against blows, we can use either block or dodge, and if we do either of these at the right time, we have a perfect block/dodge. By doing this, time is slowed down and we have a small time gap, but it's very small.
Some enemy blows glow certain colors, such as blue and pink, and in these cases we can use a combo that will give us a good advantage. In the case of blue, for example, if you press "ball" and move the analog stick forward, you'll teleport behind the enemy, where they take more damage and can't defend themselves.
In general, each scenario has unique enemies, but at certain times, some enemies end up repeating themselves. But in Stellar Blade, this isn't a problem, as the game has very entertaining and satisfying combat. The repetition of enemies makes us more experienced in combat, and with experience, we can perform the perfect dodges and blocks, which are extremely satisfying.
What about the visual/sound?
Well, the controversy of this game comes from this part, doesn't it? And that in itself is a testament to the quality of the game in this respect, but it's still not perfect. As for the models of the playable and non-playable characters, there's nothing to talk about. They are simply very well developed.
Each character is very well detailed, with the characteristic traits of oriental works, and in this case, the characteristic traits of Korean works. And if we take Eve into account, the level of quality goes through the roof. The character is super detailed, with various physics involved, including the physics of her hair, which is one of the best I've seen so far.
And in the combat, the quality doesn't drop a bit, with lots of particles on the screen, making each fight simply beautiful. And this is enhanced by the three different game modes, prioritizing graphics, frame rate and a hybrid that seeks a bit of both worlds.
Another impressive thing is the number of different skins the game has, which are simply sensational. But getting them all won't be a simple or difficult task, but it will take time, which is fine when the game is so much fun.
The scenery is just as beautiful and varied in this game, but that only applies when you're indoors. When we get to the more open environments, the textures start to wear thin, which is the only negative point in visual terms.
In terms of the soundtrack, I think I've found a middle ground. The music is sometimes classical, sometimes pop, sometimes rock, and it's quite varied. However, at certain times it gets repetitive, because it plays a song sung on a loop, and this can be a bit annoying. But I confess that it only happened to me once.
Is the story good? Is the game worth playing?
Well, in terms of story, we have one of those cool clichés, which for some may be a negative point, but which didn't bother me in my experience. If you focus on the campaign, the story is very simple and predictable, but not to the point of making the game uninteresting.
And there is a catch: if you do the side quests and read the text files available in the game, the story can take quite a leap in complexity. In fact, it's one of the points where the game falls a little short, but it's far from bad and far from a problem because it's so much fun.
And in the end, for those who just want to polemicize, they'll just be missing out on an incredible experience both visually and in terms of gameplay. Hardly ever has a game gripped me the way this game did.
Its gameplay is capable of pleasing those who enjoy hack'n'slash as much as I do, but it also has a gameplay that's a bit like souls-like games and can reach a much wider audience. At the end of the day, the game offers a simply sensational experience. I recommend Stellar Blade to anyone who owns a PlayStation 5, I guarantee you won't regret it.
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