This game is REALLY good. I was actually nervous about it because when it was first revealed everyone basically called it a Nier knockoff and I... do not like Nier. But this game isn't a Nier knockoff. It's Nier improved. Almost every complaint I had with Nier is either not present in this game, or not a big enough complaint to hamper it. The combat is immaculate and only gets better the longer you play. The side quests are wonderful and cover a large amount of repeat NPCs who you'll grow a bond with the longer you're around. The world is gorgeous (even if I do wish there were more area "archetypes"). The level layouts are wonderful and really encourage exploration, while not feeling like a checklist of menial tasks. The lore of the world is superb. The boss fights are REALLY fun, especially in the back half of the game. The customization is phenomenal. The story is... fine? I don't think it's one of the best, most compelling stories I've experienced but I was invested enough, and the twists left me pleasantly surprised. I think my biggest gripe is the characters. Our playable character and two supporting cast members are unfortunately pretty flat. They do sort of have an "arc" but it always feels more like it's happening in the background. It's something that gets brought up on occasion and the characters sort of talk about it, then drop it, over and over until the climax. I do think EVE, your player character, is still the best characterized after seeing her interact with a lot of the side content, but in the main plot she feels like... well.... like a slightly more expressive 2B.

Usually, for me, a game is carried by its characters. This is the rare exception where everything else about the game is just SO damn good that I can overlook our main cast being a bit flavorless.

If you want a game that's sort of a blend of Sekiro and DMC, get this game. But just expect the story and characters to also sort of fall in line with those games, too.

11/10 Tragic Yuri.
"This feels like a PS2 Game" is one of the only ways I can describe this game, and I mean that in the most positive sense. There are so many mechanics and tidbits in this game in all aspects of its game play that some aren't even explained and you just have to try and learn it yourself. It gives me the feeling of devs who understand what their working with and want to push the envelope in just how much more they can fit into their game.
The story is pretty short, sweet, and to the point. It's a cool sci-fi story that's in a way is focused more on the characters rather than twists and turns. And I think that works in that the short, individual stories of the cast help build towards central ideas rather than feeling like you have a bunch of story lines that may or may not contribute to central themes.
Also, it's Yuri??? Just straight up women being affectionate and tender with each other with no strings attached of how they're totally just friends or anything of that sort. Totally unexpected but completely appreciated.

Had a lot of fun with Stellar Blade and I'm currently going through NG+ for the plat. The game has very clear strengths as well as weaknesses. Overall though I'm pretty surprised by how well made it is.

It goes without saying that the most fun part about Stellar Blade is its combat and while it falls short to something like Sekiro, it is still damn good. You get sick ass moves with Combo Attacks, Beta and Burst skills that will not only make you look cool but also do hella damage. Some of these can even cancel out annoying moves or strings, really useful against bosses. The defensive options like Perfect Parrying and Dodging feel very nice too even though I suck at dodging the yellow attacks. You also get access to follow-up attacks when you land these, making it even more satisfying. Also having a dash that basically teleports you to the enemy is convenient if you wanna close the gap and be aggressive.

The Naytiba's have great looking designs and there's a hefty amount of them so you never really get bored fighting these enemies. Boss fights are solid and I'm glad they were because I got hooked on the demo, fighting the Boss Challenge over and over again. Unfortunately didn't get a no damage run but the Stalker fight gave me hope for what's to come and majority of the bosses in the full game actually did deliver.

Paired with an exceptional soundtrack that could very well be the best one this year, it is a fire recipe they have here. Not a single bad track in the entire game and the list has a ton of range too, keeping it refreshing. It also made exploring so much more enjoyable especially since I was doing all the side content.

Oh yeah, the graphics are good.

And I almost forgot to mention but there wasn't enough sword surfing.. sad!

Now this is where it gets bad because while I really liked doing the side stuff, there are so many things that just drag down the experience. First of all, the fast travel and map. Why is it so annoying to get from Point A to Point B? There's just too many steps and when you have to backtrack constantly like it's a metroidvania or something but then you're also met with multiple loading screens, it's just terrible. You can't fast travel to every camp nor can you open the map and look at a different location, not to mention you only have an actual map for only half of the locations. Another thing I noticed when exploring is that there are lots of spots where it looks like you can make a jump or a climb but you literally can not. Is it designed this way to piss off the player? I don't know.

I haven't gotten to the story and characters yet but simply put, it is bland. The main trio of EVE, Adam and Lily have no synergy at all. I simply didn't care for any of them, or the rest of the cast but I guess at least Lily has some personality. EVE just has cool outfits and a ponytail so long it reaches her heel, so swag!

Despite all of that, majority of my time spent with Stellar Blade was fun and that's what matters the most in my humble opinion. Looking forward to the DLC with the Boss Rush mode so I can attempt some no damage runs. Anyways I'm giving it a 7.5/10.

It’s really a shame that reactions to Stellar Blade are more focused on the fanservice or the coomer reactions. You got one group of people who just focus on the fanservice and hail the game to be the savior of sexualized women in gaming, and then you got the other group who view the game in a negative light because of the first group. And you know what? I can’t even blame them because the first group is really insufferable.

I don't care in the slightest about Stellar Blade having a "sexy" protagonist. I saw a trailer for it once and was immediately interested, because of how fun and unique it looked.

But coomers saw the female Protagonist’s butt and were obnoxious about it ever since. Like come on, it’s bottom of the barrel fanservice you’re going all crazy for. Literally everything I've seen about this game online is people with underaged anime character avatars cream their pants over how this game is "destroying wokeness" or whatever. Nothing against Eve, because she is really pretty and I actually really like her, but she looks like every female character in every korean MMO ever made. It's like people going to war over white bread. Apparently, these guys are now whining about censorship, signing petitions, and making videos of themselves (they look about as you'd expect) about why their cause matters lmao. These pathetic gamerbros will never not be incredibly annoying and cringe to me.

Because Stellar Blade is just so much more. Picture all those apocalyptic gachas and their really great world-building, fantastic atmosphere but really cheap and dull (chibi) gameplay, then amp it up to AAA levels – that's the magic of Stellar Blade.

The environments are beautifully crafted and the atmospheric soundtrack is another aspect I deeply appreciate and thoroughly enjoyed in this game. There's nothing quite like losing yourself in a captivating melody as you journey through vast, lonely landscapes and cities. Just like Nier, Stellar Blade really nailed its soundtrack.

The gameplay is just so much fun and showcases an exceptional level of refinement and polish. Every movement, dodge and parry hit the mark perfectly. The more skills you unlock, the cooler and more fun the combat gets. There's never a dull moment - the gameplay remains consistently exciting and stylish from start to finish.

I found the plot to be really intriguing, and I really enjoyed uncovering plenty of secrets and snippets of lore. But what really surprised me were the sidequests. Sure, some were usual filler content, but most served to make the world feel alive and deepened the lore. Completing them was enjoyable, they never felt like a chore. So good job there.

Oh, and I'm pleasantly surprised by Eve! Initially, I expected her to be the typical "waifu" (ugh, I hate that word), merely there for visual appeal with little personality beyond conforming to generic “anime girl” tropes. Most of these tropes revolve around being “innocent”, "naive" or a "sweet flower girl." But Eve defies those expectations, and I couldn't be happier about it.

Even though Stellar Blade took huge inspiration from Nier and other apocalyptic gacha games, it's still an extremely unique and fun game that everyone should give a chance. Don't listen to the manchildren throwing tantrums or all the buzz about the “fanservice," which is honestly vastly overexaggerated due to some optional skins. Honestly, aside from the optional skins, there are absolutely no horny aspects present in the game.

There are just so many little touches to the point where you can tell the developers really cared about making this game great, and they succeeded. Stellar Blade is simply a beautiful game.

Pretty good action game. I'm a bit annoyed about the sexualization cause Eve is a good female character, not the best but still good. The plot is good and clearly has inspiration but at the same time is unique on its way.

The soundtrack is so catchy and have many bangers. Very recomendable if you like Sekiro or NieR Automata, even when it has more Astral Chain vibes than Automata tbh. The worldbuilding, side quests and lore are very well structured and the characters and enemy designs are fantastic. Will we see Stellar Blade 2? Who knows.

Stellar Blade was a good time. I knew I was going to buy this game when I saw it on State of Play a couple months ago, because I am down horrendous, but I found the gameplay itself to actually be awesome.

The combat is legit some of the best I've ever seen in an ARPG. Hours of slashing enemies never got boring, even after my 20 or so hours in this game. The story didn't feel like it overstayed its welcome by any means, but was a little flat. I wasn't a big fan. A certain event in about the middle of the game picks up the stakes a little bit, but overall, I was here for two very large reasons..gameplay and more gameplay.

Jokes aside, the game is amazing, and I hope it doesn't only be known for Eve's design. The game is outstanding beyond that. I knew I'd like this game. A fresh IP coming to PlayStation. I had no idea I would REALLY have a good time. It kind of re-sparked my interest in new releases again after a lull in March.

I give Stellar Blade an 8!

It was a pretty phenomenal game. The combat and its new addition with synergy abilities was really amazing, the open world really felt like a huge world to explore, expanding upon what we saw in the original game. One of the best parts was definitely the OST, they recreated so many different tracks and added so many new ones too, its amazing how much they were able to put into this game.

Then comes the story, if you've been following along, you know where this game will end, and you also might know who Zack is, suffice to say I feel like the games ending was done wonderfully, it did everything to make sure both veterans and new players would keep guessing on whats really going to happen.

After about 70 hours of playtime, I think the only thing I majorly dislike is how limit breaks are handled this time around, as well as the minigames. Mind you, they are optional, so I won't say it ruins the experience for everyone, but I definitely didn't enjoy them as much and the difficulty spike they all have did not make it any more fun either.

In any case, if you're a fan of the Final Fantasy 7 series, I would continue with this journey with this game. I can't wait for the next game to clear everything up once and for all.

EDIT: I beat this game on a replay post new game plus playthrough on hard, the hard difficulty in this game is no joke due to how limited on MP you are, and it incentivizes you to maximize your usage of material carefully, but the best way to cheese it is probably the MP absorb materia and the benches that still restore MP thankfully. In any case, hard mode only solidified an already great experience, with this time me having to think for most of my battles with prepping materia beforehand as guides weren't exactly out back then, I don't think I'll come back to this game very soon, but I look forward to going through this in the future once more before the final game