Stellar Blade – The writer still remembers that at the PlayStation Showcase 2021, after the “showcase party” where Sony successively announced familiar names that had been rumored by the public, a trailer suddenly appeared and left a strong impression with the name: Project EVE , a brand new project from the Korean  game company Shift Up .

The name Project EVE then not only “caused a fever” in the online community with the “eye-catching” female protagonist’s appearance, and gameplay reminiscent of works such as NieR: Automata , Bayonetta , but also became the center of media attention when witnessing for the first time a console game with a blockbuster budget (AAA) from “the land of Kim Chi”, a country where the taste for playing PC games and favoring MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing games) is the majority.

But just recently, right before its release, the name EVE has become a “hot” topic on social network reddit when there was information: the game company had “patched” and changed the details of a costume in the game to be more “discreet”, while just declaring that it would keep everything in the original regardless of the game’s release in any market. 

Interestingly, all of the above did not make Stellar Blade less attractive, but on the contrary, it became one of the most pre-ordered games in the history of the Playstation Store in the UK and North America markets.

With such special attention and a series of scandals “surrounding” everywhere, will the game be able to create a loud “hit”, shattering all public doubts?

Let’s find out with MarkGame through the following article.

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Action style is perfect! 

It is not difficult to see many similarities between the two games Stellar Blade and NieR: Automata , from the desolate setting with a strong “dystopian” element, the ruined cities without humans after a great disaster to the game’s opening segment (Prologue) with the female protagonist landing from a spaceship with her teammates to carry out a mission to save the Earth.

Basically, in combat, players also combine the two attack buttons Light and Heavy Attack sequentially to create different combo chains, but in contrast to the flashy hack and slash style of the robot girl 2B in NieR: Automata who can combine many types of weapons at high speed, bounce the opponent into the air, add a few more slashes, then control Pod 042 to juggle and shoot at the target enthusiastically, Stellar Blade ‘s fighting style starts off a bit slower, more leisurely and requires the player to be a bit patient.

Specifically, the main opponent of the female protagonist EVE in the game will be mysterious alien creatures called Naytiba, with many species divided into four categories from Minions, Warriors, Elite to Alpha, corresponding to the difficulty level.

Even the “low-ranked” Minions like the Creepers or those that hide underground can easily cause players a lot of trouble because they know how to “hide” and attack by surprise, move in packs, and have very annoying attack patterns. 

There was even a time when the writer was carefully opening a box or just stepping through a half-closed door at the end of a hallway when these monsters suddenly attacked him, making his heart pound!

On the other hand, in the early stages, players cannot “spam” (press) a sword block button, a flip button to counterattack (Parry) and a perfect dodge (Perfect Dodge) continuously in a “lucky” way like in NieR: Automata or Bayonetta , but require precise timing of these two skills with a “timing” frame that can only be contained in a few frames, just one missed press will definitely “get beaten up” because enemies often attack very aggressively, especially when they go in large numbers.

In return, if EVE counterattacks accurately and continuously, it will reduce the opponent’s Posture bar… oh, I mean, here it is called the Balance bar. When this bar is depleted, the player will be able to launch the Retribution attack to finish them off or cause huge damage, very useful against Naytiba with “buffalo” blood, using shields or at Elite level or higher.  

This part will seem “a bit familiar” to you, right?

That’s right, similar to Wolf’s Mikiri Counter feature in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice , EVE also has two other beautiful and useful counter-attack techniques: Blink and Repulse, which help her teleport behind or jump forward to knock her opponents forward, stunning them and exposing their fatal weaknesses.

At this point, players can immediately switch to long-range firepower with a shoulder-to-shoulder view, aiming and firing continuously without reloading at the target, bringing a very exciting and satisfying feeling!

But the most prominent feature in Stellar Blade ‘s combat system is the 4 Beta moves and 4 more advanced moves later called Burst Chain, you can imagine it similar to Clive’s 4-button Abilities system in Final Fantasy 16 , except instead of waiting for the “cooldown” to launch a strike, there will be two energy bars that are stored every time EVE uses counterattack mechanisms.  

As the game progresses, as players become more proficient in combining offensive and defensive techniques and expanding their Beta and Burst moves through upgrade chains, the close combat will become more epic and satisfying, just like coming out of famous action anime works.

More specifically, near the end of the game EVE will have an extremely powerful superpower, however, to avoid “spoilers”, the writer will temporarily compare it to when the two guys Dante and Vergil use the Devil Trigger power to turn into demons in the Devil May Cry series , activating the “berserk” mode, making the little demons… cry out!

The most outstanding features in Stellar Blade ‘s combat system include the 4 Beta moves and the 4 more advanced moves later called Burst Chain.

A little bit of RPG adventure

Stellar Blade’s level design combines both semi-open world and linear world styles, sometimes requiring players to “backtrack” to unlock secrets or find shortcuts that were previously inaccessible. 

But thanks to the addition of many special areas on the map, combined with puzzles, “platformer” tools that make the most of EVE’s flexible flying, climbing, and swimming abilities, the game still maintains its pace without causing a “mood” drop. 

There are parts where the writer has to find his way through dark rooms with traps or Naytiba waiting to ambush, and is limited to using only long-range firepower, giving the feeling of suspense like a horror game. Other times, he has to jump and walk on floating cushions like an episode of the famous Netflix series Squid Game , where one wrong step is… “dead”.

The game also has many side quests to help expand the inventory, upgrade the power of the EVE character, even change the hairstyle and wear stylish fashion accessories. It is worth mentioning that everything from equipment to components and items can be easily purchased with in-game currency, completely “saying no” to the “microtransaction” nature (must buy with real money) commonly seen in today’s “big, big” games like Diablo IV , Call of Duty , etc.

Occasionally, if you want to change things up in a “soul healing” way, EVE also has some very “chill” activities to participate in such as… “Can Collection” or fishing with many very attractive prizes!

The level design in Stellar Blade combines both semi-open world and linear world formats.

Excellent art direction!

The writer once got “goosebumps all over” when he stepped into the abandoned theater at Amusement Park, the song Simone suddenly played along with the image of the Opera Singer boss suddenly appearing with an impressive design, both classic and scary but still somewhat visually stimulating.

That is the unforgettable nostalgia of NieR: Automata , a game that at the time of its launch only had a not-so-outstanding graphics platform, but thanks to the unique artistic direction of the talented director Yoko Taro, it still brought unforgettable experiences, becoming a classic masterpiece of all time and still the writer’s favorite action role-playing game to this day.

Interestingly, Yoko Taro himself recently stated that Stellar Blade is even better than his game of that year, a statement that initially sounds unbelievable but later the author somewhat understood his implication.

Stellar Blade, although only using the Unreal 4 engine platform (current games have switched to Unreal 5), the lighting and shadow effects are somewhat outdated, but thanks to the meticulousness and meticulousness in the rendering stage, focusing on the best of the player experience, the game has brought stunning graphics, worthy of being a blockbuster on the PS5 system.  

From the dark and damp streets of the “paradise” Eidos 7, the dusty and old city of Xion with a post-industrial cyberpunk feel, the empty and desolate Wasteland desert to the EIDOS research bunkers with strong sci-fi elements, all are polished with distinct nuances that make the game unique.

Not to mention the character design with extremely beautiful features, under the talented pen of artist Kim Hyung Tae, easily attracts all eyes of the player with more than 35 costumes (not counting the color-changing variations) “full of sauce” that can be collected and equipped for the girl EVE throughout the game. 

Everything is also dotted with the “vibe” of enchanting background music that reminds of immortal masterpieces of the past such as “ Sins Of The Father ” in METAL GEAR SOLID V: Phantom Pain or “ Weight of the World ” in NieR: Automata , catchy, emotional melodies that will surely last forever. 

The music in the game also creates a distinct highlight with the participation of many artists from Japan such as Oliver Good, Keita Inoue or even the familiar face Keiichi Okabe (main composer of the NieR series ) with diverse styles, sometimes “chill chill” at the base with classical Jazz or modern symphonies, sometimes heroic and full of enthusiasm with the vibrant song Star Descent .

Along with that is the ability to optimize performance that deserves a “10” when the first time the writer played a fast-paced action game without having to choose the Performance setting, he still achieved a frame rate close to the maximum threshold (60 fps) smoothly, smoothly with full effects and complex techniques.  

In addition, from the beginning to the end of the game, there are no bugs present, even in version 1.001 (pre-release) at the time of writing, so we really have to give a lot of praise to the development team at Shift Up.

Finally, we have to mention the epic boss battles that meet all the writer’s essential requirements such as unique battle areas, cool graphics, catchy background music, ornate gameplay, and reasonable difficulty! 

The only regret is that the most “cool” bosses only appear near the end of the game. I won’t spoil anything more for you to experience for yourself, but Stellar Blade certainly has high replay value with the Newgame+ feature that adds many attractive rewards!

You will also need at least two playthroughs to fully enjoy all three endings of the game.

The boss battles are “earth-shattering”, meeting all the writer’s “checklist” of essential requirements such as unique combat areas, “cool” character designs, “rolling” background music, ornate combat, and reasonable difficulty!

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Blurry content

Despite having the advantage of top-notch audiovisual and many “delicious” opportunities to score points, the “beautiful boys and girls” in the game have no… place to perform.

Throughout Stellar Blade , the writer rarely sees any scenes that reveal or develop EVE’s inner self. The supporting cast is too superficial, lacking cohesion with “one-dimensional” personalities, accompanied by a simple, predictable narrative style and a clear lack of character development in the script. 

Sometimes, EVE’s somewhat silly lines make the writer feel… shocked, like the time she bluntly… “body shamed” an NPC character when she just met him, and Adam’s tone and voice are always “frozen” as if coming from… the Drone he often controls.

On the other hand, the side quests and requests of the people in Xion city do not have many special marks, there are even very simple “added-in” tasks such as: just go from point A to point B, confirm the target and then a notification appears allowing the player to teleport back to point A to… finish, the end, without leaving any aftertaste. 

Very rarely do we see scenes that reveal and develop EVE’s inner self. The supporting cast is too superficial, lacking cohesion with “one-dimensional” personalities and a simple, predictable narrative style.