How Stellar Blade Looks and Works on PS5

On Friday, the demo version of the long-awaited Stellar Blade event was released for the PlayStation 5 console. Martin was able to try it out a few days ago and brought you more detailed impressions, I will stop on the technical side in this article. The game from the Korean studio Shift Up offers three graphics modes, we compare them all here, both in terms of graphics and image quality, as well as frame rate.

General form

First, though, I’d like to comment on the overall graphics page, which I found to be very pleasing. Stellar Blade relies on impressive visuals, very fluid combat animations, and detailed character models. It’s not a revolutionary game in terms of visuals, but what it does, it does very well, and the chosen aesthetics help too. The game also boasts some very surprising details, personally I’d point out the not-so-perfect but very impressive physics of the main character’s hair, which can curl, tangle around her body in various ways, and so on.

I did encounter some issues, but nothing major. I did notice a few low-res textures, but they were mostly off the beaten path or in places where they weren’t that noticeable. At one point, I did notice a rather unpleasant pop-in. While the vegetation looked smooth, some objects were noticeably bouncing. But that was really just one location, so it’s hard to judge how it will look in the full game. Visually, the experience was definitely positive.

Performance mode

In an action game like Stellar Blade, you can automatically switch to performance mode, but I think for many this may be a mistake, as you will lose quite a bit of detail. The output resolution switches to 1440p, which (if you have a 4K monitor or TV) can also be recognized in the UI.

Compared to other modes, the image itself suffers from more pronounced aliasing, flickering and other artifacts (not as noticeable in stills, better in motion), but generally it looks a bit washed out and background detail is lower compared to other modes. If you have a Full HD or 1440p screen and don’t have VRR support or just want a completely stable frame rate (I didn’t really notice any drop), then you can definitely choose this mode and you probably won’t be disappointed, but in my opinion there are better solutions.

Balanced mode

And that solution is a balanced mode, which we don’t see very often in games, but when we do, it’s often a 40 fps mode. That’s not the case in Stellar Blade, because even in that mode, the game is aiming for 60 fps. I say purposefully, because it’s not a completely locked 60 (otherwise, Performance mode would be pointless), but the performance is much better than you’d expect from such a mode.

In calmer passages it does indeed stay around 60, in battles it fluctuates between 50 and 60, but most often stays above 50. The main thing, however, is that it stays within the VRR window (minimum 48 Hz), so if your display device supports this technology and you have HDMI 2.1, this is basically a win. Personally, I played the vast majority of the demo this way and thanks to VRR I hardly even noticed the mentioned dips.

So the frame rate is only slightly worse than in Performance mode, but the image quality is significantly better. The target resolution here is already 4K, and even if the image is scaled from a lower resolution, it will still be a big improvement over Performance mode. The UI is very clear, and you will encounter much less aliasing, flickering and other artifacts directly in the game.

Resolution mode

If you want the highest possible image quality, there is a Resolution mode, but you will have to sacrifice a lot of frame rate, as it is locked at 30 fps. The frame rate, at least in my tests, is very stable at the correct frame rate, but it is still at 30, which causes not only a loss of smoothness (which you can get used to after a while), but also, mainly, an increase in lag, which is an action game, as Stellar Blade is quite important.

And the visual difference compared to Balanced is minor, even though it’s native 4K. Honestly, considering the other two modes, I can’t imagine recommending Resolution, but of course, if you’re most concerned about image quality, you can choose that mode, and it’s a good thing the game even has that option.

Grade

Overall, Stellar Blade definitely has a lot to offer. It’s not the most technologically advanced game, but the developers didn’t even try. Instead, they rely on beautiful aesthetics, great visuals, or great animations, which of course especially stand out in combat. A few minor flaws aside, it’s a pleasant visual experience.

The frame rate was a very pleasant surprise after several games this year with unstable frame rates. Three modes are enough for everyone to choose from, and the main dilemma will probably be between Performance and Balanced. If you really want a stable 60 fps in all conditions and don’t mind a lower resolution, you can definitely go with Performance mode. However, for everyone else (but only if you have VRR, otherwise your experience may vary greatly), I recommend Balanced mode, which has a minimal frame rate loss but much better image quality.