Action RPGs of all types have a significant following. However, entering this genre as a developer is not so easy. Moreover, if you look at all the competitors around. This year alone saw the release of a sequel to the Final Fantasy 7 remake, the highly anticipated Dragon’s Dogma 2, No Rest for the Wicked entering early access, and the upcoming expansion for Elden Ring. And this is only the end of the first third of the year. So when Korean studio Shift Up announced Stellar Blade as their first big game, it caused a lot of surprise and discussion. I don’t think anyone would actually be surprised or blame the studio if a fairly run-of-the-mill attempt at thrashing came out of their offices. in which the main character in somewhat provocative outfits seems the most interesting. But wow, there’s more to Stellar Blade than just that.
We take on the role of EVE, a member of the Airborne Troopers, a soldier who descends from a human space colony onto a devastated Earth to exterminate the so-called “Nightibs”. Mutated monsters that now inhabit the remnants of civilization. And this after apocalyptic clichés such as global warming, the advent of artificial intelligence or simple human arrogance put an end to it. The story will be good enough that it won’t bore you or leave you waiting for what’s going to happen next. But don’t expect anything from him that will take your breath away. First of all, he simply finalizes the scenery and rules for the sandbox, from which the developers then create the rest of the game.
However, I do not want to say that this is not the case at all. You will encounter dialogues with different characters quite often. While she doesn’t actively accompany you, you’ll often have voice conversations with both pilot Adam and, at one point, another member of the Airborne squad. The character development of all three main characters, as well as a number of supporting characters, will be more or less relentless and in many ways very natural. This way, you will almost never feel lonely while playing, and you will be more inclined to go further and further to listen to other parts of the conversations and find out what the game has in store for you this time. The desire for a more epic story and narrative is definitely noticeable at key moments, but in my opinion the game just never manages to reach the point where, despite obvious efforts, anything significantly shocks or surprises you. This is due, among other things, to a superficial approach to various revelations; The main character EVE has some emotions, but at the same time she is quite an adamant soldier with a clear head, having a clear goal and just going towards it no matter what. And other characters hardly speak out about this decision. Whether we’re talking about key plot points or side quests, for the most part it seems to me that the developers were one step away from reusing the famous meme.”well, anyway“.
As such, the story has quality moments, often even cutscenes, likable characters, and often average but definitely not offensive writing and dialogue. In short, in the context of the game it doesn’t sound as strong as the authors might have imagined. Which, fortunately, the left rear part makes up for in the gameplay itself. As mentioned, Stellar Blade is an action RPG. While on the surface it’s close to games like Dark Souls, it definitely takes inspiration from a lot of matadors. Be it Final Fantasy or Nier: Automata. The developers from the Shift Up studio are not trying to come up with some kind of revolution and show everyone what an elbow is. On the contrary, they show that it is not even necessary to create an entertainment product.
The main character EVE has her trusty sword. The latter, as practically the only weapon, allows the use of fast and powerful attacks that can be combined into various combos, similar to how EVE can dodge attacks with minor dodging or defend with a sword or parry someone else’s blows. As you progress through the game you will get other options. There will be jump attacks, other combos, special attacks after cover, or the ability to defend against enemies’ special attacks. In addition, there are special moves that can be gradually unlocked and improved. But the combat system will remain mechanically quite simple, intuitive and very fun, and you’ll deal primarily with movement, two buttons to attack, one to dodge, and only a few others. So the game can very tactfully combine a more intimate combat system. for example Souls-like games, in which you basically fight only one or a few enemies and it depends on your dodging and good timing. But he’s also not afraid to use elements typical of hack-and-slash. in which you get various combos and ultra attacks that can handle even large groups of enemies.
Source :Indian TV
