Summary
Stellar Blade puts you in control of Eve, a human arriving at a far-flung future Earth. The main story grazes the surface of subject matter like transhumanism and moral relativity. Stilted and stiff voice acting does little to help you take the story seriously.
The game's structure sometimes allows for you to make your own pacing by completing missions largely centered in the game's open fields. While large, these areas mostly funnel you down existing paths regardless of whether or not you can imagine a more creative trail. A minimap desperately needed to be included for these more open areas rather than a separate and ill-used map screen.
The game's soundtrack consists of banger after banger. The post-apocalyptic setting allowed Shift Up to create any combination of elements and ambiance they wanted. The only time it became anything more than window dressing for me was a twinge of annoyance when quests or exploration yielded naught.
There is a nagging question, though, that sticks in the back of my mind: Does this game rise to the heights its inspirers achieved? The conclusion I came to is no, but that it attempts so without falling on its face is remarkable enough. That its biggest weakness is that its tribulations can go on too long is perhaps praise from another perspective not my own.
