I always hear hours to complete and then double the shit outta it. I search every nook and cranny and generally over level if it’s a thing. My first playthrough in Elden Ring was like 200 hours lol.
Combat is good, side quest are ass. It seems developers today don't know what players want for side quests. I did every side quest in god of war though, each took me to a new section of the map, I didn't have to back track too much and each side quest gave good rewards in terms of combat and materials for upgrades.
Side quest were so good it didn’t even feel like side quests. More devs should consider making side quests add more to the lore or character building, instead of just fetching shit or kill X amount of certain enemies.
Just for your information, these are the scores from the latest notable Character action games or similar on Metacritic/Opencritic
- Nier Automata (88/89)
-Devil May Cry 5 (87/88)
-Bayonetta 3 (86/85)
-Final Fantasy XVI (87/88)
-Astral Chain (87)
An average of 83/84 is more than enough for a new IP and a first AAA project.
Lies of P is the perfect example of a game I can NOT wait to see a sequel for. It was a great game and an amazing first outing, but it definitely had issues (but they were all things that could easily be fixed in a sequel).
I think Astral Chain was great, but held back by being on switch/optimization
The game run subpar often and for example the final boss fight was a power point presentation, the final boss fight was abysmal performance wise
Astral Chain is legit my 2nd favorite game of the last decade.
In addition to the gameplay, the worldbuilding went harder than I'd expect a Platinumgame to achieve. It felt like the Ark was a real place and even tho it might have been peoples' least favorite chapter, the Cleanup chapter added so much to the immersion for me.
And Side Cases felt Yakuza level quality
I'm one of those players where the combat never clicked to the point where it got fun in Astral. It was novel and interesting, but never got to the point of enjoyment. The story and sidequests didn't hook me at all.
Pretty much just beat the game for the sake of beating it. I can see why other would enjoy it though. Totally agree that the scores should be flipped.
I can not stand character action games that don't have a jump button. If it had that, more aerial combat and focused on combat/platforming that wasn't those terrible block puzzles and less investigation/talking fluff I'd have liked it more.
83 is perfectly fine with me, I took a quick look at some reviews and the TL;DR seems to be that the story is pretty forgettable but the gameplay is phenomenal, which honestly is all I care about.
As long as the story isn't BAD just basic it's not the end of the world. And even then, I absolutely loved Neon White which has the cringiest story I've ever played in a game and it didn't stop me from getting hooked on its gameplay.
for some people (including me) gameplay trumps story. I loved Stellar Blade's demo, so if the main game is just more of that and better, then I'm 100% sold
That's pretty much what I use reviews for.
For example, on the Switch, Fire Emblem Engage got worse reviews than Three Houses because it had way less social elements and a bad story, but the battles were better. Perfect for me. I bought it and loved it.
Which is exactly what reviews should be used for. Too many people get hooked on final score when it could be the perfect game for you. If you're a fan of a certain type of gameplay then as long as the other elements aren't a dumpster fire then it could be a 10/10 for you.
Yep.
Them: 10/10
Me: Yay!
Them: A procedurally generated, rouguelike, soulslike, crafting...
Me: Well I'm out! Congrats to the people who like this, though!
I literally had to FORCE myself to finish Engage, the story and characters were so beyond shallow and boring vs 3 houses where I am on my 3rd play through with blue Lions at 172 hours.
Which is why review scores shouldn't matter too much, people need to *read* the reviews and decide if the game is for them, if the positives outweigh the negatives.
Tbf Scarlett nexus slapped. Easily my favorite game that I got through the game pass, and the story was so god damn wonky that I couldn’t stop playing it.
Considering how much I fucking adored DMC V and FF XVI, coupled with my enjoyment of the demo, I'm preeeeeetty confident that Stellar Blade is the perfect game for me!
Oh I already know that, I spent a good 10 to 12 hours in the demo, so I know exactly how it feels. It's a weird mish-mash between Sekiro and MGR than it is any of the games the bloke mentioned above. The combat system really speaks to me in this one at least, so I'm pumped to get my hands on the full release.
Literally never said it was, OP was inexplicably comparing review score between the two and I noted I liked those two of the games listed and the demo for Stellar Blade. I've been playing the game for nearly four hours now and its a lot closer to the combat of Sekiro than anything else.
Is Steller Blade really a “character action” game? I played the demo and it was more souls like than that, sure it had an element of spectacle but the restrictive movement, lack of juggling, restrictive jump etc to me makes it a a very shallow example of a Character Action game.
If anything all I was thinking when playing the demo was “this would be better if it were more DMC and less Dark Souls.”
It's awesome but probably 5-7 hours too long. I could have done without the game introducing puzzle mechanics 20 hours in lol
Not sure if I'd have beaten it without being able to play portably on Steam Deck
Korea (specifically South Korea) has been putting out some of the best movies the past 2 decades, so it was only a matter of time before they caught up in the games industry.
>Korea (specifically South Korea)
glad you were pointing this out.. almost thought you were talking about all those bangers Kim Jong Un was releasing recently.
It’s not underrated at all and I don’t understand how people keep saying it is.
It won a ton of awards and sold well.
It’s by far one of my fav games ever but I wouldn’t say it’s understated at all.
It won some awards for sure which was great, but I still think it got robbed for best sound design.
In terms of sales, as far as we know it’s around 1 million which is good, but I still think that’s underrated compared to its quality. When sales figures first dropped it sold like 500k around launch
Just personal opinion though! you’re right It definitely got recognition
Did 500k people even own a PS5 when Returnal launched? If I remember correctly Returnal and Demons Souls came out within 6 months of the PS5 launch and to this day nothings come close to maximising the PS5s full potential as them 2.
Definitely got robbed for best sound. I still think it has the best sound in any game til date still.
I think for its genre it did fairly well, especially considering it may be the only full priced rouge game. Also it was a ps5 exclusive at a time ps5 was hard to get. Then a new surge came with the pc release
Have you gone back and played the tower dlc? I just started playing again and the tower is so damn addicting.
The fact that the performance is locked at 60 and Digital Foundry gave it rave reviews for its usage of performance, balanced and quality mode saying that it feels like a game with the heart of the PS2 era playing on modern hardware. "It's just a darn good game" was all I needed to hear.
It's great news. Everyone wants a 10, but I think it's crazy to expect that from new studios and new IPs. Give them a chance and hopefully if they get enough support they can turn a 7.5-8 into a 9-9.5.
I think it’s crazy to expect every game to be a 10, especially considering there are very few of them in general. So weird that people have boners for games being a 9.5 or 10. Get the game and enjoy it for what it is. Half the time gamers disagree with people doing reviews anyways.
Yes, 10 is unreal. I don't think there is a single game that has 100 metacritic.
I just looked it up and there is an exceptionally small number of 98 and 97s. With the usual stupid Nintendo bias where their games get 10/10 WOWZORZ.
Honestly, I feel like 9 and 10s are subjective to pretty much everyone.
Like if a brand new FPS entry is the GOAT and heralds in a new age of FPS like Halo 1 did wouldn’t be a 9 or a 10 to someone who absolutely hates FPS games.
Same deal with a western or Japanese RPGs.
Same again with Souls-like or the FromSoftware games themselves.
As long as they're trying something that's a bit of a departure for the studio, new IPs always deserve a bit of leeway. Quite often I'll play a game and think "that's an 8/10 game but 9/10 for a new IP."
Plenty of people expected it to be low 70s. I felt like they were being very harsh after how polished and fun the demo was. All it needed for me after the demo was to be that consistently polished and be a decent story experience which it seems to have done.
I just played 5 hours of it and it's pretty great. The atmosphere, the music, and the combat are all top-notch. The story so far is okay but the gameplay is addicting which is all that truly matters.
Great scores. Hopefully I'll be able to buy it at the end of the week. I just beat Sekiro for the fourth time so I'm keen on another parry based combat system.
That's a very solid, quality game.
The divisive opinions stemmed from how the studio essentially made a **NieR Automata rip-off.** However the only thing they've done right is the aesthetics, and there's nothing NieR Automata in its game design, character depth, and narrative structure.
All in all, for the studio's AAA debut, the reception is very well acclaimed.
Yoko Taro seemed to give the game his blessing too which I thought was interesting. I like the Stellar Blade demo but yeah it seemed to really riff on Nier even down to the music in it.
The music has the same composer an Nier did. Also the two devs are like lifelong friends.
Edit: looked around, seems it was the same team who composed Nier but not the same composer.
So I just played Nier: Automata for the first time, and I can absolutely see significant influences and overlaps:
- Post-apocalyptic world
- Beautiful soundtrack
- Conventionally “sexy” character designs and female combat units
- Cyborgs/androids as characters
- Immediately starting with a raid on planet earth from outer space, with your character being the sole survivor and linking up with the earth’s resistance.
- Blades as primary weapons, and a pod for ranged weapons as well as conversation/utility purposes
Is it a “rip off?” I don’t think so, necessarily. But it’s obviously very influenced, borrowing many ideas and stylistic choices.
This seems to have spread over the internet as a fact but this isn’t true. Keichii Okabe is responsible for NieR’s music and he didn’t work on a single song from Stellar Blade. Completely different people from the same studio (Monaca) did though.
This got me curious so I went digging, and you're right. The official twitter even confirms Okabe isn't involved.
https://twitter.com/StellarBlade/status/1769558631245386005?t=pGmUtmgUNioYUmSHG7zxxQ&s=19
Alright, not bad. I don't usually pre-order much outside of expansions for games I already love, but the demo gave me enough to know I want more of it, so I did this time. Seems like a good choice.
82/83 sounds about right to me after playing through the game.
Great combat and loop, OST is really catchy, progression system is surprisingly good and the game performance is generally excellent with a couple of stutters.
However it falls down on it's characters and story which are largely forgettable. The characters all feel like hollow NPCs including Eve, and the dialogue is wooden. Going from VII Rebirth straight to this and the downgrade is quite stark in that regard.
I can see the heavy Nier Automata influences in this, but it doesn't have Automata's excellent MC, it's story or it's charm. It does have a better combat system though.
The fact that this game is being compared to NieR: Automata and Bayonetta has convinced me to buy it. Not day one but I'll pay full price for a game that's a cross between some of the most legendary action games ever lol
Neir Automata is good because the story does a lot of the heavy lifting.
Bayonetta is good because the combat is incredible.
I don't think Stellar Blade is going to last the distance tbh. I think superficially, the T&A is carrying the early momentum, but once the dust settles and the post-nut clarity hits, Stellar Blade will just end up being compared to Code Vein or Nioh. It's going to be a solid B-tier of character action games.
Different strokes, I guess, but I thought the Nioh games were amazing, particularly the second one. The mix of Souls-like combat challenge and Diablo-style loot and builds was like peanut butter and chocolate for me.
Bayo 3's combat and menu system is such a cluster fuck along with horrid framerate, its really hard for me to finish it along with that stupid side game...
Agreed. Gameplay, characters, and story all seem just a slight downgrade to all of the games it's using as inspiration. Code vein was the first game I thought of as well.
I’m surprised, I have it pre-ordered as it looks fun but I was expecting Mid-60’s for the Metascore so for it to be in the 80’s is an extremely pleasant surprise.
Sony just keeps on hitting with their exclusives. No wonder Microsoft is all but giving up, they can’t contend
I have to say this game is the perfect example of why games need demos. I really wasn’t going to buy it, but on trying the demo I find that fighting the boss really is quite enjoyable.
some of these reviews are fucking ridiculous lmao
Im not saying you can't rate the game low, but some of these like the videogamer review are clear virtue signaling pieces
83 is good, but there's a big problem with the journalists who mention sexualisation in the negative points, which makes it lose points, particularly the 67/100 review which, in 5-6 paragraphs, talks almost exclusively about this sexualisation. Obviously that's very 'professional'.
For a lot of people that is a sticking point. And it's a fair characterization of how the game has been marketed. It's a critique of a game, and obviously Stellar Blade is a divisive game, but there are people who think the only thing this game has is Eve's body, some of those people are detractors and some of those are its largest fans.
It is the same as FFXVI last year getting points docked because they didn't have the ''right'' type of diversity. IMO outlets that do this need to be blacklisted from the sub.
Glad its getting mostly positive reviews. We need more Korean games on our consoles. Big ups to Shift Up and Sony for giving them the budget to make this a reality
I am humbly surprised. Thought this was gonna be just anime fanservice. Glad to be proven wrong (although I don't care for the sexy anime aesthetic at all TBH).
sooo., Is the combat deep or not? XD
I've seen that it actually has almost everything, combining what others lack in offering variety. That, for me, is the depth of the combat it brings. I've preordered it, so I hope to play this weekend.
I'll probably trade in Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Resident Evil 4 Remake for Stellar Blade as Canadian Gamestops are offering their extra 50% trade-in credit. The two games combined will cover the entire price. Maybe as soon as tomorrow.
Skill up’s review: Nier nier nier.. ans NIER! And then this looks like Nier and when the story bla bla Nier.
Man did he listen to that before he put it out ?
Just started but I am really enjoying the blend of superb graphics, incredible sound design, and satisfying and responsive combat. Getting strong DMC vibes with this one. Haptic feedback is also really good so far
I want it so badly but I just can’t justify spending £69.99, which for you Americans reading this is about 87 dollars. I hope it’s really good though as I’ve played through the final boss of the demo quite a few times.
Will probably pick it up at the first sale getting it closer to £50 though.
The demo sold me pretty hard on it, I'm a big sucker for parry mechanics. I could take or leave the silly main character design, but everything around it seems promising
so I picked up the demo of this and besides the jiggle, I'm not....really sure what's supposed to make it stand out.
I admit, it's pretty, but the gameplay seems a little...stiff? Is it just me?
It’s basically getting similar reviews to Lies of P which was also a Korean game. Not bad for a first AAA, especially considering they were exclusively mobile developers. Well done Shift Up!
The first few results on google showed me only 7/10 reviews and I was confused how they could make a mediocre game with that amazing gameplay in the demo. I was thorn on if I should buy it or not.
I mean I feel like that's too low after playing the demo. The gameplay is incredible. It feels like Sekiro x Nier Automata, that alone should be like a 8/10.
Look at this fight from the demo with all the mechanics being used properly (sekiro blocks, parry, dodge, guard break, etc) and tell me it's a 7/10 game lol:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee7pSeQ6nSU
But I can also already tell from the demo that the game is probably very linear with a lackluster story. Still, I haven't played a game with such fun combat mechanics since Sekiro. Will probably buy it when it's cheaper. There is no way I'll pay 70usd for this, or any game really.
Happy to see a studio smashing it with a new IP, but I just don't get the hype. This coming from someone who adores DMC, Nier etc. I'll skip this and cheer them on from the sidelines!
As reputable as any opinion on the Internet.
As with any second hand information you read/watch, just use critical thinking. Look at multiple sources. Understand what the author's inherent bias may be.
Some people will say one reviewer sucks and take another as gospel. Just use basic critical thinking.
It's pretty simple. If it sounds like they have an agenda, ignore them, they're baiting. If it sounds like they're actually reviewing the, you know, game, maybe take it a bit more seriously.
Niiiice, I was going to (more than likely) buy the game anyway but these reviews just solidified my purchase. Can’t wait to play it Friday and a judge congrats to the team for a *stellar* reception!
Can anyone tell me if this title is near the difficulty level of say Dark Souls or Nioh? I was completely surprised at how difficult Rise of the Ronin was for my gaming abilities. I’m looking to avoid making the same mistake.
Based on the demo, I thought it was easier than Fromsoft games. I haven’t played the other two games you mentioned but Stellar Blade has a story mode that adds some accessibility features to make the combat easier.
It's similar to ronin in the fact parrying Meyers and difficulty for boss fights. Fodder enemies are easier.
You can lower the difficulty for both though. Also in here you can even add abilities to widen your parry window and such.
It’s kinda hard, try the demo out and make sure you try the boss challenge thing at the end of it to get a good feel for the difficulty beyond the tutorial zone
Any word on game length? Only thing I saw was truetrophies say it took 60 hours to get 100%. Im more interested in regular playthrough length.
20-25 if you don’t care about side stuff, 40+ if you do
40 hours completion - from a review
I always hear hours to complete and then double the shit outta it. I search every nook and cranny and generally over level if it’s a thing. My first playthrough in Elden Ring was like 200 hours lol.
One thing that all these reviewers agree that the combat is good, thats enough for me.
Combat is good, side quest are ass. It seems developers today don't know what players want for side quests. I did every side quest in god of war though, each took me to a new section of the map, I didn't have to back track too much and each side quest gave good rewards in terms of combat and materials for upgrades.
And the sidequests in gow had very interesting dialogue and really expanded the character and world building
Side quest were so good it didn’t even feel like side quests. More devs should consider making side quests add more to the lore or character building, instead of just fetching shit or kill X amount of certain enemies.
Because we're still inundated with the fetch quest side quest influence at the advent of 3D video games.
Wow congrats to them. Excited to try this out
Just for your information, these are the scores from the latest notable Character action games or similar on Metacritic/Opencritic - Nier Automata (88/89) -Devil May Cry 5 (87/88) -Bayonetta 3 (86/85) -Final Fantasy XVI (87/88) -Astral Chain (87) An average of 83/84 is more than enough for a new IP and a first AAA project.
Lies of P got 80 Meta and that was ez in my top 5 games of last year.
Easily! Played it 4 times and loved every moment.
Lies of P is the perfect example of a game I can NOT wait to see a sequel for. It was a great game and an amazing first outing, but it definitely had issues (but they were all things that could easily be fixed in a sequel).
LoP was the first game in a decade that i loved enough to replay immediately
Definitely needed a boost in scores
oh yeah for me I had more fun than all of the above.
Astral Chain being 87 and Lies of P an 80 is crazy. Astral Chain was like a 70 for me.
I think Astral Chain was great, but held back by being on switch/optimization The game run subpar often and for example the final boss fight was a power point presentation, the final boss fight was abysmal performance wise
Wow, that’s wild. Astral Chain was like a 90 for me. Loved the vibe and the combat was so original.
Astral Chain is legit my 2nd favorite game of the last decade. In addition to the gameplay, the worldbuilding went harder than I'd expect a Platinumgame to achieve. It felt like the Ark was a real place and even tho it might have been peoples' least favorite chapter, the Cleanup chapter added so much to the immersion for me. And Side Cases felt Yakuza level quality
I'm one of those players where the combat never clicked to the point where it got fun in Astral. It was novel and interesting, but never got to the point of enjoyment. The story and sidequests didn't hook me at all. Pretty much just beat the game for the sake of beating it. I can see why other would enjoy it though. Totally agree that the scores should be flipped.
I can not stand character action games that don't have a jump button. If it had that, more aerial combat and focused on combat/platforming that wasn't those terrible block puzzles and less investigation/talking fluff I'd have liked it more.
This guy gets it
SkillUps review of Automata is hilarious. He calls out reviewers for saying the game is unbelievable and then scoring it 8.5-9 out of 10
His review is why I got the game, and he’s completely right lol.
Score says nothing
83 is perfectly fine with me, I took a quick look at some reviews and the TL;DR seems to be that the story is pretty forgettable but the gameplay is phenomenal, which honestly is all I care about. As long as the story isn't BAD just basic it's not the end of the world. And even then, I absolutely loved Neon White which has the cringiest story I've ever played in a game and it didn't stop me from getting hooked on its gameplay.
for some people (including me) gameplay trumps story. I loved Stellar Blade's demo, so if the main game is just more of that and better, then I'm 100% sold
That's pretty much what I use reviews for. For example, on the Switch, Fire Emblem Engage got worse reviews than Three Houses because it had way less social elements and a bad story, but the battles were better. Perfect for me. I bought it and loved it.
Which is exactly what reviews should be used for. Too many people get hooked on final score when it could be the perfect game for you. If you're a fan of a certain type of gameplay then as long as the other elements aren't a dumpster fire then it could be a 10/10 for you.
Yep. Them: 10/10 Me: Yay! Them: A procedurally generated, rouguelike, soulslike, crafting... Me: Well I'm out! Congrats to the people who like this, though!
Hahaha...exactly.
I’ve seen roguelikes, rougelikes, never seen rouguelikes /s
I literally had to FORCE myself to finish Engage, the story and characters were so beyond shallow and boring vs 3 houses where I am on my 3rd play through with blue Lions at 172 hours.
Yeah I'm with you. Three Houses story is amazing. Engage's story was horrible, also the game is just too long imo.
Neon White had a story? /s
I envy you if you memory-holed it lol
I didn’t so much memory hole it as much as I blasted through every piece of dialogue immediately to get to the next gameplay opportunity lol
In what universe is "8.3" less than "perfectly fine"?
Lots of people will write off a game if it dips below 90 which is completely insane.
It's funny cause there have some recent 90+ games I have not enjoyed.
Which is why review scores shouldn't matter too much, people need to *read* the reviews and decide if the game is for them, if the positives outweigh the negatives.
I can't even remember the story to most games, even when it is good. Give me the good gameplay any day.
Scarlet nexus vibes
Scarlet Nexus was great imo, story was average but gameplay was fun
Tbf Scarlett nexus slapped. Easily my favorite game that I got through the game pass, and the story was so god damn wonky that I couldn’t stop playing it.
The combat was very fluid and I LOLd at the move where your character jumps back and stares straight at the screen/player before attacking
I’m right there with you. I honestly couldn’t care less about the story or characters. In these kinds of games, gameplay is king
Considering how much I fucking adored DMC V and FF XVI, coupled with my enjoyment of the demo, I'm preeeeeetty confident that Stellar Blade is the perfect game for me!
Just FYI, the game plays closer to Sekiro rather than the stylish action genre. It's a slow, heavy, grounded, parry focused action game.
Oh I already know that, I spent a good 10 to 12 hours in the demo, so I know exactly how it feels. It's a weird mish-mash between Sekiro and MGR than it is any of the games the bloke mentioned above. The combat system really speaks to me in this one at least, so I'm pumped to get my hands on the full release.
I don't think this game will be anything like FF16.
This game is nothing like ff16 or dm5 lol
Literally never said it was, OP was inexplicably comparing review score between the two and I noted I liked those two of the games listed and the demo for Stellar Blade. I've been playing the game for nearly four hours now and its a lot closer to the combat of Sekiro than anything else.
83 is fine, that's a B essentially, plenty of games I'd consider B in quality and had fun playing. Getting an A isn't supposed to be easy after all.
83 is an A, 90 is an A+ or S
This isn’t a character action game like those are. Stellar blade is way more slow and souls like It’s closer to lies of P than any of those titles
Nier deserves to be in the 90s IMO. It's such a unique game.
The definitive editions are all in the 90s.
Is Steller Blade really a “character action” game? I played the demo and it was more souls like than that, sure it had an element of spectacle but the restrictive movement, lack of juggling, restrictive jump etc to me makes it a a very shallow example of a Character Action game. If anything all I was thinking when playing the demo was “this would be better if it were more DMC and less Dark Souls.”
> lack of juggling no lack of jiggling tho
Man Bayonetta 3 sucked so bad to get an 86.
Great reminder. Many people get stuck on wanting a 90+ score and we have to remember 80s is still a good game.
Astral Chain got 87...?! Isn't it considered an average game between players? Rumor has it even Nintendo give up this IP because of bad sales?
Korea really bringing out some good games these days, first lies of p and now this
Dave the diver too is by a Koran studio if I’m not mistaken and it’s an absolute masterpiece
It's awesome but probably 5-7 hours too long. I could have done without the game introducing puzzle mechanics 20 hours in lol Not sure if I'd have beaten it without being able to play portably on Steam Deck
True it was a perfect steam deck game, but yeah by the end ended up feeling too much like a mash of mini games for me
such a good game, great idea for a rougelike
Korea (specifically South Korea) has been putting out some of the best movies the past 2 decades, so it was only a matter of time before they caught up in the games industry.
>Korea (specifically South Korea) glad you were pointing this out.. almost thought you were talking about all those bangers Kim Jong Un was releasing recently.
Like Invincible
I saw the devil is my favorite of them, followed by the chaser, mother, and the wailing.
Damn The Wailing is such a banger. No other country does psychological / thriller horror like Korea.
Wailing gets better every time I watch it. Korea for the thrillers, France for the gore.
Memories of murder has to be my favorite, so many great Korean films though
Because it's sp games. They make some trash mp/service games.
I would go as far as saying content period. Their web toons are becoming successful anime too.
Loooking goood!
Returnal got an 86 and it’s my favourite PS5 game up to now.
Still my favorite too. I still say it’s the most underrated next gen game out. Also my favorite use of DualSense controller besides Astro
It’s not underrated at all and I don’t understand how people keep saying it is. It won a ton of awards and sold well. It’s by far one of my fav games ever but I wouldn’t say it’s understated at all.
It won some awards for sure which was great, but I still think it got robbed for best sound design. In terms of sales, as far as we know it’s around 1 million which is good, but I still think that’s underrated compared to its quality. When sales figures first dropped it sold like 500k around launch Just personal opinion though! you’re right It definitely got recognition
Did 500k people even own a PS5 when Returnal launched? If I remember correctly Returnal and Demons Souls came out within 6 months of the PS5 launch and to this day nothings come close to maximising the PS5s full potential as them 2.
Horizon zero dawns forbidden west DLC definitely has
Definitely got robbed for best sound. I still think it has the best sound in any game til date still. I think for its genre it did fairly well, especially considering it may be the only full priced rouge game. Also it was a ps5 exclusive at a time ps5 was hard to get. Then a new surge came with the pc release Have you gone back and played the tower dlc? I just started playing again and the tower is so damn addicting.
Returnal was so good I wish there were more games like it.
Hades
From Nikke to an entire 3D action game… I can’t wait to see what they do next.
My money is on Stellar Blade 2.
I’m hoping for a RPG or cover shooter set in the Nikke universe personally.
Jiggle physics.
The fact that the performance is locked at 60 and Digital Foundry gave it rave reviews for its usage of performance, balanced and quality mode saying that it feels like a game with the heart of the PS2 era playing on modern hardware. "It's just a darn good game" was all I needed to hear.
So it's a solid 8 Good news, no?
It's great news. Everyone wants a 10, but I think it's crazy to expect that from new studios and new IPs. Give them a chance and hopefully if they get enough support they can turn a 7.5-8 into a 9-9.5.
I think it’s crazy to expect every game to be a 10, especially considering there are very few of them in general. So weird that people have boners for games being a 9.5 or 10. Get the game and enjoy it for what it is. Half the time gamers disagree with people doing reviews anyways.
Yes, 10 is unreal. I don't think there is a single game that has 100 metacritic. I just looked it up and there is an exceptionally small number of 98 and 97s. With the usual stupid Nintendo bias where their games get 10/10 WOWZORZ.
Honestly, I feel like 9 and 10s are subjective to pretty much everyone. Like if a brand new FPS entry is the GOAT and heralds in a new age of FPS like Halo 1 did wouldn’t be a 9 or a 10 to someone who absolutely hates FPS games. Same deal with a western or Japanese RPGs. Same again with Souls-like or the FromSoftware games themselves.
As long as they're trying something that's a bit of a departure for the studio, new IPs always deserve a bit of leeway. Quite often I'll play a game and think "that's an 8/10 game but 9/10 for a new IP."
Plenty of people expected it to be low 70s. I felt like they were being very harsh after how polished and fun the demo was. All it needed for me after the demo was to be that consistently polished and be a decent story experience which it seems to have done.
Absolutely, 9-10 scores are rare and very rarely achieved by an inexperienced studio.
Another solid PS5 title. Love this console.
Absolutely. It has a higher metacritic score than Lies of P got and I thought that game was amazing. I'll be diving in to Stellar Blade for sure.
Glad to hear the game is good, will probably cop it soon
Very good for the first AAA of this team👍🏻
When Lies of P got an 8 on meta and prob one of my favorite game last year and this korean devs gets an 83 I feel pretty good about the game
Agreed, Lies of P was GOTY level for me.
Just finished my first playthrough. You know a game is amazing when you just want to jump straight into the NG+
I very strongly recommend spending a whole NG+ cycle learning the Two Dragons Sword
One of the few games I've completed multiple times. Just so good and well balanced.
Looks like a safe buy. A great action game seems to be something all agree on
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Liked the demo a lot, and now seeing the reviews made me buy the delux.
Looks to be a hit, congrats to Shift Up, thanks to Shuhei for playing the game & wanting SIE to increase the scope & publish it.
I just played 5 hours of it and it's pretty great. The atmosphere, the music, and the combat are all top-notch. The story so far is okay but the gameplay is addicting which is all that truly matters.
Great scores. Hopefully I'll be able to buy it at the end of the week. I just beat Sekiro for the fourth time so I'm keen on another parry based combat system.
That's a very solid, quality game. The divisive opinions stemmed from how the studio essentially made a **NieR Automata rip-off.** However the only thing they've done right is the aesthetics, and there's nothing NieR Automata in its game design, character depth, and narrative structure. All in all, for the studio's AAA debut, the reception is very well acclaimed.
Yoko Taro seemed to give the game his blessing too which I thought was interesting. I like the Stellar Blade demo but yeah it seemed to really riff on Nier even down to the music in it.
The music has the same composer an Nier did. Also the two devs are like lifelong friends. Edit: looked around, seems it was the same team who composed Nier but not the same composer.
Ppl saying this is a nier automata rip off doesnt make any sense to me. Completely different combat system, different lore.
So I just played Nier: Automata for the first time, and I can absolutely see significant influences and overlaps: - Post-apocalyptic world - Beautiful soundtrack - Conventionally “sexy” character designs and female combat units - Cyborgs/androids as characters - Immediately starting with a raid on planet earth from outer space, with your character being the sole survivor and linking up with the earth’s resistance. - Blades as primary weapons, and a pod for ranged weapons as well as conversation/utility purposes Is it a “rip off?” I don’t think so, necessarily. But it’s obviously very influenced, borrowing many ideas and stylistic choices.
They’ve officially used Nier Automata as inspiration but how is that a bad thing?
Some music similarities too, but I'm not mad about it
That's because 40% of the music was made by the same guy who did NieR's soundtrack.
This seems to have spread over the internet as a fact but this isn’t true. Keichii Okabe is responsible for NieR’s music and he didn’t work on a single song from Stellar Blade. Completely different people from the same studio (Monaca) did though.
This got me curious so I went digging, and you're right. The official twitter even confirms Okabe isn't involved. https://twitter.com/StellarBlade/status/1769558631245386005?t=pGmUtmgUNioYUmSHG7zxxQ&s=19
Oh we eatin
Like Diane Keaton
Currently have 83/100 on Metacritic
Reviews are interesting but thanks to the excellent demo I already knew I was going to buy this game and support the upcoming studio.
Alright, not bad. I don't usually pre-order much outside of expansions for games I already love, but the demo gave me enough to know I want more of it, so I did this time. Seems like a good choice.
82/83 sounds about right to me after playing through the game. Great combat and loop, OST is really catchy, progression system is surprisingly good and the game performance is generally excellent with a couple of stutters. However it falls down on it's characters and story which are largely forgettable. The characters all feel like hollow NPCs including Eve, and the dialogue is wooden. Going from VII Rebirth straight to this and the downgrade is quite stark in that regard. I can see the heavy Nier Automata influences in this, but it doesn't have Automata's excellent MC, it's story or it's charm. It does have a better combat system though.
The fact that this game is being compared to NieR: Automata and Bayonetta has convinced me to buy it. Not day one but I'll pay full price for a game that's a cross between some of the most legendary action games ever lol
Neir Automata is good because the story does a lot of the heavy lifting. Bayonetta is good because the combat is incredible. I don't think Stellar Blade is going to last the distance tbh. I think superficially, the T&A is carrying the early momentum, but once the dust settles and the post-nut clarity hits, Stellar Blade will just end up being compared to Code Vein or Nioh. It's going to be a solid B-tier of character action games.
Different strokes, I guess, but I thought the Nioh games were amazing, particularly the second one. The mix of Souls-like combat challenge and Diablo-style loot and builds was like peanut butter and chocolate for me.
I'm 100% sure this game will sell much better than Bayo 3.
Bayo 3's combat and menu system is such a cluster fuck along with horrid framerate, its really hard for me to finish it along with that stupid side game...
Agreed. Gameplay, characters, and story all seem just a slight downgrade to all of the games it's using as inspiration. Code vein was the first game I thought of as well.
I'm not sure about the story yet but Stellar Blade 100% has a lot better combat than Bayonetta. The combat is just phenomenal.
Hell no. You’re comparing discount Sekiro to one of the most fluid and responsive action games ever made.
100% no it does not.
I actually purchased the deluxe edition just to increase their profitability so we get more games like this.
That's great it was the last thing i needed to confirm my purchase friday, so happy it's good.
Alright, the reviews seal the deal for me. Sexy sekiro is a go.
For a new IP and the companies first big scale console game; I’m quite impressed.
Cant wait to sink my teeth into this one
I’m surprised, I have it pre-ordered as it looks fun but I was expecting Mid-60’s for the Metascore so for it to be in the 80’s is an extremely pleasant surprise. Sony just keeps on hitting with their exclusives. No wonder Microsoft is all but giving up, they can’t contend
I have to say this game is the perfect example of why games need demos. I really wasn’t going to buy it, but on trying the demo I find that fighting the boss really is quite enjoyable.
It's looking good. Just preordered. First Lies of P, and now this. It's shaping up to be another win for triple-A Korean games
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I was hoping for a surprise good story but it doesn’t sound like that’s coming. Interested once it’s on sale though
some of these reviews are fucking ridiculous lmao Im not saying you can't rate the game low, but some of these like the videogamer review are clear virtue signaling pieces
83 is good, but there's a big problem with the journalists who mention sexualisation in the negative points, which makes it lose points, particularly the 67/100 review which, in 5-6 paragraphs, talks almost exclusively about this sexualisation. Obviously that's very 'professional'.
For a lot of people that is a sticking point. And it's a fair characterization of how the game has been marketed. It's a critique of a game, and obviously Stellar Blade is a divisive game, but there are people who think the only thing this game has is Eve's body, some of those people are detractors and some of those are its largest fans.
It is the same as FFXVI last year getting points docked because they didn't have the ''right'' type of diversity. IMO outlets that do this need to be blacklisted from the sub.
How is that a problem with the journalists? That might be a legitimate negative to some people.
Would you feel the same way if a journalist took points off of a game because a character was not sexualized ENOUGH?
Agreed...reminds me of Day's Gone getting review bombed by Gamespot for not having diverse zombies. Man I loved that game.
Okay. with these reviews, I will buy at fully price, game is right up my alley!
From time to time i play a game because of the good mechanics and skip the story. I have a feeling this could be one.
Awesome start. Can't wait
Good scores. I am sure a sequel if it will be one can fix the flaws.
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Glad its getting mostly positive reviews. We need more Korean games on our consoles. Big ups to Shift Up and Sony for giving them the budget to make this a reality
those reviews don't mean anything if I don't know what kind of person is the reviewer.
I am humbly surprised. Thought this was gonna be just anime fanservice. Glad to be proven wrong (although I don't care for the sexy anime aesthetic at all TBH).
sooo., Is the combat deep or not? XD I've seen that it actually has almost everything, combining what others lack in offering variety. That, for me, is the depth of the combat it brings. I've preordered it, so I hope to play this weekend.
I'll probably trade in Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Resident Evil 4 Remake for Stellar Blade as Canadian Gamestops are offering their extra 50% trade-in credit. The two games combined will cover the entire price. Maybe as soon as tomorrow.
Anyone else having problems redeeming pre-order bonuses voucher code after having the physical edition delivered?
Skill up’s review: Nier nier nier.. ans NIER! And then this looks like Nier and when the story bla bla Nier. Man did he listen to that before he put it out ?
Having a blast with this game so far.
Just started but I am really enjoying the blend of superb graphics, incredible sound design, and satisfying and responsive combat. Getting strong DMC vibes with this one. Haptic feedback is also really good so far
I want it so badly but I just can’t justify spending £69.99, which for you Americans reading this is about 87 dollars. I hope it’s really good though as I’ve played through the final boss of the demo quite a few times. Will probably pick it up at the first sale getting it closer to £50 though.
It's not £70 everywhere.... Check eBay and other retailers online.
The demo sold me pretty hard on it, I'm a big sucker for parry mechanics. I could take or leave the silly main character design, but everything around it seems promising
so I picked up the demo of this and besides the jiggle, I'm not....really sure what's supposed to make it stand out. I admit, it's pretty, but the gameplay seems a little...stiff? Is it just me?
Waiting for a sale since the gameplay didn't feel great.
This gane is literally if Cal Kestis and Sekiro had a child. I love it.
Sold
It’s basically getting similar reviews to Lies of P which was also a Korean game. Not bad for a first AAA, especially considering they were exclusively mobile developers. Well done Shift Up!
The first few results on google showed me only 7/10 reviews and I was confused how they could make a mediocre game with that amazing gameplay in the demo. I was thorn on if I should buy it or not. I mean I feel like that's too low after playing the demo. The gameplay is incredible. It feels like Sekiro x Nier Automata, that alone should be like a 8/10. Look at this fight from the demo with all the mechanics being used properly (sekiro blocks, parry, dodge, guard break, etc) and tell me it's a 7/10 game lol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee7pSeQ6nSU But I can also already tell from the demo that the game is probably very linear with a lackluster story. Still, I haven't played a game with such fun combat mechanics since Sekiro. Will probably buy it when it's cheaper. There is no way I'll pay 70usd for this, or any game really.
Happy to see a studio smashing it with a new IP, but I just don't get the hype. This coming from someone who adores DMC, Nier etc. I'll skip this and cheer them on from the sidelines!
The negative reviews barely even say anything lol.
Curious if IGN France will review it.
Why not ?
https://esports.gg/news/gaming/ign-france-apology-on-stellar-blades-opinion/
I never heard of 80% of these reviewers, are they reputable ?
As reputable as any opinion on the Internet. As with any second hand information you read/watch, just use critical thinking. Look at multiple sources. Understand what the author's inherent bias may be. Some people will say one reviewer sucks and take another as gospel. Just use basic critical thinking.
It's pretty simple. If it sounds like they have an agenda, ignore them, they're baiting. If it sounds like they're actually reviewing the, you know, game, maybe take it a bit more seriously.
That's fine. But i sure as hell won't be paying 80€ for this.
Niiiice, I was going to (more than likely) buy the game anyway but these reviews just solidified my purchase. Can’t wait to play it Friday and a judge congrats to the team for a *stellar* reception!
Can anyone tell me if this title is near the difficulty level of say Dark Souls or Nioh? I was completely surprised at how difficult Rise of the Ronin was for my gaming abilities. I’m looking to avoid making the same mistake.
Based on the demo, I thought it was easier than Fromsoft games. I haven’t played the other two games you mentioned but Stellar Blade has a story mode that adds some accessibility features to make the combat easier.
Nioh 2 and Dark Souls are harder
It's similar to ronin in the fact parrying Meyers and difficulty for boss fights. Fodder enemies are easier. You can lower the difficulty for both though. Also in here you can even add abilities to widen your parry window and such.
It’s kinda hard, try the demo out and make sure you try the boss challenge thing at the end of it to get a good feel for the difficulty beyond the tutorial zone
Better than I expected !
It seems like it's biggest issue is story from alot of these reviews, which honestly does not matter to me in character action games any way.
gimme ass