Stellar Blade feels like a celebration of all of the fast-paced, high-octane, and sexy action games of the past few decades. The fighting is kinetic, the enemies are varied, and there are a variety of different skills to be unlocked that prevent combat from feeling boring. While some encounters might start slow, as certain enemies can only be dealt with in specific ways, the amount of skills and maneuverability options that become available to you just a few hours in will allow you to make quick work of both larger enemies and swarms of them. The game will also progressively allow you to gain access to items that can both heal you and perform crowd control.

While a lot of the abilities that you gain access to are pretty basic, like quick dodges and heavy finishers, the initial difficulty level is actually pretty high. I wouldn't recommend this game to somebody who doesn't at least have a passing familiarity with action RPGs because of how tight the windows for combat are and how much the early bosses throw at you. Enemies don't stagger easily unless you counter or perform special moves on them, but not only are the windows to perform these counters VERY tight, there are various ways that even the most basic enemies can deal damage. Enemies can attack you in the middle of a combo, thus disrupting your flow, and they have next to no invincibility frames. Combine that with how fast their attacks can be, and it's very easy to find yourself getting juggled. I consider myself fairly skilled at such games and yet it took a while for me to fully adjust to some combat encounters. Make sure to practice every move that you unlock and pay very close attention to specific enemies' animations or light markers that need to be reacted to as quickly as possible.

From a basic gameplay standpoint, this game checks off a lot of boxes, and the performance on the Switch 2 during combat feels very satisfying. I didn't notice any dropped frames or input lag during fights or rushed encounters; every death genuinely felt like it was my own fault. That doesn't mean the presentation is perfect, as some little graphical hiccups are noticeable. For example, the hair physics and some of the outfits have a weird fuzzy haze around them that doesn't look intentional. There is a good amount of texture popping when things are loading in real time, and enemies will move at a slower frame rate in the distance. However, there are also a lot of little graphical touches that add a lot of atmosphere, including rain or particle effects sticking to the screen, depending on the environment.

The music is fairly beautiful, but almost in a deceptive way. While big orchestrations follow large boss battles, a lot of the music is fairly low-key and laid-back. Some tracks are clearly homages to other game soundtracks, while others go for a relaxing vibe, almost like lounge or elevator music. I'm pretty sure the dichotomy between those different styles is the point. There's an atmosphere of longing in this game, exploring desolate ruins and destroyed buildings that once used to be thriving with people. Eve even questions or reminisces about things that she learned about Earth in between missions or during rest periods. There's this idea of being frustrated with always needing to fight, and wishing for quieter moments seems to be a tragic and unique theme throughout the course of the game, especially when more characters are introduced. You can tell Eve doesn't want to only live her life fighting, but she doesn't have a choice given the circumstances.

Outside of that thematic throughline, the story and style of the game do feel redundant. The problem with making a game inspired by so many others like Bayonetta (which this version has costumes for) and NIER is that you will unfortunately run into the issue of the game itself lacking a distinct identity. While there are a lot of fun particle effects on the different creatures and monsters that you fight, like how they will slowly break apart or shake off stone shells as you attack them, the actual designs of everything are fairly boring. There is clear religious imagery and symbolism being used, but it's all very surface level and obvious. Even Eve herself doesn't stand out as any type of distinct character or in a stylistic way, no matter how many cool or sexy costumes I get to dress her up in. I feel for her while I'm playing or during cutscenes, but I don't remember her when the game is over. That's because the story she is a part of is just very boring. Characters die, and tragedy strikes, but the game never lets me sit with these characters to get attached to them or their struggles. Nothing they go through is any different from other cyberpunk distant-future apocalypses.

This game was made for people who specifically want a sexy action RPG. Granted, those aren't as common anymore as a lot of people would like, and this game is good enough to get your fix with over a dozen hours of gameplay. There's plenty of bosses to fight and environments to run around in. This game covers all of its bases. However, it never feels like the game is trying to get out of the shadow of other, more impactful games before it. As a fun experience with decent eye candy, it does not disappoint. But this is a blueprint for more distinct games to come out in the future,