Stellar Blade is one of the most mechanically satisfying action games of the generation

There was a moment in Nier Automata when I knew that I was in for something special.

After hours spent carving up silent mechanical automatons, one robot suddenly let out a jarringly human scream. Sprinting away from me in fear, I pursue this android anomaly across the arid desert, arriving at an eerily half-destroyed village. To my horror, I discover a robot rocking an empty cradle, surrounded by androids crudely simulating sex, repeating the word ‘child’ ad-nauseum.

There is nothing quite so profound – or unsettling – awaiting players in Stellar Blade, a game that has already drawn countless comparisons to Yoko Taro’s existential sci-fi classic. Yet while Stellar Blade’s perfunctory narrative feels like set dressing, developer Shift Up uses these Nier-isms to lay the groundwork for one of the most mechanically satisfying action games of this console generation.

Let’s set the sci-fi stage, shall we? Thrust into the skin-hugging lycra of 7th Airborne Squad member, EVE, you’re dispatched to a ruined Earth in order to save the once luscious planet from the mutant-esque creatures that have overrun our once vibrant home – the Naytiba. With mankind fleeing Earth to an off-world colony, it’s up to EVE to comb the crumbling remains of our once great civilization, where she soon discovers the mysteries of the mysterious Naytiba – and that all is not as it seems.

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As you seek guidance from a cyborg oracle, encounter increasingly intelligent Naytiba and read posters about an underground human resistance, the script pulls equally from Ghost In The Shell, Battle Angel Alita, and even The Matrix, mixing and matching its sci-fi classics like an android allegory Kellog’s variety pack.

Thankfully, Shift Up also takes the same creative liberties with its gameplay. Wearing its Souls-lite influences on its augmented sleeve, Stellar Blade combines Sekiro’s lust for parrying precision with the frantic slashing of Devil May Cry. Where Automata’s combat focused on lightweight scraps with legions of enemies, every blow in Stellar Blade connects with a satisfying heft, transforming each one-on-one encounter into a teeth-gritting duel. As you learn new combos and thwart new enemy types, your skills are tested against wonderfully grim-looking demonic bosses.

It’s an experience that feels endlessly rewarding. Where progress in Souls game is an arduous slog, EVE’s upgrades come thick and fast, defeating enemies swiftly providing enough experience for skill points to spend on new abilities, combos and attacks.

Much like in Nier or Bayonetta, core stats are improved by equipping new cores and gears into EVE’s exosuit, either earned by toppling the aforementioned excellent bosses, completing odd jobs, or as a reward for venturing off the beaten path. These equippable modifiers can be upgraded at Dark Souls-inspired rest points, where replenishing your health brings the defeated Naytibas back to life. The gears offer up an impressive amount of stat-altering variety, allowing players to tailor builds to specific playstyles like in Platinum Games’ best.

While sword combat is undoubtedly the focus here, there’s a smattering of gunplay to spice things up. A human drone pilot ADAM also accompanies EVE on her excursions (obligatory biblical references, check.) providing backup from a safe distance, allowing EVE to scan the environment for enemies and points of interest.

“It’s an experience that feels endlessly rewarding. Where progress in Souls game is an arduous slog, EVE’s upgrades come thick and fast, defeating enemies swiftly providing enough experience for skill points to spend on new abilities, combos and attacks.”

In a nice touch, this drone-filled firearm eventually becomes an equippable firearm that slots into EVE’s suit, allowing you to target enemies’ weak spots and keep charging behemoths at bay. In two palette-cleansing missions, your stellar blade becomes jammed, transforming the dimly lit corridors into a Dead Space-esque shooter.

Not all diversions, however, fare so well. Stellar Blade’s clumsy semi-frequent platforming feels like the polar opposite of its precise combat, with each leap and swing feeling clunky, frustrating, and unwieldy. I lost count of how many times I was sent back to my last used camp as EVE plummeted to her death.

Still, it wouldn’t be Nier without a side quest-filled hub world now, would it? Earth’s last city, Xion, serves as a calming oasis in Stellar Blade’s violent universe, a hubworld that helps to flesh out the wider lore, offer up side quests, and provide palette-cleansing respite from the machine-imbued murder.

From preventing a mugging down an alleyway to helping a hairdresser track down a pair of scissors, there are a litany of welcome distractions to wile away time in the hidden city, with optional side quests that event send you venturing out into two of Stellar Blade’s sandboxes. Both of these playgrounds take the world sandbox very literally, with each sandy expanse filled with caves, loot and various beckoning NPCs waiting to offer up some additional lore dumps, fetch quests and either gear-expanding distractions. The pacing is largely a delight, too, the slog of a late game sewer section being the only notable exception.

Stellar Blade is a visual treat throughout, boasting glistening sci-fi environments and pleasingly detailed mechanical enemy and humanoid character designs. While much has been made of the lecherous male gaze underpinning EVE’s design – a fact made worse every time you unlock a more revealing costume – the pervy perspective feels more embarrassing rather than offensive, a cringe-worthy bid to capture the fanservice-loving anime crowd.

Where Bayonetta employed her sexuality as a weapon, spanking and slaughtering demons with a knowing wink, there is no such irony to be found in Stellar Blade. It’s a decision that speaks to the same immaturity as the script writing, with completing the herculean task of finding every collectable soda can rewarding you with EVE’s skimpiest outfit.

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Stellar Blade (PS5)

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Still, the biggest complaint that you can level at Stellar Blade is its uneven difficulty. For 90% of the game, it feels expertly judged, if a little on the easy side, allowing a reasonable challenge while ensuring that perfect parries and dodges leave you feeling like a bonafide badass. This all unravels, however, in a slew of hair tearing-ly frustrating end game bosses, following a point of no return that leaves you little opportunity to grind for skill points.

Minor niggles aside, Stellar Blade’s stunning visuals and entrancing gameplay loop left me relishing my time spent in this delightful dystopia. As Shift Up’s console debut, it’s impressive just how much Stellar Blade gets right.

A copy of Stellar Blade was provided for review by Sony Interactive Entertainment.