Stellar Blade review: Stunning visuals and exhilarating action – who knew saving the planet could be this much fun? writes PETER HOSKIN
Stellar Blade (PlayStation 5, £69.99)
Verdict: Almost too smooth
Want a crash course in video gaming in the 2020s? Then play Stellar Blade. It’s a mash-up of some of the best games of the past decade.
There’s the die-and-try-again brutality of Dark Souls. The high-powered battle of Final Fantasy VII: Remake. The overgrown post-apocalypse of The Last of Us. And the plaintive sci-fi tone of Nier: Automata – oh, and the sword-wielding future-babes of that same game too.
Although ‘mixture’ might be a bit unfair. Stellar Blade is one of the slickest games I’ve ever played. In everything from the fluid combat to the exciting cutscenes, it shows what can be achieved today given enough time and money. It doesn’t so much steal things from elsewhere as give them a makeover and wrap them in a nice bow.
Stellar Blade is one of the slickest games I’ve ever played. In everything from the fluid combat to the exciting cutscenes, it shows what can be achieved today given enough time and money.
A super soldier named Eve – who tries to reclaim Earth from terrible monsters – is the main character of the game
There’s a lot of dazzle and a lot of fun to be had. Although there’s always something about Stellar Blade that feels a little too polished – like it’s an advertisement for games in 2024
Or do I mean a corset? There’s no denying that Stellar Blade’s main character – a super soldier named Eve who tries to reclaim Earth from terrible monsters – is treated like a puppet of sorts. You can change the length of her hair in the options menu, although her legs always remain impossibly long and there are a variety of skimpy costumes to dress her in. I wouldn’t save the planet like that.
Yet there is plenty around Eve that also catches the eye. Stellar Blade is a stunning looking game, one of the few in this generation that really takes advantage of the PlayStation 5’s capabilities.
But in a way that’s also the problem. There’s a lot of dazzle and a lot of fun to be had. Although there’s always something about Stellar Blade that feels a little too polished – like it’s an advertisement for games in 2024.
Lunar Lander Beyond (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, £24.99)
Verdict: a retro rocket
Let’s go back. Way back. Until 1979, when Atari released a game called Lunar Lander. The concept was originally inspired by the moon landings: you, the player, piloted a lumbering spacecraft and used thrusters to propel and stabilize it, hoping to make a safe descent to an alien surface.
Now let’s move on. A way forward. Until 2024, when humans have colonized Mars, we’ll all be zooming around in flying cars – and Lunar Lander has been rebooted by Atari as Lunar Lander Beyond.
Beyond is, as you would expect, much more advanced than its predecessor. There’s a whole story layered over the experience – of galactic anomalies and brave crew members – and it’s told through artful animated sequences.
Beyond is, as you would expect, much more advanced than its predecessor. There’s a whole story laid over the experience – of galactic anomalies and brave crew members – and it’s told through artful animated sequences
Within the levels there are new skills, challenges and threats, including the possibility that your beleaguered pilot will go crazy and start seeing pink elephants and other fun distortions.
Within the levels there are new skills, challenges and threats, including the possibility of your beleaguered pilot going crazy and seeing pink elephants and other fun distortions. If they do, you can place them in psychiatric care and use another pilot project instead, with their own strengths and weaknesses.
However, underneath all of Beyond’s innovations, in a rather charming way, is the same classic gameplay. You must pilot a lumbering spacecraft and then land it safely. Again and again. It’s actually very simple.
Except that it’s also quite difficult for a crazy gamer like me. Those moments when I fully understood my plane’s flight felt great, but they were few and far between. Better players will have more reason to continue and strive for mastery and higher scores.
To them I say: good luck. Your planet needs you.