Stellar Blade PC – Review

Reviewed by Karan Parmar | May 12, 2025

Stellar Blade on PC isn’t just another stylish action game—it’s a showcase of refined combat and technical polish that knows exactly what it wants to be. Fast, responsive, and unapologetically cinematic, it’s a focused experience that thrives on moment-to-moment gameplay. While not everything hits as hard as the combat itself, this PC release proves that when a game is built around feel, it doesn’t need to do everything—it just needs to do the important things well.

Combat & Game Feel

The combat in Stellar Blade is the core reason to play the game—and it absolutely delivers. Every encounter feels hand-crafted around fast reflexes, precise timing, and satisfying punishment for mistakes. What sets it apart isn’t just the responsiveness of the controls, but how weighty and deliberate the animations are without ever feeling sluggish. Whether you’re parrying at the last frame or executing a perfectly timed dodge into a cinematic counter, it all feels smooth and impactful. The game layers on complexity gradually, introducing Beta Skills, Burst attacks, ranged drones, throwable grenades, and skill trees that allow players to expand their offensive and defensive options in meaningful ways. Enemy variety starts strong, and while it can taper off slightly in the latter half, most fights remain engaging due to the depth of the combat mechanics themselves. Boss fights are standout moments—epic in scale, tightly designed, and tuned to test your mastery of every tool in your arsenal. The combat doesn’t just look good—it feels good, and that alone elevates Stellar Blade far above many of its genre peers.

Graphics & Visual Presentation

Visually, Stellar Blade is a bit of a mixed bag. The character models—especially Eve—are among the most detailed and impressively rendered in any modern action game, the same can’t be said for the world around them. Environments often come across as visually flat and lacking the depth or richness expected from a game of this scale. Despite the variety in setting—from dusty ruins to synthetic sci-fi corridors—most locations feel lifeless, with minimal environmental storytelling or interactive detail. Texture work in open areas can feel low-resolution or overly clean, and the lighting—while serviceable—doesn’t do much to enhance mood or atmosphere outside of cutscenes. The game’s strong character rendering, fluid animation, and stylish VFX during combat make up for these shortcomings to some extent. On PC, graphical fidelity is elevated thanks to unlocked frame rates and high-resolution texture options. But no matter how high you push the settings, the environments themselves never quite match the fidelity or immersion delivered by the character assets. The result is a visually striking game in motion, but one that feels oddly sterile when you stop and look around.

Exploration, World Design & Platforming

The game follows a semi-open structure—mixing linear story-driven areas with hub zones that open up for side quests, collectibles, and optional challenges. These areas can be stunning at first glance, but the content within them often feels undercooked. Many of the side quests boil down to fetch tasks or simple combat objectives that lack narrative weight or gameplay variety. There’s also a noticeable pacing issue when backtracking is required—especially in later stages where previously explored zones are revisited with little change or incentive. Platforming, while not central to the experience, is frequently frustrating. Rope swings, wall climbs, and ledge grabs can feel imprecise, leading to awkward missteps and occasional camera struggles. It doesn’t ruin the experience, but these moments of clunky traversal are noticeable blemishes in an otherwise polished game. The game clearly wants to encourage exploration, but its systems don’t evolve enough to make it feel rewarding beyond the first few hours.

Story & Characters

The story in Stellar Blade gets the job done but rarely rises above the basics. It follows Eve, a soldier from an off-world colony sent to reclaim Earth from the mysterious Naytiba threat. While the setup is intriguing and some of the lore scattered throughout the world hints at a deeper backstory, the main plot is told in broad strokes with very little emotional impact. Characters are thinly written, and while Eve’s journey has moments of growth, the supporting cast lacks depth or nuance. Dialogue often feels stilted, especially in English, and while the Japanese and Korean voice options are better acted, the actual script doesn’t offer much to work with. Key story beats are predictable, and the emotional arcs never hit the highs you’d expect from a game this cinematic. It’s clear the developers prioritized gameplay and visual presentation over narrative complexity—which is fine—but it does mean players hoping for a gripping story or memorable characters may come away underwhelmed. There are sparks of something more meaningful here, but they’re never fully explored.

Audio & Music

If there’s one area outside of combat that deserves unreserved praise, it’s the game’s audio design. The soundtrack is a dynamic and eclectic mix of orchestral, electronic, and rock elements that kicks in at just the right moments. Whether you’re in the heat of a boss battle or wandering through a desolate city, the music adapts to the tone with impressive range and clarity. Combat tracks hit hard with aggressive percussion and driving synths, while ambient pieces are layered and atmospheric, contributing significantly to the game’s mood. Sound effects are equally well done—sword clashes have real impact, enemy shrieks are appropriately unsettling, and environmental sounds help flesh out each zone. Voice acting, as mentioned earlier, is mixed, but the overall audio direction is consistently strong. There’s a clear cinematic intent behind the sound design, and it does a great job of pulling you into the world, especially when played with quality headphones or surround setups.

Technical Performance (PC Port)

Shift Up has done an excellent job bringing Stellar Blade to PC, delivering one of the most technically sound and thoughtfully optimized ports in recent memory. Frame pacing remains smooth regardless of resolution or upscaler used, and the game maintains consistent performance even in intense scenarios involving particle-heavy combat or large enemy groups. Loading times are impressively short thanks to fast asset streaming, and there’s no noticeable stutter when transitioning between cutscenes, combat, or traversal-heavy areas. This is exactly how a PC port should be handled—polished, scalable, and packed with features that give players full control over their experience. It respects the platform and sets a high bar for future console-to-PC conversions.

Endgame & Replayability

While the first few hours of Stellar Blade are consistently exciting, the late game does start to wear thin in certain areas. Enemy types begin to repeat more frequently, and side activities lose their novelty as upgrade materials become less essential. The boss battles and combat set pieces continue to deliver, but the downtime between them becomes more noticeable. Still, there are some solid incentives to revisit the game. Multiple endings, hidden lore pieces, post-game outfits, and an optional boss trial mode offer reasons to return. The game also introduces cosmetic unlocks and challenge rewards that add some light RPG flavor. It’s not the most robust post-game structure out there, but there’s enough meat for completionists and combat fans to sink their teeth into. That said, the lack of deeper endgame content might disappoint players looking for something on par with Soulslike replayability or a more extensive New Game+ system.

Final Verdict

Stellar Blade is a stunning, combat-rich action game that knows exactly where its strengths lie. It’s a masterclass in moment-to-moment gameplay, built around tight controls, flashy visuals, and exhilarating boss encounters that rarely miss. It’s also one of the best PC ports of the year so far—feature-packed, performance-friendly, and visually jaw-dropping when dialed up. But it’s not without flaws. The story doesn’t do much to elevate the experience beyond its combat, exploration feels flat after a while, and the platforming systems are clearly a weak link in the overall design. Still, when judged as an action game first and foremost, Stellar Blade hits far more than it misses. If you’re in it for the thrill of battle, the spectacle of fast-paced swordplay, and a technically brilliant PC experience, it’s absolutely worth your time. Just don’t expect it to move you emotionally or immerse you in a deeply written world. It’s a gorgeous thrill ride—but a shallow one.

Rating: 8/10

Special thanks to Sony PlayStation for providing the review code.
© Images and screenshots used in this review are courtesy of PlayStation Publishing LLC / SHIFT UP Corporation.

Buy the Game

You can purchase Stellar Blade from the following official platforms:

• Steam (PC)
• PlayStation Store (PS5)

Support the developers and experience Eve’s journey in its most polished form with the definitive PC edition of Stellar Blade.