Summary
Stellar Bladehas made a big impression since its launch in April earlier this year. As an AAA tier game by a previously lesser known developer, Shift Up, the third-person action title released to a largely warm reception, notably becoming the highest user score rated PlayStation 5 exclusive at the moment. ThoughStellar Bladedid see a bit of a stir over some of its character designs and cosmetics, its finely tuned gameplay turned out to be one of its true stars, and it was hailed as an accomplished and satisfying experience in many areas.
With it having exceeded expectations, and Sony and Shift Up now eyeing aStellar Bladesequel, the studio has also since been providing various updates and hinting at possible DLC before a full-fledged followup. While the updates have been welcome, they have been relatively minor so far. However, if more substantial content is now more likely, then it should look to making protagonist Eve’s ranged armament more robust and practical, since as is, it can feel a bit stifled in potential.
Fans have been awaiting a previously announcedphoto mode forStellar Bladeas well as a potential PC port.
Future Stellar Blade DLC Should Make Eve’s Ranged Options More Viable
Stellar Blade’s Drone Gun is Serviceable, But Could be Further Improved
The Soulslike dance of parries, dodges, and retaliating attacks isStellar Blade’s central combat focus, and it handles this aspect quite well. Shortly into the story, though, after players likely become accustomed to the melee feel, they will acquire a mod that turns on a gun function for Eve’s companion drone. Starting out with a standard semi-auto rifle mode, fans can later unlock homing missiles, a shotgun form (upgradeable to explosive rounds) and a laser beam. While these can all be situationally useful, the gun is still secondary to the flashy and elaborate suite of melee moves, and pound for pound doesn’t really compete with Eve’s sword.
Stellar Bladecontains some horror-adjacent sections, like Altess Levoire. On top of the switch in tone and design, these portions also remove Eve’s sword and force players to exclusively rely on the drone gun and its more limited capabilities. Outside these segments, it’s freely usable, but more often than not takes a backseat, becoming mostly an afterthought to the much more fleshed out and satisfying melee mechanics. Still, the drone gun does provide a few additional tools to deal with various enemies and could help in a pinch against some ofStellar Blade’s more difficult encounters. It thus has the potential to be expanded upon in the future.
If more substantial content is now more likely, then it should look to making protagonist Eve’s ranged armament more robust and practical, since as is, it can feel a bit stifled in potential.
How Stellar Blade Could Upgrade Eve’s Firearms
Stellar Blade’s melee combat is absolutely one of its highlights, and by bringing some of the existing ranged options more up to snuff with it, could serve as a taste of what the sequel may look toward improving. Perhaps by integrating combos consisting of alternating melee attacks with the gun in a seamless chain,Stellar Blade’s ranged designcould be elevated. This may also encourage a greater range of playstyles and make repeat playthroughs more interesting via switching up and trying out new and previously unavailable tactics.
Even if it may not go as far as incorporating the gun to the above degree, something like more ammo types or a few additional varieties of functionalities for the drone, like a magnum or sniper, might work well. Of course, it will need to be balanced so that it doesn’t somehow overtake the melee, but it could spice up the combat again and give the ranged mechanics a chance to shine.Stellar Bladelooks poised to capitalize on its success, and one way it could do so is to tweak its ranged elements to create an even smoother experience.
Stellar Blade
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RECLAIM EARTH FOR HUMANKIND The future of humanity hangs in the balance in Stellar Blade, an all-new story-driven action adventure. Ravaged by strange, powerful creatures, Earth has been abandoned, and what is left of the decimated human race has fled to a Colony in outer space. After travelling from the Colony, 7th Airborne Squad member EVE arrives on the desolate remains of our planet with a clear-cut mission: to save humankind by reclaiming Earth from the Naytiba – the malevolent force that has devastated it. But as EVE tackles the Naytiba one-by-one, piecing together the mysteries of the past in the ruins of human civilization, she realizes that her mission is far from straightforward. In fact, almost nothing is as it seems…
