Stellar Blade’s Demo Is A Tasty Amuse-Bouche Of Stylish Action

Y’all, the Stellar Blade demo is finally live on PS5. It’s a short little vertical slice of developer Shift Up’s character action game, so while we still need to see a lot more before we come to any conclusions, I can at least say that the demo has me stoked for the full release. Why? Well, like the previews from earlier this week have said, Stellar Blade is a little Bayonetta, a little Devil May Cry, a little Nier, and a little Sekiro. In short, based on this brief two-hour experience, I think Shift Up has a banger on its hands.

Read More: Everything We Know About The Stylish Action Game Stellar Blade

The demo starts with protagonist Eve’s regiment, Airborne Squad 7, descending on a subsection of Earth called District 3. The plan is to intercept an invasion by the alien monstrosities known as the Naytibas, but, as things are wont to do, everything goes awry. Airborne Squad 7’s transport ships get blown up from orbit. Eve and the rest of the team break through the atmosphere in drop pods, only for most of them to get destroyed during the descent. Hell, Eve barely makes it out alive as the pod’s hatch won’t open due to catastrophic damage to the exterior door, though a surviving squadmate named Tachy rescues her. It seems like all is lost as buildings erupt in flames around the duo while the Naytiba continue their merciless onslaught. It’s a cinematic opening that calls to mind set pieces from games like Crystal Dynamics’ Tomb Raider franchise and Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series.

But while the opening moments are quite cinematic, Stellar Blade has no problem immediately pushing you into combat. During these first 10 or so minutes, you’ll experience the gameplay fundamentals: attacks, dodges, parries, specials, and the like. You’ll battle some fodder enemies, like bipedal slug-looking Naytibas, as well as a few tougher foes, such as humanoid-like Naytibas, before encountering the tutorial boss: a bloated Brute with two wrecking balls for hands. Despite its size, it’s still an easy fight that culminates in some stylish finishing attacks not unlike those seen in 2013’s DmC: Devil May Cry. And surprisingly, Stellar Blade kinda feels like DmC, too.

Stellar Souls May Cry Twice

I know that’s a weird comparison to make, Stellar Blade to DmC: Devil May Cry, but hear me out. Capcom reimagined the Devil May Cry series in a partnership with Senua’s Saga developer Ninja Theory over a decade ago. The game had all the hallmarks of a traditional Devil May Cry entry, but DmC required a bit less button-mashing and a bit more thoughtful playing when it came to attacks and positioning. Stellar Blade does something similar. It’s not quite as fast as Bayonetta 3 or Devil May Cry 5. However, it isn’t as slow as something like Dark Souls or Lies of P, either. The game strikes a nice equilibrium between these action game extremes, allowing you to find a rhythm in combat to perform some button-mashing while still expecting you to be aware enough to know where best to position yourself for your next attack.