There are several “tests” that a video game must go through to see if it will be successful in certain ways. First, the “eye test” is done via announcement trailers, gameplay demos, and so on. If players aren’t interested in what they see via those videos, the game likely won’t get bought. Then, even if people are interested, the sales immediately after launch can help decide quickly how successful a game will be. Finally, there’s Metacritic, which helps “guide people” via critical opinion, a test that Stellar Blade has just gotten its score for. But was it a good one?
Leading up to the embargo drop, Stellar Blade had a unique kind of buildup to launch. For example, most people talked about the game’s protagonist, EVE, and how she looked. There were even interviews done with the dev team, who noted that they modeled EVE after an actual Korean “Idol” and put special attention into “certain areas” of the character model because “that’s what gamers would see the most.” However, once the gameplay demo dropped, people saw that the combat was about timing, parrying, combos, and making precise moments. Thus, the game wasn’t “skin deep,” and to that end, Metacritic agrees with them.
As of right now, 91 critic reviews have been logged in for the title, and the overall game score is 82. That might seem a bit low for a game that had this much chatter, but that’s still a good score. Almost 80 of those reviews gave it a “positive” rating, while the rest gave it a “mixed” rating. But what did people specifically say about it?
One of the perfect score reviews noted that while the game might seem “uniform,” it stands out via its combat system, the incredible boss fights you’ll partake in, and the environment is worth exploring. Multiple other reviews cited it as an incredible action game. They went on to say it was “challenging yet satisfying,” and much more than people will likely predict when they go into it. The variety of ways you can have EVE fight foes was brought up multiple times in the reviews, and that will get many excited.
When you get to the “mixed” reviews, you’ll see a similar trend of them noting that the game is good but it could’ve been better. They point to EVE’s story or the overall plot and feel it could’ve been stronger.
Regardless of their thoughts, you’ll be able to get the game soon to see if it’s worth your time.
