Stellar Blade PS5 - Digital Foundry Tech Review - An Ultra-Polished Action Game

Stellar Blade has finally arrived for PlayStation 5 and we're delighted to say that this is an ultra-polished, highly enjoyable action game. Based on Unreal Engine 4, developer Shift Up isn't rewriting the technological rulebook in any way - but what is delivered is nigh-on flawless within its ambition. It's something of a tonic in a world where so many games ship with issues, requiring multiple patches to address. John Linneman has the DF tech review for you.

00:00 - Introduction
01:15 - A Strong Presentation
04:01 - Graphics Options
04:29 - HDR Settings
05:13 - Stunning Visual Design
06:18 - Visual Flourishes
10:04 - Mode Comparisons
11:52 - Frame-Rate Analysis
13:49 - Final Thoughts

[gozutheDJ]

"Eve and her comrades exhibit superb secondary motion characteristics that would put a smile on the face of Dead or Alive series creator Tomonobu Itagaki" AHAHAHAHAHA

[theevokeruser]

Honestly hearing that its like a PS2 era game on modern hardware sounds really appealing. A lot of AAA games are so bland and try to cater to too much, and are often buggy/broken. Games need to be more focused like this. Hope it comes to more platforms.

[gregorybentley]

The option to remove film grain has been added in a patch that's been made available this morning before release

[glenwaldrop]

"... bug free experience" he says as she fights giant bugs... well done sir.

[JF_]

Might be worth mentioning that 40% of the soundtrack comes from Keiichi Okabe, the composer of the Nier:Automata soundtrack…

[AndreThompson]

John sold me at 'it's just a gosh darn enjoyable videogame.' What more do we need?

[drunkndrivr]

all games should strive for this level of performance, this is impressive

[SeaToSkyImages]

There's something so satisfying seeing huge bosses reacting to being hit. It's something a lot of games don't do.

[sonshinegamers]

"I definitely think this is one of the best things Sony has published in quite a while." - what a statement and I fully agree.

[jamesTea]

Balanced mode on my LG OLED is where it’s at 🤩

[Monius]

All this is even more impressive when you consider this is their first time developing a console game. It's very evident that they're gamers first and they wanted to give people the best experience. Already preordered, I can't wait to play!

[mikeclark]

A video game from 2003 built with modern tools is exactly what the industry needs more of and why I enjoy Nintendo games so much.

[michaelflores]

"secondary motion characteristics" well said sir

[masteroflight]

Eve’s hair physics are insane. With out a doubt one of if not THE most realistic I’ve seen in a game

[turnbasedtoddy]

THIS is how games should be made these days. Performance above all else and this just proves that it can work. We always say gameplay is king and that’s tied to performance, not graphics. Most triple A studios seem to have forgotten that.

[CakeMelons]

So apparently Shift Up made real sculptures of monsters first and then scanned them to import into the game, according to their bts video. That's some dedication. On another note, it's good to see good ol Tomonobu Itagaki decided to crash the party to celebrate new DJ John's EP.

PS. "Secondary motion characteristics" -- that's a new way to appreciate the bounce.

[lefro]

Delivering a complete and largely bug/glitch free game. 👏👏👏

[mhjmstultiens]

So it can be done! Visually pleasing, WITH good performance. Unsurprisingly it's a conscious design decision the devs need to make at the start of the development proces.

[irwan]

Just platinum this game today. what a great experience, this game deserve the praise

[TRENDSETTERAVENUE]

*Balanced Mode is a MUST-HAVE for ALL next-gen titles. What a Graphical Masterpiece! 👏👏👏*