Stellar Blade has achieved Metacritic’s highest user score of 2024 so far.The game has a 9.2 user rating from 1,899 ratings, the highest for any game with a significant amount of ratings (there are a few games with higher scores, but fewer than five ratings.)For comparison, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth managed a 9.0 user score from 3350 ratings, Helldivers 2 earned an 8.2 from 1558 ratings, and Persona 3 Reload achieved a score of 8.5 from 645 ratings.VGC’s Stellar Blade review says the game offers “both the perfect entry point into the Souls-like genre and a refreshing refinement of the well-worn character action formula”.“For those who wished that God of War Ragnarok offered a bit more challenge or that Bayonetta had a bit more weight to its combat, this slick sci-fi slasher is the perfect tonic,” we wrote.The game has faced some criticism for in-game lag when dodging and parrying, however, the game’s director has said it is intentional.
The game recently received a New Game Plus mode in aday-one update. Stellar Blade’s day one patch also removed in-game graffiti that “unintentionally” references a racial slur.Shift Up’s plans for Stellar Blade DLC include free costume bundles for protagonist Eve, which will add to the 30 outfits available in the base game.