writingongames

New Video! Stellar Blade is a Wonderful Mess (Patreon version)

Added 2024-04-26 01:00:04 +0000 UTC

Hey everyone,

Just letting you know that the new video is now available for all patrons, ad-free!

Stellar Blade is a game I had zero expectations for, so when Sony sent me a code, I was basically going in blind. What I found was a game that was often frustrating—shoddy platforming, stiff storytelling, odd puzzles, bad checkpointing—but bolstered by a fantastic combat system that makes you feel like the anime protagonist you're designed as, the game ended up reminding me that I'll take an imperfect game that makes me feel something, over an abundantly clean title that I forget about instantly. Stellar Blade's frustrations are born of its developer's ambition, rather than lack of it, which makes all the difference. In this review/analysis, let's discuss how Stellar Blade surprised me as one of the more memorable gaming experiences I've had this year.

So this game ended up way more fun than I was expecting, and it was neat putting the review together. Hope you enjoy it. Your continued support allows me to work on reviews like this on recent titles, while also continuing my work on bigger projects like the Ace Combat retrospective. I cannot thank you enough for that.

I may have another smaller video out before the end of the month talking about a bunch of super cool indie games I've been playing, and why people who say "modern gaming is terrible" might benefit from broadening their horizons a bit. Again, fun one to put together and I'm excited for you to watch it.

Thanks again,

Hamish

Writing on Games