Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 391 sampled Steam reviews (344 positive / 47 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing40% mention it
- Combat34% mention it
- Music & audio21% mention it
- Visuals & art19% mention it
- World & exploration10% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Story & writing32% mention it
- Combat21% mention it
- World & exploration15% mention it
- Controls & UI13% mention it
- Music & audio11% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
77%
35 reviews
5-15h
83%
35 reviews
15-40h
87%
153 reviews
40-100h
95%
131 reviews
100h+
84%
37 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 81 | 190 |
| Creator reviews (4 tracked) | – | 80 | 8 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 94% | 88 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 94 | 712 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 93% | 87 | 3000 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Sep 24, 2025) · 300 reviews sampled · 21926 total reviews in window · weighted 198.3 up / 29.8 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (214)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 90
“Stellar Blade is an above-average title. Well-developed, with a captivating story from the first moment, and most importantly engaging due to thoroughly well-planned and competently executed gameplay. The South Korean studio Shift Up performed exceptionally well, and despite my initial skepticism, I ultimately saw it as one of the top games of 2024.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Stellar Blade is at war with itself in a conflict between style and substance. Sadly, style wins with merciless regularity, but there’s a strong core of genuinely good gameplay fighting through an ocean of bells and whistles. Finally, let us never forget: titanic titties, one caked up ass, and thighs that could feed the five thousand.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Stellar Blade is a huge surprise that impressed me quite a bit. The game is a great hybrid of a slasher with light souls-like game elements, which offers brilliant world and level design, a phenomenal combat system and boss skirmishes. When you add to this a perfectly created soundtrack, then you have a recipe for success for now and for the future, as I hope this is not the last time we see the Stellar Blade.”
read full review ↗ - 50
- 90
“Stellar Blade absorbed the best developments of the genre created over the last 10 years, skillfully combining them with science fiction and sexy characters.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Stellar Blade excels in many areas, making it a remarkable debut for Shift Up. This action-packed, well-crafted action RPG honors its genre and its Korean developers. The game remains thoroughly enjoyable despite some flaws, such as drawn-out sections in the second act and a story that doesn’t hit as intended.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Most of all, Stellar Blade surprises with the fact that it is the debut console project for the Shift Up studio. It looks and plays as if it was done by professionals with many years of experience. If they pay more attention to the plot and characters in the next projects, there will be nothing to complain about at all.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“Following its successful release on PlayStation 5, Stellar Blade arrives on PC with a highly optimized version that allows us to enjoy a title that is much more than just a pretty face. Cosmetic customization enhances the exuberance, beauty, and elegance represented in Eve, which certain ideological discourses attempted to censor. Kim Hyung-tae is a genius who took special care to ensure good taste. Because while the model is a central focus, she is not the only thing worth highlighting, and she never feels vulgar, but rather an elegant display of attributes.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Stellar Blade marks an impressive debut for Shift Up in the AAA scene. The title excels in the main pillars of a good game: refined and satisfying combat, engaging narrative and stunning technical aspects, such as graphics and soundtrack. Not everything is perfect, and the lack of budget at times is evident, but the potential is there. The future of the franchise is promising, and I can't wait for a sequel!”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Had Eve been a character with agency and personality, who actually responded to the drooling and leering that she’s meant to embody, well, she’d be Bayonetta. If her emptiness was hiding deep existential secrets that the game revealed with patience and empathy, she’d be 2B. Instead, Eve is a busty, long-legged cipher of a doll who has no idea just how far up her hind quarters the game’s camera is designed to go, and seems somehow quite comfortable wearing sci-fi heels that make her feet look like horse hooves. Perhaps it’s unfair for this to be the sole focus for some players, but, unfortunately, there isn’t a whole lot else going on to draw their gaze away from it.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Stellar Blade may not be reinventing the wheel, but it polishes it to perfection. The game arrived on PC in excellent form, with smooth combat, high-quality optimization, and plenty of style. Even though the camera sometimes knows a little too well which angle to take, it’s still a predominantly action-packed experience that’s well worth playing.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“DMC and Bayonetta games have always had a distinct personality, and Final Fantasy, despite leaning towards real-time action combat in recent titles, has always placed its strong characters, meaningful RPG systems and sprawling stories front and centre. Stellar Blade doesn't do that. Shift Up has also clearly tried to appeal to a certain sensibility with its lead character design. However, a protagonist provocative on the surface, but completely unremarkable in every other layer beneath can only carry the allure so far. Eventually, Stellar Blade is held up by its fun combat and slick presentation, but it's consistently held back by almost everything else.”
read full review ↗
Gamepressure
The Jimquisition
ZdobywcyGier.eu
Stryftek
GameMAG
INDIANTVCZ
3DNews
La Orden del Pixel
GameFM
Slant Magazine
Gaming Professors
Gadgets 360…and 202 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- 《Stellar Blade》PC - 1.4.1 Patch notesSep 30, 2025
- 《Stellar Blade》PC - 1.4.0 Patch notesSep 24, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 《Stellar Blade》PC - 1.3.2 Patch notesAug 26, 2025
- 《Stellar Blade》PC - 1.3.1 Patch notesAug 13, 2025
- 《Stellar Blade》PC - 1.3.0 Patch notesAug 4, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 《Stellar Blade》PC - 1.2.0 Patch notesJul 2, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 《Stellar Blade》PC - 1.1.2 Patch notesJun 18, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 《Stellar Blade》PC Official Release Notes!Jun 11, 2025
- 《Stellar Blade》PC Demo - Patch Notes 1.1.0Jun 5, 2025