Stellar Blade™ x NieR:Automata™

7 / 10

Stellar Blade is great in all of the most important ways for an action game, but dull characters, a lackluster story, and several frustrating elements of its RPG mechanics prevent it from soaring along with the best of the genre.

4 / 5

Stellar Blade has a fair bit of weirdness, but its killer tunes and vibey, flow-state combat - plus a transformative hard mode - are enough to leave you entranced.

There's a difficulty spike with the last couple of boss fights, but for the most part, Stellar Blade is like a breezier, sci-fi Sekiro. The near-naked main character is unsurprisingly stealing a lot of attention, but remove that element from the equation and what's left is an absolutely incredible action game that provides a satisfying challenge and rewarding melee combat. Simply put, Stellar Blade is the next great action game and one of the PS5's best exclusives.