Stellar Blade has made quite a buzz in the online gaming community thanks in large part to its visuals. Specifically, thanks to Eve’s (main character) character design. But is there more to the game than meets the eye? We had the privilege of playing the demo early and here are our thoughts.

Eye candy 

The game is visually stunning and it’s not just all about Eve. The initial sequence shows off a new yet familiar sci-fi setting. The character models on screen look impressive. The costumes look very detailed, the environment well-rendered, and the enemy monsters look terrifying.

By default, the graphics mode is set to Balanced which, as you might have deduced, balances frame rate and resolution. The two other options are exactly what you expect: One mode prioritizes frame rate, the other prioritizes resolution. You will be able to tell the differences among the three but whichever mode you choose, the game will undeniably look like a next-gen title.

While the initial stage of the game feels drab and looks devoid of color, the environment, enemies, and characters all appear graphically impressive.

 The enemy designs, in particular, stand out. At first glance, they seem nothing more than scary-looking pounds of flesh that want to hurt you, but a closer look will show you just how thoughtful and detailed the designs are. 

Korean beauty standard 

We already know that this game is made by a Korean developer called Shift Up and that Eve’s body is a digital replica of an actual Korean model. Eve’s face, however, is completely built from the ground up. Something about that makes it a little eerie.

First off, Eve’s facial structure certainly follows the “Korean beauty standard,” which is generally big eyes, small face, a near v-shaped jaw line and what not. We’re no experts on this matter but this seems pretty eviden. And although we consume a lot of K-content, something about it feels a little unsettling.

We’re not sure if this was by design but two things stood out to us about Eve. She feels very robotic compared to the other characters she interacts with in the beginning of the game. This could be because her face isn’t a scan of a real-life person or due to the English voice actress’ line delivery, but that’s how she feels so far.

Off-beat combat rhythm 

The combat felt completely different from our expectations. The trailers we’ve seen so far and the two other games we just finished playing (FFVII Rebirth, Rise of the Ronin) might have impacted and influenced our view. But something about the combat of Stellar Blade felt off-beat.

We were under the impression that it was going to be fast-paced but that’s not how it felt at all. Instead, there’s a pretty generous window when some enemies aren’t attacking at all. So much so that some of it almost felt turn-based.

The game teaches you about light and heavy attacks as well as basic blocking and dodging. After the opening sequence you’ll also learn about a special dodge skill that looks incredibly bad-ass. But if you weren’t tinkering with the settings prior, you won’t see that there are already plenty of combos available to you.

What’s a little off-putting is it didn’t feel like you can cancel the combo animations and string it to a different move. That made it feel a little limited – you’re at the mercy of the combat animations. While it looked amazing, it didn’t feel as fluid as we would have liked.

Standard Action RPG affair 

The rest of the game felt like what you would have expected from an Action RPG. The opening sequence and subsequent first stage is pretty linear with some path deviations that should be obvious to any veteran gamer.

In the first stage alone you’ll experience some running, stair climbing, jumping from a ledge to another, and some swimming. There’s a fair bit of deviation from a straight path but the game will give you hints if you ever feel lost.

Special boss battle 

The demo covers the actual opening sequence of the game. Beating it means you can carry over your progress to the main game should you choose to purchase it. But there’s another ‘reward.’

After you beat the initial stage of the demo, a special boss battle option will appear on the title screen. This will take you to a pretty challenging boss battle set in a later stage of the game.

You’ll have access to a wider move set, more items, and more equipment. And yes, you can change Eve’s outfit. Have fun with it. 

Stellar Blade Demo 

As far as demos go, this is nowhere near the best but it does give you ample taste of the game’s look, feel, traversal, and combat.The story felt inadequate with some mystery factor not explained well. But the game’s premise felt like most other dystopian sci-fi stories. That said, we still look forward to seeing more of Eve and how the story unfolds.

The Stellar Blade demo will go live on the PlayStation store on March 29 at 7AM PDT. The full game will be available on April 26, 2024. 

Code to the Stellar Blade Demo was provided by the Publisher.

If you crave playing JRPGs like the Suikoden franchise, look no further as Rabbit and Bear Studios and 505 Games are set to release Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. It’s a game said to give you all bits of the JRPG story and gaming you love. We’ve had the privilege of playing an early preview of the game, and here’s what you can look forward to.

Tales and Battles that unfold with the progress

We’re given a chance to access a preview version of the game with a limited run. It reminds us of the world we live in–  the main characters run into fires of war. This forces them all to reexamine everything they believe to be right and true. No spoilers yet here, but we’re excited to see how the story progresses beyond what’s offered at the preview.

As we launched the game and got ourselves learning the controls, we found ourselves getting amazed by the detail of the environment. It’s a modern-day side-scrolling action with more depth and movement compared to how we used to play these kinds of games 20 years ago.

It’s not that hard to be acquainted with the game. Tip windows flash here and there, but the best part is when you’re given the chance to decide your party mates. You can also equip them with the best equipment available. It’s a turn-based battle that gives you freedom to choose the best course of action. You choose the sequence of attacks and even implement gimmicks such as hiding in rubble or flicking switches to avoid large-scale damages.

The story also stems from what they call rune-lenses or artifacts that provide a magic ability to users. These can greatly aid in fights. You also get combo attacks by placing two or more characters connected with a bond to implement much stronger attacks. More runes can be added to your character’s arsenal as they gain more levels throughout the game, and are not usually limited to those offensive in nature as some can be attached to give you benefits such as added damage or defense.

The more, the merrier

Like Suikoden, Eiyuden Chronicle’s whole premise is to give you the freedom to recruit 100 characters to your cause.

Yep, you read that right. One. Hundred. Characters.

That sounds like a huge number, sure. However, each of the 100 heroes offers something different. Many are available for battle which you can swap in and out of your party. Some can be tailor-made for certain regions and dungeons throughout the story. Meanwhile, some are designated catalysts that can give you access to more of the world’s treasures. 

In the preview build, we got to try out ten of them including two of the main characters of this story – Nowa and Seign, including a few of the hundred characters, as they initially explore a dungeon with mysteries and action. 

Similarities with Suikoden are noticeable. That’s natural since this game is created by some of Suikoden’s game masters themselves, Yoshitaka Murayama (creator of Suikoden I & II) and Junko Kawano (Suikoden I & IV). As someone who played it before. It also doesn’t mean that you can just easily recruit everyone, as some require conditions before they accept your invitation.

Adorable Mini Games

You’ll also get to have different mini-games to do while you’re doing the main quest. This includes fishing, which we can experience during the preview. 

You’re given a fishing rod to catch fish and other seafood at designated fishing spots on the world map. It’s a lot easier than it looks. Those collected fish can be part of another mini-game, cooking, as ingredients for recipes you can cook with.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes comes out on April 23, 2024.  It will be available on different platforms including PC, Sony PS4 and PS5, Microsoft Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

If you’ve been yearning to play a challenging Samurai adventure since Ghost of Tsushima, the Rise of the Ronin is on the horizon to quench your thirst. Releasing exclusively for the PlayStation 5 on March 22, 2024, GadgetMatch had the privilege of playing the early hours or so of the game. 

Character creation 

The first thing that caught me off-guard was the character creation at the start of the game. Prior to getting this preview opportunity, I’ve only really seen a handful of clips of the game paying little attention to the details. That’s not to say I wasn’t interested. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. But it’s been a hectic last two months that I haven’t had the chance to really dig into it. I digress. 

So, character creation. This was… fun. Upon learning that this can be done– and for two characters too–my mind immediately went in two directions: Kenshin Himura and my favorite Japanese person–Momo Hirai of TWICE. I know, it’s quite the variance but those two are the “designs” I went with at first. 

Character creation is pretty detailed. You get to choose whether your male or female and the customizations have decent depth to them. Enough for me to recreate some version of actual characters and people many might be familiar with. 

You might be able to go crazy with it if you really wanted to but I simply didn’t have the time. Like most games with character creations and customizations, I am very interested in what the larger community player base will come up with. 

The first few hours 

Team Ninja was very specific with what we were allowed to talk about, but even then, I wasn’t able to reach that point. Because of certain story elements, I decided to redo my characters, shifting from Kenshin Himura to Sana Minatozaki–another member of TWICE. And that is all I will say about the story. 

The first section of the game is all about teaching you the combat basics all while setting up the game’s story premise. Combat is challenging. I personally hit an early wall and decided to go from Dusk (normal difficulty) to Dawn (easy) just so I can progress. Skill issue, sure, but I also have a ton of other things on my plate, don’t @ me. 

That may not give you a gauge of how difficult the combat is. After all, this will vary depending on your own skills and preferences. I’m not too familiar with Nioh and other Team Ninja games. I will say this is certainly a little tougher than Ghost of Tsushima, at least at first. 

Open world 

After the gripping opening chapter, you are thrown into the open world. You will again slowly be introduced to the open world mechanics, which, once again reminded of GoT. You’re probably going to hear that same comparison throughout other previews and reviews but it really does give off that vibe. 

That changes a little bit when you get into a city. As seen in one the later gameplay trailers revealed for the game, the traversal and weapon arsenal of Rise of the Ronin offer a far wider variety than GoT. 

In terms of open world visual cues, GoT does it more subtly. Rise of the Ronin feels more game-like with waypoints showing up as you level up through combat and quests. 

Oh and… you can pet cats.

Action RPG 

Speaking of leveling up, the game has all the trappings of a good Action RPG. Combat is challenging and will open up even more as you grow in four different skill trees. 

The skill trees deepen your combat, traversal, exploration, and crafting skills. And then there are the weapons and weapon styles. In the beginning, you’ll be asked to choose what weapons you’ll have the best affinity with. It’s not too daunting a choice. However, it does impact your combat play a little bit, especially in the early game.

You’ll also encounter shops where you can craft weapons, medicines, and many other stat buffs and debuffs, giving you somewhat of an idea of the type of enemies you’ll encounter as you go along. 

Should you be excited? 

Yes. Absolutely. Rise of the Ronin will quench your Samurai power fantasy thirst. Even in just the early goings, you’ll be hooked instantly. The combat offers a good challenge, the exploration just right, and the story pretty darn gripping. We can’t wait to tell you more. 

Rise of the Ronin is set across war-torn 19th-century Japan in this combat-focused open-world action RPG from Team NINJA, the veteran studio behind Nioh and NINJA GAIDEN. It will be available exclusively on the PlayStation 5 on March 22, 2024. 

Here’s a brief excerpt of the story from the game’s online page. 

Japan, 1863. After three centuries of the Tokugawa Shogunate’s reign, the Black Ships of the West descend upon the nation’s borders and the country falls into a state of turmoil. Amidst the chaos of war, disease and political unrest, a nameless warrior forges their own path, holding the very fate of Japan in their hands.