Gaming

Stellar Blade review: Strenuous but Stylish

Alluring beyond visuals

Published

April 24, 2024

We didn’t have the best impression of Stellar Blade after spending time with the demo. Unlike certain players who poured a full game’s length of hours playing, our reception was lukewarm due to various reasons. But after finally having some time to focus on it, we now have a better understanding of its charm–and that goes beyond character design.

The game’s director has been ever-present in various gaming and tech news websites sharing nuggets about the game and reacting to the many comments made about the proportions of its female characters. That’s a rabbit hole we’re not diving into. Instead, we’re piggy-backing on one of his responses: Just pick up a controller and play it.

Steep combat learning curve

Stellar Blade’s combat didn’t click with us right away. But that’s because we approached it more like a hack-and-slash and not for the precise combo-parry sequence that it demands. A fellow reviewer aptly described our experience: It was a lot more “Soulslike” than we anticipated.

It took a while to get over that hurdle. For one, this writer isn’t particularly fond of Soulslikes. Skill issue. That’s tough considering a big part of this game’s charm is its combat. We can’t say that it fully clicked with us, but it certainly has its moments.

In combat, you have to pay attention not only to your enemy but also to how the protagonist, Eve, acts in different combo animations. If you’re not careful, you might find yourself getting hit during a lull in your combo.

You don’t have to memorize every single combo, although if you could, that’s certainly an advantage. We can compare the practice to memorizing combos of characters in Tekken, although at a milder rate.

Parrying is tricky but that’s not the only way to counter your enemies. One of the first skills you unlock is one that lets you get behind your enemy after they unleash a fatal attack (cued in with blue indicators) and hit back with your own counter. The animation looks so good that you’ll feel like an absolute badass every time you do it. It’s one of the moves that never got old throughout the entire playthrough.

As you progress through the game you’ll unlock ranged weapons that will expand your combat capabilities further. Hard combat enthusiasts should have a field day.

For more casual players, there’s no shame in switching to Story Mode which is what we did for about 70% of the playthrough. It’s easier, sure. But it can still present challenges especially during certain encounters.

The boss battles are TOUGH

We’re going to chalk this up again to skill, and perhaps patience, issue. But Stellar Blade’s boss battles are incredibly tough. Not to the point that you’ll want to throw your DualSense controller though.

What can make it frustrating is that the patterns of the enemies, especially the earlier bosses and mini-bosses, are easy to track. But they’re not exactly easy to deal with.

Parrying becomes an even more critical skill in these encounters. It’s one of the reasons why we opted to slide down the difficulty. Otherwise, this writer will never finish the game.

Pulling from different games, worlds

We have seen many compare Stellar Blade to the Nier games. Other than the setting, another big contributing factor in that comparison is the soundtrack.

During roaming, exploring, and combat, the music will change from time to time. However, they stick to this theme that’s a little eerie. It’s hard for us to describe but it’s almost like a crescendo that never quite swells up. It matches the game’s world perfectly — it feels hollow and devoid of life but still has a sliver of hope.

Combat isn’t the only thing you’re doing here. While it’s mostly linear at first, Stellar Blade offers a healthy mix of exploration, platforming, and puzzle-solving.

The puzzles don’t get in the way of the pacing. They’re quite engaging and offer a decent level of challenge. Roaming and exploration will yield you loot to improve your gear and stats. Occasionally, a Naytiba (the game’s primary foils) will surprise you for a good jumpscare moment.

Stellar Blade doesn’t reinvent anything nor does it offer anything particularly new or groundbreaking. But everything it borrowed from other games is retrofitted to match the game’s vibe and overall aesthetic. The result is a polished experience of familiar gaming mechanics.

Eve

Another aspect that did not grab us as much during the demo is the main character, Eve. The first hour of the game doesn’t do much to endear the player to her.

That slowly changes as you play through the game. Through a mix of cut scenes and world-building collectibles, you get a better sense of what Eve is, her mission, and ultimately her purpose.

If you’re familiar with the animé Violet Evergarden, Eve and that show’s protagonist share a similar character arc. They initially seem one note and bland, but the layers are peeled back as you learn more about them and how they relate to the world and the people around them.

Is she hot? Hell yeah. But as cliché as it is, she’s certainly more than what meets the eye.

Should you play Stellar Blade?

Unlike the PlayStation 5 exclusive that immediately preceded it, Stellar Blade has plenty in common with past PS5 exclusives — visually captivating, cinematic experiences, with satisfying gameplay.

Its level of challenge is closer to Sekiro and Bloodborne but it’s also not quite as difficult. In the same category but certainly not in the same stratosphere.

It also has an alluring charm that goes beyond its aesthetics. As mentioned earlier, nothing about it is particularly new or groundbreaking. But it’s polished and cohesive. There’s something about the overall feel of the game that draws you in and makes you want to see it through.

Stellar Blade is a Day 1 purchase if you’re up for the challenge. And if you consider the game director’s goal of having a high quality AAA console game from South Korea which is dominated by PC and mobile gaming, we say they did just that. Now, it’s just up to us to pick-up the controller and play.

Related Topics:featured PlayStation PlayStation 5 PS5 Shift Up Sony PlayStation Stellar Blade

Gaming

Nintendo eShop will finally launch in the Philippines

The doors will open on November 10.

Published

October 27, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Filipino Nintendo fans, the wait is finally over! Nintendo eShop and Nintendo Switch Online are launching in the Philippines on November 10.

If you’re in the Philippines (or any other country without the service, for that matter), owning a Switch 2 comes with a modicum of difficulty. The country does not have access to Nintendo’s online services, prompting users to buy physical cartridges or switch their region to supported countries, which unfortunately leads to lopsided pricing.

Around the launch of the Switch 2, Nintendo promised that these online services will soon launch in more countries, including the Philippines. Finally, that date is nigh. On November 10, users can access the Nintendo eShop to purchase games digitally, and Nintendo Switch Online to play with friends online.

Besides that, we don’t know much else. There are still a lot of questions unanswered. For example, how will the games’ prices compare to prices in other regions? Since users in the country are forced to switch to another country’s store, they are also subservient to that particular country’s taxes and fees.

Either way, it’s a huge win for Filipino gamers, who no longer have to pretend they’re Singaporean or American just to access online games.

Gaming

HP OMEN Max 16 review: Gamer-maxxing in deep black

Peripherals deemed necessary to max this out

Published

October 23, 2026

Gab Orlina

It’s not every day that you come across a machine that looks good and plays even better. Oftentimes, subtle aesthetics take a back seat to sheer performance and power. Whenever a gaming machine looks sleeker, it seems to lack the power to push it forward. Simply put, you can’t have the best of both worlds these days.

But what if you could have it all? Not just money, fame, and other fortunes, but also a machine with everything you’re looking for! Gone are the days of wanting only power to keep you playing all day or wanting to look good while playing. On paper, this is what the HP OMEN Max 16 promises: the best of both worlds.

Unboxing a beast inside

When you first take it out of the box, the HP OMEN Max 16 looks unassuming in its overall design. It’s bulky yet sleek in its Shadow Black colorway, with nothing too fancy or flashy while powered down. From the outside, the machine screams premium, even though its dark color can attract more visible dirt than lighter finishes.

Opening it up reveals a 16-inch OLED display with a peak refresh rate of 240Hz, seamlessly connected to a base with a full-sized keyboard and a large trackpad. The bright, seemingly anti-glare display makes colors pop when watching or editing videos on the go.

Furthermore, HP places the ports in convenient spots along the rear and sides of the laptop. This makes it incredibly easy to set up and manage external peripherals while providing more room for ventilation under heavy loads.

Of course, the device’s biggest features lie in the hardware powering it from within. An Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, 32GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA RTX 5090 Laptop GPU should give you an idea of how well this machine can perform. It’s also a great combination for demanding productivity tasks and creative work!

Power that AI can only hope to replicate

The HP OMEN Max 16 lived up to many of our expectations in terms of performance. From startup to shutdown, it delivered on what its hardware promised. You can watch videos for longer, edit photos and videos to your heart’s content, and enjoy casual gaming without slowing down. Furthermore, the wide display gives you plenty of space to accommodate all these activities.

When you step up to more competitive gaming, the machine doesn’t miss a beat. Most titles deliver high frame rates regardless of the quality or performance settings you choose. With more advanced visual settings enabled, the RTX 5090 does a fantastic job of keeping supported games within a solid 40–50 FPS range. Pair it with a high-refresh-rate OLED display, and you get crisp details and faster input response to help you get ahead in ranked games all day long.

If there’s one thing to complain about, it’s the extra optimization required through the OMEN Gaming Hub. Features such as network prioritization, automatic power-mode switching, and system optimization are useful, but you’ll need to spend time configuring them during initial setup. The laptop also comes with OMEN AI, which promises to maximize FPS with a single click. However, it was only okay at best.

Runs longer, cools off smoother

Surely, a gaming laptop this bulky and powerful can’t last that long on battery, right? Well, the HP OMEN Max 16 averages around three hours of battery life during intensive gaming, which gives you a decent amount of playing time. For general use, battery life extends to around five and a half hours with Balanced power settings. It holds up reasonably well if you forget to bring your charger.

When you do have the massive 330W charger with you, charging doesn’t take too long either. During our tests, a full charge took two hours, with charging progressing slightly faster when we left the laptop idle. Charging the battery to 50% took around 20 minutes, giving you enough juice to squeeze in another game!

Another factor in prolonged use is how the device expels hot air through its sides and rear. We touched on this earlier, but it bears repeating: the laptop provides plenty of ventilation through its vapor chamber and multiple external vents. Instead of directing heat toward the keyboard, it pushes hot air through the vents, where it can hit your hands or peripherals. At least the keyboard stays cooler, right?

Is this your GadgetMatch?

At PHP 229,990, the HP OMEN Max 16 is a sleek-looking machine with incredible power under the hood. Despite its initial bulk, it delivers impressive performance for both casual and competitive gamers. Inside and out, it packs plenty of hardware and features to let you tailor the experience to your needs.

If you’re looking for a gaming laptop with decent battery life, this is a solid choice, but don’t expect it to last half a day. Of course, you wouldn’t use this machine entirely on its own, even if the unboxing experience might suggest otherwise.

Peripherals such as the HyperX Cloud Alpha Air and Solocast 2 Pro can further enhance the experience.

Overall, this is a Swipe Right for its features, performance, and premium design. However, if you don’t have an infinite money glitch to buy it right now, you’re better off saving up for this beast of a machine!

Gaming

FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE now available across major platforms

FINAL FANTASY HD-2D is here

Published

October 22, 2026

GadgetMatch

SQUARE ENIX has released FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE. It’s a new role-playing game that brings the franchise’s classic pixel-art aesthetic into the HD-2D era.

The game launches on October 22, 2026, for Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. The PC version will be available through Steam and the Microsoft Store on Windows starting October 23.

FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE reimagines the first story arc of the mobile game FINAL FANTASY Brave Exvius as a full-fledged RPG experience. It combines retro-inspired pixel art with 3D models and dynamic camera angles.

Strategic turn-based combat returns

Players will explore a world featuring familiar FINAL FANTASY elements, including crystals, airships, chocobos, espers, and moogles.

Combat revolves around exploiting enemy weaknesses to stagger opponents, break their defenses, and gain extra turns. Players can also unleash powerful Resonance attacks to turn the tide of battle.

The adventure features Visions, representations of familiar FINAL FANTASY characters who join the party with their own skills and abilities. These include Cloud, Tidus, and the Warrior of Light.

Beyond the main story, players can discover optional challenges and rewards, including encounters with the wandering swordmaster Gilgamesh, a monster-filled Colosseum, the Chamber of Arms, and Ultima Weapon.

Editions and platforms

FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is available as a single-player RPG on Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

A Digital Deluxe Edition includes the base game and the Magitek & Grimoire Deluxe Pack. The bundle features a Magitek Armor Key for a chocobo, an exclusive Archwitch’s Grimoire, a Mastery Ring, and consumable items.

A Collector’s Edition includes the physical Standard Edition alongside an acrylic block set, a pixel-art book, a 120-track original soundtrack on CD, and an exclusive FINAL FANTASY TRADING CARD GAME promotional card.

Availability and release timing may vary by region. Check local digital storefronts for purchasing details.