Stellar Blade Is Shallow And Deceptive | Review

[@wub9044]

I'm starting to feel like soulslikes have become *so* popular as a genre, that it made people forget how DMC plays like.

[@thefebo8987]

Dark Souls has no mini games. Your third Person action games (bayonetta) is the influence here.

[@wub9044]

@@thefebo8987 What mini games? lmao One thing I remember more from Bayo than anything is very engaging combat.

[@thefebo8987]

@@wub9044 you played bayonetta 3 ? It has so much non combat down time

[@wub9044]

@@thefebo8987 No, and okay, but what does that have to do with my main issue tho? The one I brought up in the first comment.

[@wallacesousuke1433]

Soulslike? This is more of a bootleg Sekiro-like with Nier aesthetics and blatant fanservice... Either way, soulslike or Sekiro-like, I'm so sick and tired of From's sh*tty influence in the industry. Why arent more studios looking at Nioh for example, which is a million times better than any From game (combat-wise)? Or Sifu, Monster Hunter, Dragon's Dogma, or DMC...

[@MilesDashing]

"Whether or not women should be sexy in games" is such a fake debate. There's no answer, because not all games are the same. In some games yes, in some games no. In order to be healthy, the industry must maintain variety. I feel like the discussion only exists so that people can make content about it.

[@Brandonweifu]

Ding ding ding ding Tell him what he's won jerry Well our contestant has one 1.nivody giving hi truthful comment attention cause they are too busy battling the "culture war" 2.being accused of being a troll and or sjw cuck 3.accusing others calling them Incels.....when that wasn't what he said in the first place

[@mrplayfulshade]

I mean I get it, some women in gaming look like...really bad. Not how women commonly look. I think it's more of a "GET better at making character models" instead of females being attractive in games.

[@FagatronUchiha]

That’s why they marketed eve like that bc they knew they’d make content about it

[@Handlelesswithme]

@@FagatronUchihaor or They knew she would sell? And they were right

[@Handlelesswithme]

The answer is the economy must cater to the forces of supply and demand Not the few sheltered individuals thinking they must control what people want

[@PunkIsNotDead]

I think wasting player's time is a problem in most if not all modern games. I would rather have shorter games packed with gameplay but they can't charge me 60/70 dollars for that so they will never do that.

[@Steve-Fiction]

I would pay 70 bucks for a 20 minute game if it's really good and replayable like an arcade game.

[@HerbieChuckNorris]

Agreed, I've gotten 20+ hours out of even half decent shmups (20-30mins a run) and have barely made it to hour 5 of a 50+ hour RPG before burning out. I'm at the point where I'd gladly pay for a high quality, highly replayable game whatever price that it needs for it to be properly supported. I don't think game length should define our perception of game value.

[@ryanbailey6900]

Gameplay density

[@G-Self]

Unfortunately, replay value is something modern gamers don't value anymore. Most people buy a game, play it once, and then never play it again. We didn't have that luxury in the 90s. 🤣

[@Rihcterwilker]

@@G-Self the Way of the Samurai franchise is one that focus on replayability, but a playthrough usually lasts for 1 or 2 hours. It will never go mainstream, gamers want the bloated 80 hours games.

[@jakeinfactsaid8637]

Don’t you come at kingsfield, she’s not slow, she’s *methodical*.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Ha no shade meant towards kingsfield at all :-) It's just a really funny example because of how slow the attack animations are.

[@A-Dubs398]

Is Kings Field worth playing as a Dark Souls simp?

[@TheCrewExpendable]

@@A-Dubs398 If you really want to play one, play Shadow Tower Abyss or Kings Field 4, but maybe just watch a play through. Its cool to see where a lot of Souls concepts originated, but they are very slow and clunky (most of them predate the idea of dual analog first person controls) and can be hard to go back to after playing modern games. Just know that if you do decide to play them.

[@A-Dubs398]

@@TheCrewExpendable I even thought Demon Souls was lowkey bad, but Dark Souls OG improved and made everything a million times better from Demon Souls. But Demon Souls was cool to play just to see where things originated. King's Field sounds like that, but x10.

[@hermes_job_observer144]

​​@@A-Dubs398definitely. I started with the series. Played and loved them way before the Souls games. Best and 1st 3d dungeon crawlers. I highly recommend them. If you think souls games can be challenging, prepare to be tested. Start with King's Field IV: The Ancient City (PS2) and work back from there. Also don't forget the true OG souls series that From made alongside King's Field. It's called Shadow Tower (PS1/PS2). Shadow Tower is my personal favorite. I also recommend Arx Fatalis (XB). Peace and happy dungeon crawling.

[@Emarrel]

The funny thing about King's Field is despite how simple and slow is looks you still have to be more aware of your positioning than a number of modern action games because you don't have some catch-all counter or dodge button.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I didn't mean any shade towards kingsfield at all . I just thought it would be a really funny example because of how insanely slow the attack animations are ha. I do understand though that it's doing something entirely different from traditional character action.

[@Emarrel]

@@TheElectricUnderground Oh don't worry, I didn't interpret it as shade at all.

[@TheCrewExpendable]

Yeah the super slow player and enemy attacks does mean that at least King's Field has actual footsies (which you can see in Mark's clip)! A 30 year old game has a more in-depth spacing game than a lot of modern games.

[@wallacesousuke1433]

@@Emarrel imagine defending that garbage, clunky af franchise lol

[@bjf9304]

Kings was limited by the technology they had at the time, but they really made the best out of what they could. I would like to see a remaster. Not a remake, but an HD remaster.

[@NIMPAK1]

This is the best review of GOW: Ragnarok on the internet.

[@Ronbotnik]

Ragnarok is the entire reason I hold off on these $70 games now. I felt absolutely bored to tears and robbed by the end of Ragnarok, I didnt buy a rated M video game to watch a movie and have my hand held

[@Thonato420]

at least that game lets you juggle nearly every enemy, even if they're high level

[@Rainingwolf737]

Except Gow Ragnarok combat is nothing at all like stellar blade and isn't prescriptive

[@auellaitaela8035]

Was literally just gonna come comment this same thing. The ramifications of that game alone have been disastrous to gaming. As soon as he said ""All the game cares about is including as many mechanics on paper as it can, and then is incredibly strict about making sure none of them interact.", I could tell the review worked for GoW:R just as much as Stellar Blade.

[@solid4340]

As someone who liked GoW Ragnarok, it's issues do pop up extraordinarily on give me God of war mode and hard modes. Animation > physics/damage etc. Sifu as well. Still think it goes hard though but it's like a popcorn blockbuster and it's development cycle did have negative effects on Sony's output. Recycle the first entries gameplay with more setpieces and nothing else

[@chinogambino9375]

Love the expression "The real Resident Evil 4" lol.

[@OmegaMan2525]

I'm not gonna lie, The old Ashley did not piss me off and I miss her.

[@lllavoie]

"Videogame equivalent of the mouse monitoring software at your job" lmao

[@TheElectricUnderground]

It really feels that way doesn't it. Glad you liked that analogy ha.

[@HighLanderPonyYT]

Complexity: a few ways to use many things. Depth: many ways to use a few things.

[@AcceleratingUniverse]

the word you're looking for is "breadth"

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Nailed it.

[@SnakeEngine]

Depth is when few principles give rise to many things. But if "few things" are the few principles, then yes, we are on the same page :)

[@SnakeEngine]

If there are many ways to solve a puzzle, usually cheap one included, then it kills the depth of the puzzle. So that contradicts your definition of depth. EDIT: Ah, I think I have misunderstood it. The analogy is then this: "few things" are the core principles and they can be used in many ways. Yeah, it is then isomorph to my definition.

[@Josh-sz8ip]

Dante in DMC5 is hailed as the deepest combat character of all time largely due to him being able to use 7+ weapons at once

[@maaramori3404]

Sorry for my english. As a dmc fan myself, I still can't agree on things like "every game needs a juggle system", "in every game enemies should be stunlocked with certain level of ease". It heavily depends on the vision and balance of a particular game. I often see people that are too limited with their preferences. Like ninja gaiden fans who can't stand playing dmcs. Or dmc fans who can't play anything if it doens't have a juggle system. You can't force your preferences on every game in existence and calling them bad solely by that. Soulslikes in general are more reaction-based than proactive. This is the game design these games chose, and I'm glad we have different approaches in the industry. Nioh 2 takes this basis and make you extremely proactive with stance switching, ki pulses, youkai skills, weak spots, youkai burst cancels (this is important one and what makes Nioh 1 and 2 play like different games), and dozens of other small things. Sure you don't have juggles in this game, but you still have combos in another way, in which I find even more enjoyment than in dmc combos. Fromsoft games are typically more about waiting and reacting to attacks with your limited moveset, which make them different and engaging in their own way. Like you value replayability, but not everything should be centered around that. Sekiro is Punchout and gets old after one or two consecutive playthroughs but I still boot the game from time to time and get that beautiful deflecting experience. Same with Furi or Celeste. There isn't much depth in them, and they lack the replayability factor, but they're extremely fun to be played once in a while.

[@jurtheorc8117]

Your English is more than fine and i think you express your viewpoint well. Fair enough stuff.

[@nam18x]

Every game is different yes, you don't need to copy things from DMC or Ninja Gaiden to make a great action game, but a great action game would at least need 1 of 2 things when it comes to combat (and even better if it can have both): combat incentivize creativity and combat is engaging/action pack. DMC heavily leans on the former, it encourage player to be creative because of how complex the combat system is and how different moves and their properties can mesh together. Ninja Gaiden on the other hand leans on the latter, its action is pure carnage, it offers blood pumping insanity that keep you on the edge of your seat. As for Stellar Blade, it has neither.

[@MrStimpson38]

You're wrong about the replay factor. Those simple games, games that lean on arcade mechanics, have the most replay factor. Because the games are only about one thing. Fun gameplay. And if fun gameplay doesn't make you want to come back to play, why even play videogames in the first place.

[@firehaps]

I think we're at the point where we need to question if the influence of FromSoft has been an overall positive for gaming. Like you pointed out, mechanics that we would have taken for granted 20 years ago are now being drip fed to give a false sense of progression. Even something as simple as being able to dodge without draining stamina is being treated as some incredible innovation now.

[@Stigmaphobia777]

I still think it has. If these games weren't following the soulslike trend they'd be following some other one. At least the Souls games changed the framing of difficulty in games to something more positive than it was at the time. Punishing difficulty and harsh skill curves in singleplayer games are probably gonna take a lot longer to stop being called "archaic", though.

[@ZorroVulpes]

I still think it's good because I remember all 2010s every game being easy as piss on the highest difficulty. At least sometimes I turn the difficulty from very hard or extreme to just hard nowadays.

[@NothingAtAll2461]

I think Sekiro has done more damage than anything. Why does every fucking game need a parry as a core mechanic

[@firehaps]

@@Stigmaphobia777 Honestly, I'd rather go back to the days when there was a clear line between games for the hardcore crowd and ones for the general mainstream. There's no such thing as niche anymore. Everyone's going for this hybrid approach, and it's leading to titles that are confused and lacking in mechanical cohesion.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I agree firehaps and this is such a great topic for a follow up video. I'm seriously making a note of this cuz it's such an interesting subject. I think at this point (though I'll think about it more for the vid) that Fromsoft has been an overall positive influence in most respects. However, there are some drawbacks absolutely and one of them is that we're losing a lot of the foundations of melee combat design in favor of Fromsoft's Boss Fight focused mechanical design. I touched on this a bit in the review but where Fromsoft really shine is of course the boss fights of their games. Their boss fights are genuinely really well made (for the most part). But what the fromsoft style of combat REALLY struggles with is engaging multiple enemy combat or mook combat. This is where traditional character action games like DMC, NG, and Bayo are strong. So I think if this limitation was more widely recognized that would really help avoid situations like Stellar Blade where the dev is just mixing and matching mechanics without knowing how they should fit together into an overall picture.

[@STBill]

In a world where the average modern game is swamp slop being mid is excellence.

[@oo--7714]

This is slop

[@GooseGumlizzard]

@@micshazam842but there were more games in general , so more great games even if there were more bad games as well

[@davedm1]

I have to disagree. Mid is mid

[@Oldtakunovideo79]

@@STBill Most modern triple aaa games aren't slop they are mid

[@haroldasusus4684]

This is a dumb take imo. Platinum makes nothing but bangers and they have sexy character design yet neir is the only one that broke 3 million sales. It’s because they don’t go for these stupid engagement tactics that have absolutely no substance. Stellar blade is overhyped to the moon and back

[@bobdobbz9334]

It's the oldest trick in the book-a saloon watering down the whisky.

[@VoidTracks]

You summarized this new wave of obscene filler and extreme padding perfectly. FF7 Rebirth has been the worst example of this I've seen so far and almost every reviewer just mentioned it offhandly, saying something resembling "the game does have some pacing issues but the story was soooo good that I didn't care".

[@JVision1]

Rebirth not Reborn

[@VoidTracks]

@@JVision1 Thanks, corrected it. FF games have too many Re(insert)s nowadays lol.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Thanks very much my dude! Yes I really hoped to convey that the issues I had with stellar blade are not accidental and that they will apply to a lot of mainstream big content games like the FF Remakes

[@Placid_Falcon]

I'm genuinely curious. What part of FF7 Rebirth resembles anything like 5:00? The closest I can think of is during the Nibeilheim flashback when you drag those big machines around to siphon out the toxic air, but the sequence is 5-10 seconds at best. The traversal in FF7 Rebirth is so mindnumblingly "self-activating" that people complain about it. (see the yellow-paint controversy). Personally, I don't mind it because it just gets to the point so I can focus on the ARPG combat.

[@vaxellimus]

Criticism is good when it's done in good faith, here I feel there was no good intention. The game did not deceive anyone, nor it is a movie that goes from cutscene to walking simulator, this is far from the truth, traversal and platforming is fun, there's fast travel (although some waypoints are weirdly placed, that I can say), and there are always enemies to fight or items and upgrades to find. If you can't keep up your attention for a walking section (with story relevance, dialogue and great looking scenery) that lasts about 40 seconds then you have bigger problems to solve. This is nothing like FF7 Rebirth's obnoxious forced crawling scenes. Also, the issues he had with combat just stem from the fact that he wanted to play DMC, but got a Souls-like. The game WORKS well, parry timing is fine, dodging feels good, and the various skills flow together just fine, with perfect dodging or parrying always taking you to the combo system which then also connects to both the BETA and Burst mechanics. Maybe only the "Powered Up" mode feels slightly undercooked, but it also has its own little combos and is more of a panic button than anything else. Yes, it does not have the complexity of a DMC, but it's NOT trying to be a game like DMC, it never did, and it's far from shallow or mind numbing, it is entirely a different style of gameplay which you simply do not enjoy. That said, we can agree on the fact that it doesn't have the most original art direction nor the greatest story, but it also has a lot of care and detail on character designs, animations, outfits, all the collectibles help with world building and are not walls of text, Cans are honestly fun and all have their unique quirk in design (and also tie into concrete mechanical advantages), and then there's the music. This soundtrack is fantastic, has incredible nuance, and is anything but generic and derivative, and while I'm not a professional musician I do have SOME music knowledge, enough to grasp that many of the songs have unique structures, unorthodox genre mixes, and interesting chord progressions (or lack thereof), like in the more EDM-y boss themes, where the sense of unfamiliarity in the song structure (even without any knowledge you can feel this) helps building on what the game is showing (big bad alien thing feels alien). I'm not even the only one praising the OST, people far more experienced and professionally trained are saying the same things. This alone helps giving the game it's own identity. Sadly though bias is a thing, and it shows heavily. The game even had a demo for god's sake, how the hell can It be deceiving? They delivered exactly what was shown in the demo and then some. Also, touching on the censorship controversy: it is so blown out of proportion that I find it almost funny: the "censored" outfits are not even the most revealing, and they probably really thought they looked better the way they are now. The truly sad loss was gore, and THAT is a huge bummer, but let's be real, all the fuss is NOT around gore, which is why I think the controversy is mostly bullshit. Pick any bikini skin and you'll see for yourself that censoring nudity wasn't really an issue, or pick any suit with a skirt and youll have a microkini in your face on every double jump to the point that it becomes bothersome (fully clothed EVE is way better, fight me). With all that said which no one will ever read: if you were interested in the game before this review and have not tried the demo, just download it instead of blindly listening to what people on KZbin say, they will ALWAYS have bias and will never be truly objective or free from prejudice. You might still not like the game and align with the reviewer's opinion, but at least it's YOUR own decision, but if instead you do happen to like it, you almost missed out on something you might have otherwise thoroughly enjoyed.

[@beoful]

And couldn't you be biased in favor of this style of games? I mean, a crack addict will talk positively about crack in comparison to the non addicts despite the facts known about crack

[@vaxellimus]

@@beoful There's a heavy difference between me being biased to like the game BUT praising what is legitimately present, and him being biased against it causing him to slander the title with false accusations, misleading claims and flat out wrong information. And yeah, I might be a "crackhead" with Stellar Blade being crack, but at least I'm talking about the actual product I'm consuming, not what I envisioned it being in my mind. This guy is speaking about the game being a scam (which is an actual crime) not on the basis of it being actually a bad product with a misleading marketing campaign, but on the basis of it not being what he wants it to be: to stay in the drug allegory realm it is like if he went to a dealer known for selling marijuana, bought some after trying a free sample from the guy, and then complained about it because he actually wanted cocaine I never denied my own biases, I just listed what I thought were strong inconsistencies between what I heard and what I actually played through, while also inviting people to form their own opinion by playing the free demo. Obviously you could say that every point I made supporting Stellar Blade is subjective, but it still is praise relevant to actual gameplay mechanics, while saying that it lacks a style meter or juggling, thus making it shallow and "skin deep", is flat out wrong and outside of any acceptable critique metric, because it was NOT their intention nor it was needed to implement such mechanics. You are absolutely free to viscerally dislike this game, but at least don't do it just because you listened to somebody say that it's a scam and a misleading game (easily disproven by the demo and the publicly available marketing material), do it because you tried the game and just couldn't enjoy it one bit. You also can be free to say "man this is really not what I wanted, I hate it", but you cannot shit on a game for that, you have to just accept that it wasn't made for you.

[@royalecq]

I felt the same way about their hour long debate whether Elden ring was a good game or not. I know a review is but a reviewers opinion but when the arguments are like "Imagine if Devil May Cry were like this? it would suck" I find it really hard to take seriously.

[@Aripuni1]

​​@@vaxellimusfor me his critique is stellar and done in great faith, plus he just being real about the game and not faking anything just to please certain people

[@GibbyGibbstein]

@royalecq Yeah this dude is a huge dmc fanboy and it shows. Not that there's anything wrong with that but when you compare literally fucking everything to dmc it becomes an issue. Makes it hard to take his opinion seriously and looking at his fanbase I'm willing to bet most of them are just bandwagoning his opinions and haven't actually played the game for themselves either.

[@Arcademan09]

4:40 Hey this is extremely misleading and blatantly false, the wakeup move *ISN'T AN UNLOCKABLE* , its unlocked by default when you start, the game even tells you mid combat when you start

[@SIPEROTH]

The guy made a lot of falsehoods here. The cutscene-walking-cutscene part is also such a lie. The game has very small cutscenes. There are no huge cutscenes watching ton of stuff like a movie. That scene is just a half minute cutscene where Eve walks in that room and then a small few seconds cutscene where she removes the item that she needs from that room. It doesn't even feel like a cutscene at all. This is so deceptive.

[@tiguilherman_plays]

@@SIPEROTH agreed. blatantly dishonest and greatly exaggerated troll review. trying to get engagement like that will end up in him losing what few subscribers a shmup/action game dedicated channel already usually has.

[@magicjohnson3121]

​@@SIPEROTH half a minute too long

[@silverancient7840]

Yep, dude just lies to get views and over half the garbage he spews here isnt true in the least

[@jaykelley103]

There are mad chud gamers ITT who are mad that their culture war game has trash gameplay

[@Kira-ji2ft]

I love how the average KZbin viewer's assessment of a video is "does my social media hive mind agree with it? If yes, it's a good video. If no, it's bad." Nobody is giving this game a real review. Most reviews (from both sides) read like "yes, yes, it's a kind of fun mindless hack and slash game which I enjoyed, now let's get to the real meat of the review: how bad people who politically disagree with me are."

[@Senumunu]

if you keep psychologizing like that you will start asking for hormone blockers in the future

[@HighKnighter]

@@Senumunu I mean he speaking straight facts. If your T levels is too low to handle the truth, take supplements.

[@Kira-ji2ft]

@@Senumunu "You disagree with me? You must be a [person i don't like]" I'm honestly disappointed in my own political sphere for falling for this and hogwarts. Mediocre games marketed by manufactured controversy.

[@dudestep]

@@HighKnighter honestly anyone who mentions hormones when talking about videogames is really obviously deeply insecure. I feel bad for them and I don't mean this an insult.

[@Senumunu]

@@HighKnighter my T levels and IQ points are high enough to understand that psychologizing motivations is the tool of histrionic women. not a state you are going to reach any time soon.

[@orbajo]

Lol, I've been enjoying the game a lot actually, but I knew you were gonna be reviewing this and I have said to myself on multiple occasions while playing 'Oh, Mark is gonna HATE this" for some aspects of it lmao.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I'm glad my tastes and values are clear enough that you started the pushing blocks section and knew somewhere in the world I was playing that section and completely annoyed by it ha. It's one thing to have a few sections like this but the game just cannot find any rhythm until literally the bosses at the end. When I had to do the 2nd gun only section ... why shift up why? Also did you notice that the boss before the gun sections, the Katana looking girl, only has 1 attack pattern? Literally just repeats the same pattern over and over.

[@orbajo]

Oh yeah, don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of flaws, for me it’s mostly QOL things that bother me the most, but I still have had fun with it. Totally understand it not hitting for everyone though. It’s nowhere near a GOTY or any of these outlandish claims I’ve seen lol. But I don’t regret my purchase.

[@poutineausyropderable7108]

@@TheElectricUnderground The first girl has 1 attack pattern and the 2nd has two, but yes it holds. Btw, I don't fully agree with you, but as I watched the video more and more, I agreed more and more with you, hence why my original comment is so long.

[@Tmo_201]

​@@TheElectricUnderground I like deep gameplay and had fun with stellar blade but i also went for all side things etc. That helped the pace of the story and it also had some main bosses getting reused with different patterns or phases. That was actually fun and a creative way to reuse the bosses. The biggest problem i had with the combat is eve having too much CC and that the stun or more so knockdowns and the long endlag on most action/reactions messed the flow of the combat up but other than that i found it to be step up from the usual "soul's like" combat. I can see the points you bringing up but i guess these things are not that important to me if i enjoy the core gameplay for the most part.

[@MomockDamock]

@@TheElectricUnderground 90% of the game is exploration, and it was good (it avoids all the pitfalls of AAA open-worlds). You not liking exploration in games is a you problem, not an issue with the game. Also: "The game is not DMC" is not a review, it's rambling. Games are judged based on if they accomplish what they try to do, not on if they do what TEU wants them to do.

[@ZorroVulpes]

You are the only game reviewer who actually talks about game design. Every other review is just "how many buzzwords can i shove into my surface level analysis until it's long enough that i get paid?"

[@zerooskil7161]

With a title like that i don’t think he played the game because this game is beautiful above and under the skin its actually amazing all around so i definitely think if the title and video is aligned then he is full of shit

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I'm glad you appreciate that my dude! Yes this game has been such a battle ground of internet warfare that people seem to have forgotten the review the actual game design as some point ha. Also yeah these buzzwords are getting really silly. "Flowstate Combat" that could mean anything.

[@Re-PhantomZero]

​@@zerooskil7161 ( I'm playing the smallest casual violin, for casual tears) 😂.

[@MasterDecoy1W]

To be fair, if you haven't dismissed 90% of mainstream reviewers already, that's your problem. These people have been worthless shills for almost two decades. There are independent or niche reviewers like Mark for various genres, you just have to find them. I do appreciate Mark's work, but hyping him up as "the only game reviewer who actually talks about game design" is a self-report.

[@SpidersSTG]

It’s unbelievable. Mark’s montage of elevators and box pushing just saved me $70. What is everyone else even talking about!?! It’s bad out there if this what’s being hailed as a “gamer’s game”. What are people playing!?

[@cmckevitt]

I wish it had just committed to the DMC combat. God I love DMC and I want more of it. Nothing really scratches the action itch like that series.

[@vincentturnt6635]

Capcom has recently embraced DEI so don't expect any good games from them either

[@cmckevitt]

@@vincentturnt6635 Who cares about DEI? You mad black people are in your games? If the gameplay is good I’m chilling.

[@flewis02]

​@@vincentturnt6635Monster Hunter Team is still holding strong at least

[@vgggyu9vhji981]

@@vincentturnt6635 Sucks that any time someone criticizes the sad state of modern game design, there's always some dumbass waiting to stink up the whole discussion by making it about "le woke mind virus" after seeing a single gay person in a game

[@cmckevitt]

@@vincentturnt6635 Who cares about DEI? I want a good game that plays well. I don’t care what race the character is.

[@Red_IX]

I'd be curious to know the logic behind praising a game like Wanted Dead which has several of the negative things you mentioned in this video such as unskippable sections that drag down gameplay i.e. minigames which have to be completed, a poorly written story that doesn't even have a proper conclusion, and an RPG system that locks several basic abilities behind it to give the illusion of depth. It's just kind of strange since both games seem to be very flawed but your Wanted Dead review is very generous while this one seems to be overly negative.

[@mgxzazfbyjuchrisclarkvpz236]

If I had to guess it's because while Wanted Dead has a ton of flaws, to the point where the game kinda sucks, it at least does a couple things really well which gives the core combat much greater depth than this game. This game seems to take every popular mechanic in modern action games and does them at a surface level of quality. Wanted Dead at least has a good challenge, requires risk vs reward to succeed, and is great at forcing the player to take on many enemies at once (something that no modern games do well anymore, unlike games like mgs rising and Ninja gaiden during the 360 era). Even tho Stellar Blade does many things better than Wanted Dead it doesn't do any one thing exceptionally well and has absolutely no real depth to the combat.

[@tuna5305]

​@@Gnasheress Wanted: Dead is a Japanese game and about as anime as it gets. Mark also dunks on Euroshmups while praising Japanese style shmup design. This has nothing to do with racism. It also has nothing to do with Eve's appearance. You'll see that Mark's previous video on Stellar Blade was very positive about its visual style. He's been a proponent of sexually appealing character design since forever which should be obvious from his thumbnail choices really. Challenge also results in fun and player expression. Fun is a result of feeling accomplishment from overcoming the challenges presented by the game while self expression comes from how you choose to tackle said challenges. Fun and self expression without any sort of difficulty behind it will ultimately be shallow and for naught. You're right in that Mark does tend to prize difficulty a little too much but no challenge at all is the bane of good game design.

[@markoliimatainen2565]

@@Gnasheress Stellar blade bosses were boring too. I honestly think this review was overly positive towards SB, when its just pure turd. But what you can expect from developers of nike, a mobile game that is shallow even for a mobile game. Maybe this game is good for a people that are even struggling to fight out of a paper bag.

[@dice5709]

@@markoliimatainen2565 Nikke isn't shallow though. The characters look good and actually have character and the story is very good actually. So please kindly, shut up.

[@tita4359]

@@Gnasheress your first sentence alone is a strawman. The guy above did explain why wanted dead was better received; despite its significant flaws, the combat does manage to offer more depth and challenge. Your strawman is saying that the game puts challenge over fun, which can definitely be your opinion, but not what Mark said. It’s pretty obvious Mark’s view is the game is more fun BECAUSE it offers depth and challenge

[@Midekai]

This review was BRUTAL. I dont agree with all the points but i have to admit thia game lacks alot of meaningful substance needed to push the genre forward, considering other games have done these gameplay systems better. And moat definitely have a better story that doesnt drag on. I dunno this game really lacks that KILLER APP energy, imho.

[@Valkron11]

It's not a brutal review. It's some pufter boy that doesn't like women or games bitching about things he doesn't like

[@mariorichter-cx9zg]

Another fun thing: if you don't buy the L1+circle -skill you can use dodge while blockung.

[@jeffreyleveque4690]

Why am I learning this now that’s genius. Never use it anyway. Thanks xD

[@Handlelesswithme]

That is actually accidentally good game design It incentives to use blocking for parrying only

[@DEMON_SUNGOD]

I am so grateful this video exists thank you for exposing all of its flaws and not caring what the fanboys will think.

[@grimetone]

Where do combat games go wrong? When the combat stops being the top priority.

[@westonstaufenberg7278]

does it even have a gimmick to make it unique over the greats or even over Sekiro, the game it's based off of. it looks like it barely has hit-stun, a staple of good action games, even Halo had hit-stun

[@jhp9803]

@@westonstaufenberg7278 you don't know anything. LOL

[@Lord_Viscerate]

@@jhp9803 No, you don’t know anything. He‘s making a good point here. You‘re a npc.

[@jhp9803]

@@Lord_Viscerate talk yourself LOL. what point? even he and you not playing stellar blade. right? LOL. Every his point is totally WRONG .

[@bulb9970]

At this point I have to wonder if any modern AAA game actually understands why games were fun in the first place. Seems like most of them are now designed to waste the player's time as interactive movies.

[@captinsparklezremix]

Instead of spouting typical baseless nonsense, how about you play something else? The highest rated game of the year so far is a JRPG that is gameplay first with a fantastic narrative to boot. Play FF7 Rebirth and you'll love gaming again. Better than any GTA.

[@FURognar]

I'm okay with this. I generally play games for entertainment purposes, meaning both gameplay AND story. So if a game throws good gameplay at me, awesome, or a good story, great. I'm good either way.

[@Korudo]

This review’s description of the game reminds me of how I felt playing God of War (2018). I was surprised that I was so bored that I quit playing entirely.

[@aldoushuxleysghost]

The original God of War trilogy had real puzzles; ones that actually taxed your mind

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yep exactly and there is an overlap here where I think Stellar Blade is directly inspired by God of War 2018 in terms of game design. Very much so. Because as much as it looks like Bayo and Japanese Character action visual design wise, it's actual gameplay design is much more western. I think it's intentional as well. Overall I think Shift Up are really pleased with how this all shook out, really the only people left holding the bag are the action game players (as usual ha).

[@monkeypete4018]

I'm having fun with Stellar Blade so far. It reminds me more of old god of war than the 2018 soft reboot (which I hate): Some examples: playable action set pieces, QTE's, style over emotions, a jump button, puzzle variety (not difficulty)

[@agamaz5650]

God of was 2018 is boring

[@shawklan27]

​@@aldoushuxleysghost FUCK! I LOVE the original God of War games! I think I need to continue my playthrough of Ascension sometime because that game's combat system is some of the best in the entire series and is more engaging than whatever the new ones are with that shit 3rd person shooter camera ruining a hack and slash game

[@NinjaskKing]

“The game only picks up the last few hours” that sums up modern single player games in a whole nutshell.

[@VuNguyen-fv5jl]

Hate how modern games do not respect your time

[@shawklan27]

All praise Id software for making the DOOM games not follow this line of thinking. They are just perfect in terms of pacing and respecting the players time

[@GameFuMaster]

@@shawklan27 For Doom Eternal, I would say except for some of its platforming parts, and the inclusion of the slowing slime thing

[@babaduk7679]

Doom eternal, doom eternal, this game that everyone and their dog seem to be praising, I played for one hour and stopped, I thought that games like the modern Wolfenstein games were way better, and for stellar blade, I enjoyed it and didn't play it only one hand, as people like to parrot that saying over and over again, different strokes for different folks Good day/evening

[@GameFuMaster]

@@babaduk7679 Wolfenstein is a pretty straight forward shooter that most FPS fall under. Doom Eternal is a fast paced shooter which encourages weapon swapping and gives a much different playstyle to most FPS games. Probably just not your style.

[@thelastgogeta]

I think the game is alright on balance, but I'll draw a mini list of things I expect Mark not to like... * Unskippable cutscenes/walking sections/gimmick segments - the former is very rare in games, the latter even affects combat if the drone flies away to signpost some story elements but the latter is surprisingly moderate (so far) given what its comtemporaries do. * A lack of cancel options and weird input quirks - the game didn't think L3 + R3 was enough, but also has some odd input lag, doesn't buffer guard out of a fall and has some of the weakest air combat interactions. * Lots of filler in the way of combat to the point that it out Astral Chain's Astral Chain - massive map, unneeded barriers to unlocking moves - EXP is tied to so so quests and collectables (I think some of this could be good with the right execution). * Dry Simon Says combat where you follow colours at prescribed times to break out of situations multiple mostly indistinct parry types with amounts of context sensitivity that would make Matthewmatosis mad. * Tons of indistinct combo strings which barely serve a purpose especially when you get into the sport of using stats - some are reversible but others aren't. Stealth can delete a number of encounters without even trying. * One save file with no manual save or boss select - could be fine if the game was significantly shorter or didn't save left and right when you may not want it to, the game doesn't even commit to proper soulslike checkpoints.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Ha excellent list Gogeta! Yeah you know my tastes and values (in terms of game design) really well.

[@ilucasz]

Damn you nailed it!

[@nepu47]

Remember, I am saying cynically. Spectacle Fighters are now old antique from the past. GoW became souls-like combat, Nioh & Sifu have more deepness but no one can deny that they were heavily inspired by Souls-like/Sekiro. Ninja Gaiden 3 was 10 years ago. Metal Gear Rising : Revengence was 10 year ago. Only Bayonetta goes on but it`s on Nintendo exclusive, Which is not considered as "mature" because Nintendo exclusive titles are supposed to be "family-friendly". The new normal is Souls-like parry-heavy action with "RPG stuffs" and GAMERS LOVE THEM. WE DESERVE THIS. P.S. In perspective of Korean gamer, I am mixed up. I was skeptical from the begging and get "I told ya" moment. But also... It is rare that korean game devs make a "package" game(we call "single campaign foucsed" title as a "package") now days. Because MMORPG and Network-based competitive games are normal to us since 2000s. Usually PC "package" games were there till mid-2000s, but honestly they were not that good enough to overwhelm other PC games and Console games from foreign nations. Some of devs challenged a console games. Like Kingdom Under Fire(Xbox) Magna Carta2(Xbox360, Which is involving Kim hyeong-tae, director of Stellar blade, as a key artist). THAT IS IT. And in that circumstance, Even if your statements are all correct(and I believe so), It is quiet big shift in South korean game industry. Dave the diver, Lies of P, Stellar blade... all things are told "not unique", but it is a baby step for MMORPG & Mobile service addicted industry. I don`t know where devs would go, but I *want* to encourage them -- though They are not my cup of tea. I am just playing Wanted : Dead with combat overhaul patch.

[@jurtheorc8117]

At the moment the big studios indeed aren't giving a lot of love to the genre, but they *are* still being made or leaving their mark for inspiration. Soulstice from 2022 is much closer to stuff like Bayonetta, DMC, Darksiders etc. (and a hint of GOW, mainly in views and vistas). There's the upcoming Genokids. And also Yasuke: A Lost Descendant, Enenra, and a game that mixes skate/hoverboarding with combat inspired from this genre, called Gori: Cuddly Carnage. Loved Soulstice and am spreading word on the others (plus stuff like Blud, Cookie Cutter, My Familiair, Resistor and more) where I can. Want to mention Clash: Artifacts of Chaos too. More in line with something like Sifu, God Hand and Absolver in terms of combat rather than DMC, but nonetheless very much worth looking into.

[@nepu47]

@@jurtheorc8117 Yeap, I played soulstice a bit, too(I didn't paly to the end though. I should roll up my backlog). And onechanbara origin was solid enough so I wonder how tam soft make a sequel at this point. But as you said, most of Spectacle fighters are made by small studios for a niche audiences, nowdays. I even miss free-flow combat experiences because titles of melee-combat action genre nowdays are so similar, homogeneous.

[@jurtheorc8117]

@@nepu47 Wish you a lot of fun on Soulstice when time and opportunity allows, and same with the other games that are YEARNING FOR THINE GLORIOUS RETURN :P (Very much recommend to get the grappling hook movefor the Tearing Penance --the whip weapon-- in Soulstice as soon as you can. If spellcasting and flying enemies give you trouble: the Merciful Blades, those being the punch daggers, are your friend. Good for interrupting casting/wind-up animations as well as keeping you in the air.) Not the most interested in Onechanbara, but positive statements on such games from other directions/branches is good stuff. Thank you for replying!

[@soratheorangejuicemascot5809]

I like the term "package game".

[@BknMoonStudios]

I love Souls games, including Sekiro, but even someone like me really, REALLY wants a new action game WITHOUT parries and invincible dodges, and to have very few high-risk moves with armor/invincibility. Armor/Invincibility/Parries seriously de-emphasize fundamentals and quick thinking. These modern action games feel more like Rhythm games in disguise.

[@ohpeep3723]

It feels like they tried to copy a bunch of great Japanese games(dmc5, Nier, sekiro and so on) mechanic and design together without using much thought.

[@jhp9803]

oh my weeb~!

[@ohpeep3723]

​@@jhp9803 Stellar blade is literally a weeb game tbh, anime girl with jiggle physics. It's like the game is telling you to go outside.

[@jhp9803]

@@ohpeep3723 bc of your thinking that it is a weeb game, You are a weeb. All weeb is saying japan culture is great and Korean culture is sucks great japanese games? and copy? you are weeb for sure.

[@matthewlugo2417]

Dmc5, nier and sekiro are real games. Stellar blade is just another form of gatcha

[@lanchanoinguyen2914]

i hate the muliple endings.And this game has dumb story,makes no sense.It swing from sci-fi to mythical...wtf? I dislike all the monsters,everything is loosely connected.

[@gavi888]

imagine if wanted dead had SB's art direction and character designs, that could've helped its reception

[@TheCrewExpendable]

@@cartoonvideos5 I think they developers even said they had to put all the terrible side stuff in the game because one of the big funders wanted them to put terrible mini-games and side content in it rather than focus on the core game.

[@Sultansekte]

tbh i think the wanted dead had way better art direction lol

[@retroman3252]

Imagine if wanted dead had a budget.

[@mewjam]

i think hannah stone is hotter than eve 🫥

[@dudestep]

Hannah is a much cooler looking character and it’s not even close. The cool ripped jeans and high tops mixed with the practical bullet vest. She rocks.

[@FFTHundoCommunity]

Oh man Mark, you are so far off the mark on this one it's unreal. I'm not even gonna get into the variety the game has with the minigames and platforming, that's a taste thing and I can understand not liking it, and I'm there with you with not enjoying the desert levels but that's mostly because they're meant for the sidequests and I don't enjoy sidequests, but your comments on the combat make it clear that you wanted Stellar Blade to be something that it's not: a character action game. Yeah, you can't juggle enemies and there's no focus on aerial combat. That's because this is a grounded game with an emphasis on defensive play. It's not Devil May Cry or Bayonetta; it may be inspired by them, but it's not trying to "be" them. For most fights, you're intended to parry and use the different dodge maneuvers, and follow up those actions with attack strings. It's not a game with a focus on offense, which is why you are punished for finishing a combo string if you try to spam attacks without considering your defense. The last hit of a combo performs the most amount of damage, but you need to commit to it, which is why you can't cancel the attack and are punished if you try to slip in a full combo during a small window. BUT HEY, if that's the playstyle you like, you can stack attack-speed gears to fix this issue by allowing you to squeeze in longer combos during shorter windows. I get not liking the "RPG" elements of the game, but by refusing to engage with them and then comparing Stellar Blade to games that *don't* function the same way, you're dinging the game for not being what you "want" it to be. You wanted a fast-paced game with "air parries," "dash cancels," "jump cancels," and so on, but Stellar Blade isn't trying to be that fast-paced game. Enemies track you because, again, it's a game focused on parrying and dodging. If you could simply walk or dash away from an attack, you wouldn't be engaging with these defensive mechanics. Look at your footage of you fighting Raven, trying to outspace her, and then look at the footage you shared of the guy that did it hitless. One person engaged with the mechanics, the other chose to ignore them. You even say "Spacing doesn't matter at all." It's not trying to be a game about spacing and footsies. Every system in this game rewards defensive play. You said there's no hitstun for normal attacks, and that's because you're incentivized to parry to build Beta Energy meter for beta attacks which have insane hitstun. You said crowd control sucks, and that's because you build Burst Energy meter by dodging attacks (3 full blips per dodge), and all burst attacks grant invulnerability which are great for crowds, and there's even a pseudo screen-bomb burst attack. Same reason why inertia exists; this isn't a shmup where you need quick-reflexes to maneuver out of the way from a speeding bullet. Attacks are telegraphed with enough of a window for you to react with a parry or dodge. And in regards to air dashing, it's meant for platforming; the game makes it clear that aerial combat is *not* a major component (only one air combo) so there's really no reason for you to even attempt to use it during boss fights. I get wanting to try different things out to shake things up, and try to discover if there are some extra layers of depth, so that's why you tried out aerial maneuvers during battles, but this isn't Devil May Cry, stop trying to play it like it is. You don't play Dodonpachi as a cover shooter, do you? You don't get upset that you can't hide behind the environment to dodge bullets like in Deathsmiles, do you? in regards to enemy design, you're just flat-out wrong. There *is* variety here; not in terms of defending or attacking, but in more unique ways. In Matrix 11 there are tentacle enemies that posses corpses, and when you kill a possessed corpse they will break free and actively search for another corpse, so the game becomes this juggle of trying to kill these little dudes before they turn into a bigger problem, while also dealing with other enemies in the room. In Spire 4, the robots break apart when they die but only sometimes, so if you're fighting multiple at once and you kill a robot, you have to be alert because it can split apart and crawl on the ground chasing after you while you're fighting something else. Hell, simply putting multiple different enemies in a room changes your approach to combat; did you know that in Devil May Cry 1 only a single enemy type appears on screen at any given time? You wouldn't say DMC1 lacks depth in spite of that. And since when is score or a style meter needed to encourage getting better at a game? Try New Game hard mode (not NG+). Yeah it sucks that hard mode is locked behind completing the game (which is a genuine issue), but try the skinsuit. Try getting a 1CC. You're an arcade gamer at heart Mark, you know how to squeeze extra gameplay out of a game without being directly incentivized. You proved as much by ignoring health upgrades; the game caters to players of all skill levels. And I'm floored that you spent time criticizing the story in Stellar Blade, but will defend Wanted Dead when that game has by far the worst dialogue and voice acting ever presented to humanity. I'm guessing it's because you can skip cutscenes in Wanted Dead, but if you're trying to present this game as having an awful story, but don't mention the story a single time in your Wanted Dead review, it comes across as disingenuous. But you played the demo; you knew what kind of game this was going into it. You weren't tricked. You could tell from the demo that this was going to be a grounded game, and that you couldn't skip cutscenes. You knew how the hacking minigame worked. You knew there was gonna be platforming. What you saw in the demo is what you got. It's not a perfect game, it's not consistently enjoyable at all times (wasteland, great desert, the tower climbing, abyss levoire), it has big pacing issues, you won't see me defending the inability to skip cutscenes (it's even an issue on NG+), and I utterly despise forced walking, but your criticisms are fixated on Stellar Blade not functioning the way you want it to. It's not a game for you. And that's perfectly fine. Thanks for the review.

[@hotstuffdx2891]

Great comment! I love Mark but sometimes he can get a little short sighted, or specific in his tastes. I always enjoy a well written contrary to his opinions. I also assume he didn't mention cutscenes in wanted dead because you could skip them. He's mentioned from time to time that he isn't anti-cutscene as long as he has the choice to instantly skip them (and that he will skip and never watch them). The game is sort-of forcing him to mention it when it isn't optional and I would assume thats probably his perspective on it. I do agree it comes off weird though.

[@VariousMethod5]

I haven't played it yet but Im generally under the opinion that games are grounded and defensive for realism or horror. The appeal of the game seems questionable at first glance.

[@bucket9486]

"Try getting a 1CC. You're an arcade gamer at heart Mark, you know how to squeeze extra gameplay out of a game without being directly incentivized" I don't think this point quite works here, man. At all. You're comparing the replay experiences of arcade titles that average around 20 - 40 minutes of all-killer-no-filler gameplay to a triple AAA one that is around 19 - 30 *hours* long with multiple decently large segments and unskippable cutscenes that apparently don't compliment the core experience at all, if not downright detract from it. It honestly sounds like you're dealing arcade gamers that put a lot of value into the nature of constantly replaying games and completely mastering their systems the worst possible hand. I will admit that I haven't played SB yet as of writing, which is why I won't make any personal comments on it, but I feel it's kind of a tough ask to request him to just do it all over again for an unlockable hard mode that MIGHT change his opinion. Slightly. Over the course of another 15 or so hours.

[@ghhgafzan]

Preach brother

[@mariodoccia6129]

I didn’t play the game, so take this with a a grain of salt. The fact that there is no juggling nor aerial combat is fine (there are some action games with neither and still manage to be very good), the problem seems to be that SB doesn’t have anything else to compensate. Defense based combat systems are usually pretty boring if you don’t have a healthy balance with your offensive options. I’d consider NGB a defense based action game, but your offense gets very powerful in that game, and your defensive options double as offensive options (counters, wind run/wind path, guillotine throw, UTs and ninpo). You can also have a game primarily based around dodging/parrying without it being a snoozefest. Monster Hunter GU has you rolling around all the time and occasionally using counters (depending on the weapon), but it still manages to be engaging since micro-positioning is super important and you can avoid tons of attacks just by spacing yourself correctly or walking in a certain direction. This game doesn’t even have (good) aerial combat nor juggling, but it’s still great regardless. Hitstun is also important since it gets triggered once you do a certain amount of damage to a body part, meaning that both you and the monster can control the pace of the fight, making the game a lot more dynamic. Here you also have high commitment attacks and long combos that end with a powerful attack, but the system works because of all the above. Then you have Lightning Returns, which is a very meter focused game (you need meter for every single action, including blocking, except for walking), but it manages to be compelling because it takes this element to its logical extreme and has great RPG elements to boot, like top tier customization (which also doubles down as dress-up if you’re into that), % based damage, elemental spells, immunities and status effects. The game also arguably wastes less of your time since everything is skippable and a lot of boring sidequests can be skipped while losing nothing of value. This game also doesn’t have moment inertia and has good hitstun on your basic attacks, while also allowing you to juggle enemies if you meet certain conditions. LR also has a parry system, but it doesn’t force it down your throat if you don’t want to engage with it (you can equip dodge or just say fuck it and make different builds for physical and magic damage). From what I’ve seen SB really seems like the most basic, run of the mill, ARPG possible, without offering anything new or substantial enough to warrant this much attention. I might be wrong, but I doubt the game is better than the games I mentioned above.

[@TheRealMycanthrope]

Finally, a criticism of Stellar Blade that isn't "too sexual, waaah" or "they made it minutely less sexualised, reee, the wokies have won"

[@niemand7811]

For a brief moment I read: "The Wookies have won." 😂

[@bobbobbob321]

I'm actually really glad I found The Electric Underground, Mark can be a bit preachy at times but he's at least talking about real issues, and formalizing them logically as well, as someone who has created games since high school and still may want to create my own game, his analysis of games has a very decent consistent logical foundation that I have not seen before. To put it simply, you can have really strong rigorous values when it comes to video games that's not just superficial bullshit? Holy shit, mind blown, I thought that was only reserved for like politics lmao. I do wish I could find more gameplay review channels like Mark's - people who put a ton of effort into rigorizing their gaming philosophy.

[@sibel9272]

Same, and I’m just gonna say this, the internet has a fuckin design illiteracy problem.

[@Handlelesswithme]

He is being sarcastic btw

[@hellorandomperson221]

This gonna be good :P I can prob already tell he's annoyed by a couple of things I also noticed: * After Sekiro every game needs to have a fucking parry mechanic embedded deep into its combat system. It's like they now want parrying to be the main method of expression in a combat game instead of this optional thing that it always was prior to Sekiro. Except here it's not just one parry counter system, it's like they implemented 4 of them in a very convoluted way, and they are all dependent on some 'simon says' color flash telling you which counter you need to do now. It's like your regular attacks barely do dick all damage and you need to solely rely on doing these various counters every time to build up burst and beta so you can exchange them for attacks that actually do dmg. It's like you're constantly taking turns with an enemy, like it's a turn based game. * The heavy amount of input latency in a game that is so dependent on parrying at the right time. Even though the game is running at 60fps and I am using a VRR display and have HDCP disabled, there is no way this is regular input latency for a 60Hz game. I think there's no question that PS2 60fps games were at least half as laggy as a game like this, there's just no way they're even in the same ballpark. Compare DMC3 on the PS2 to this game from an input latency perspective and it's like DMC3 PS2 is running at like 120fps from a latency perspective vs. this game. I don't know if UE4 is to blame or the PS5 but there's something seriously wrong with a lot of modern games when it comes to latency, no way should a 60fps game be this LAGGY or inconsistent when it comes to frame timing, ESPECIALLY in a game that forces you to time your counters so precisely. How did gaming ever regress so badly when your average PS2 action game running at 60fps would have HALF the latency of any action game made in the year 2024? * Only one weapon, only four fundamental special moves (I guess 4 extra ones if you count the burst modifier button introduced later in the game). Compare it to say DMC3 or Ninja Gaiden where pretty early on you already get your second weapon and then your third and so on, all with their own attacks and unlockable skills, etc. * This game really didn't need open world sandbox areas. At all. Nobody asked for fetch quests/side quests or 'find the Ubisoft watchtower to activate the bonfires in this area'. Or fishing. It feels like they threw this in to justify the $70 pricetag.

[@TheCrewExpendable]

Yeah the new God of War games also have the color coded counters and it's just like why? Why have multiple different ones if the color just tells the player what button combination they have to press anyway?

[@crawlingamongthestars3736]

The reason games have regressed this badly is most gamers are now casuals who have zero interest in actually learning a game's mechanics at a deep level, most developers are college graduates who are essentially being pushed through their schools' education programs because the bar keeps getting lower and lower, and AAA gaming has become such big business at this point that high level design principles are all about cost effectiveness, player manipulation and appealing to the lowest common denominator. Welcome to the video game dystopia. The future is hell, the 80s and 90s were better.

[@fazares]

​@@crawlingamongthestars3736100% agree..we are DOOMED..and not the id soft way 😢

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Great summary my dude! I also really like you brought up the input lag because that was another thing I noticed and was going to talk about but it felt like the review was already massive ha. yeah the input lag of this game is extremely noticeable and it's shame that as much as digital foundry go on about the graphics and framerate, they never seem to dig into the input lag of the game with their performance analysis. You know I might do an input lag video where I take a bunch of PS5 action games and compare their input lag cuz it's really noticeable in stellar blade. That would be a good way to show it in comparison to other games. Problem is that it's really hard to prove how laggy a game like this is because of input buffers ... hmm I'll have to think about how to approach that.

[@mgxzazfbyjuchrisclarkvpz236]

You fucking nailed it. Well said!

[@KnightElSneed]

Absolutely cathartic review. Not only does this review describe the problems of this game, it also describes the state of modern "action" games in general.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Exactly my dude! You get it! :-) Yes I really wanted to describe the issues I see in Stellar Blade specifically and then also how these issues relate to modern action game design generally.

[@Awesmic1]

To each their own. While I don't share your hatred for the game, I respect your opinion. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it.

[@iffy5bassthunder677]

That is a mature response, thank you for being a gentleman. Most responses on here are mostly from butthurt crybabies. Rather annoying. 👍

[@apathy2454]

LOVE this game

[@Christopher_Roa]

Same, Im currently playing it right now and disagree with Mark on just about every point of contention he has lol. Non the less that's the beauty of it, we all have different likes and dislikes and varied opinions, Such as wanted dead. I absolutely hated the game and thought it had terrible design or rather I didn't find it's design choices fun. Unfortunately I don't think most know how to get their make their argument without being offended because somebody feels differently

[@ashbha4138]

@@iffy5bassthunder677 i mean, you're calling people butthurt crybabies...

[@iffy5bassthunder677]

@@ashbha4138 Awe, does it bother you that I do not like a game that you do? Cry harder. Please. Entertain me little boy. Your opinion does not matter to me in the slightest. 🤣🤣🤣

[@doktor3196]

I'm Korean but I could not dig into the demo. I'm Vergil main in DMC5 and every action game will get compared to my boy. This video verbalizes all the weaknesses i felt from the combat but didn't have the analytical acumen to identify them. And if dudes are playing this to stare at a CGI cutie, they should do some reevaluations of their priorities. Tekken 8 is already tons of work as it is.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Hell yes my Korean Vergil playing brother. Yes this is a funny trend I'm noticing in the feedback of my review where the character action players, like yourself, really vibe with what I'm talking about but viewers that are more in tune with western games like God of War and western game design are a bit more confused or mad ha.

[@Shendue]

I disagree on one thing. Nikke is above and beyond in terms of gameplay. It's a surprisingly engaging and fun rail shooter with a lot of depth. It's not just its presentation nor the fanservice. It's genuinely a very good game. To use it as a term of comparison to suggest that Shift Up is a bad developer isn't fair, coming from someone who very obviously hasn't played the game, or at the very least hasn't gone deep into its mechanics. Not to mention that the team that works on Nikke (Third Nikke Studio) is a completely separate team of developers from the one that worked on Stellar Blade (Second EVE Studio).

[@Mii_Oh_Nine]

​@detective2221you're delusional

[@zyroberk]

This is straight up wrong, Nikke is a grind fest made to trap horny whales

[@Gustaviustwinkelberry]

Bro is horney

[@JGrove303]

None of these dumb “puzzles” have been show or brought up in any other video I’ve seen on Stellar Blade. This is the reason I buy Electric Underground t-Shitts

[@TechnnoTrucker]

Also , I play your aforementioned games Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry, NieR Automata, Chaos Legion, Castlevania, Bayonetta, ... I miss games like those. Now its disappointing that souls-borne combat seems to be the standard.

[@zedoniusrulerofflame4675]

At least we still have those amazing experiences to return to. Personally, I have given up on modern gaming. I don't care about the releases of anyone other than Fromsoftware.

[@Sephirothkingdom782]

@@zedoniusrulerofflame4675I think atlus games are good too

[@viewtifuljon8105]

Have you tried Furi? It's just a series of boss fights, it has the reactive combat you complain about but it just feels right, everything remains interesting til the end.

[@SaturdayMorningRetro]

Fantastic game!

[@westonstaufenberg7278]

he knows of it, but not a fan but I think he would respect it more than this game because it sticks to the boss rush idea (except for the walking sections). which what Sekiro, and all its clones should have done but instead they padded their games w/ pointlessness inbetween. if you can run past all the enemies is it a true action game

[@romanromanchuk7718]

​@@westonstaufenberg7278 sekiro has a boss rush mode though

[@shadowfired]

In the description you say there's a swimming section inmediately after the demo ends, but that is a complete lie. There's an entire hour worth of combat and exploration after the parking garage boss. The swimming section you speak of is basically a small puddle after hours of gameplay. You're just making the game sound worse to back up your arguments.

[@sonwig5186]

How would you say the game is? All of the reviews online suck.

[@shadowfired]

@@sonwig5186 The combat is very parry/counter/armor-break focused. If you enjoy games that focus on those aspects, I think you'd like it. You can parry and dodge normal attacks or you can wait for certain color-coded attacks that have strong counters. You'll want the Blink and Repulse abilites from the survival tree for that asap. They make combat feel so satisfying. You can also mix in a bunch of regular attacks/combos to quickly charge up powerful skills. Once you break the enemies armor, you can go in for a takedown that does massive damage. The game can feel heavier than you're expecting at first, but I think it clicks once you get into your first boss fight. Take what this reviewer says about any combat system with a grain of salt. He seems to automatically hate any action game's combat if it doesn't resemble old ps2 games. He's constantly moaning about how modern games are all the same, and yet he wants all action games to play like Ninja Gaiden or they're bad. When it comes to exploration, this reviewer also makes it sound like you're constantly solving puzzles and swimming but in reality there's a nice balance of combat and exploration. You're never doing one thing for too long. Even his old ps2 games that he loves so much broke things up with little minigames and stuff outside of the main combat, so idk why he has such hatred for those aspects.

[@sonwig5186]

@@shadowfired Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I mean, I don't have a PS5 so it's a bit philosophical right now, but I might look forward to it in the future.

[@newmnsilver]

@@sonwig5186 Currently, PlayStation isn't doing that hot, personally have a PS5 and ive technically shelved it for gaming, started to use it as entertainment for watching stuff on Netflix, HBOMax, and Prime Video. I finished Stellar Blade awhile ago and I agree with what this commenter said; this "reviewer" rather "ranter" pulled any and every negative aspect of the game to sh*t on it, and is a DMC fanboy (dont get me wrong, DMC is great), DMC franchise is not godly and it has flaws for sure in all its installations, but the positives are always highlighted. It seems he felt this one was reaching to be *like* DMC or of the same, when literally the devs and producers shared that they based this game off their love and appreciation for the Nier series. I say go to a friend's place who has a PS5 and has this game, play for yourself instead of listening to someone like this KZbinr rant about it.

[@MarcFHuizinga]

When it comes to the game itself, it's absolutely clear that the soul behind it wanted to make something that was just ''pretty'', an expression of beauty. Which in itself isn't bad. But art without a true purpose is just....art. And that's not bad, if it WAS just art. But this is a game, not an artwork on a piece of paper. It really needed to do more to keep it's players hooked. Instead, it's obvious that it's made by a mobile game developer that relies on the most mundane mechanics, instead of doing something actually innovative. On top of that, I feel Stellar Blade got most of it's hype simply from being an anti-woke vehicle for people to bandwagon on. Which is a one in a million lucky occurrence.

[@VtAneila]

Great review. Funny how dire the industry has become when nobody and not even the " traditionalists " want to address the elephant in the room ; the combat fucking sucks.

[@thepabs911]

The combat was the best part about the game and is fantastic! Your opinion is what sucks. LOL

[@TheUnrealPirate]

it takes balls to attack the game in this way. Speaks strongly to your honesty as a reviewer, and your critique seems valid - this game is getting a lot of praise but my gut reaction to what I have seen is a lack of gameplay ambition.

[@silverancient7840]

Says a clown who only "seen" it and not actually played the game. Shut up, it has great combat

[@auellaitaela8035]

"All the game cares about is including as many mechanics on paper as it can, and then is incredibly strict about making sure none of them interact." Ah, the "God of War: Ragnarok" approach. Everything I hate about modern action games in one sentence. I first noticed this trend in GoW: Ragnarok, but I'm sure the rot started much earlier, but Ragnarok is where it became crystal clear what the modern template looked like. A million different systems with 0 overlapping interactions, and then a full game of prescribed gameplay to force usage of each mechanic in an isolated manner. You're exactly the reviewer modern gaming needs right now and I hope this review blows up and people start seeing behind the curtain of modern gaming.

[@Brandonweifu]

This type of review was out 20 years ago Things have only doubled down and gotten worse

[@mgxzazfbyjuchrisclarkvpz236]

Right? The combat in it is much better than the vast majority of games. The problem with that game is that the devs treat the player like we're all fucking idiots by having companions tell us where to go and how to solve every puzzle. That ruined what otherwise would've been an amazing game. Very sad and definitely one of the worst trends in "modern" gaming! They won't let us struggle to figure ANYTHING out on our own.

[@n2oshotandironman]

God of Four was already unacceptably poor. I can't believe any of you gave the second game a chance if you actually had standards

[@johnpsy4129]

@@n2oshotandironman This has to be trolling

[@n2oshotandironman]

@@johnpsy4129 God trolled you by making your brain not work so good sometimes

[@dianixstar1515]

Ironically one of the most fun action games I've played. The formula is pretty old school but the gameplay is solid af and the pacing isnt bad

[@TheElectricUnderground]

I really struggle to see how it could stand up well in any context compared to strong action games or even souls games, but if you enjoyed it my tastes aren't going to line up with everyone else's. I do wonder though after the initial play through how well you think the game will hold up over time because like I talked about in the review the boss fights are all static (the patterns don't randomize much or at all mostly) and it's pretty easy to learn how to no hit no damage the few bosses the game has and there are no ranks or performance metrics so once you beat raven once that's kinda it. You could go for an entire no death run of the game (which i did with Wanted Dead) but then you run into the problem of all the constant padding making the game much longer than it needs to be. Imagine having to repeat the mid section of the game like 20 times ha. That's one thing that's really important to me with the game I review, not just the initial play through but how long will the game sustain over time. Anyway even though we don't agree I appreciate your comment is chill in tone ha.

[@silverancient7840]

​@@TheElectricUndergroundyou gave a shit overblown nitpicky review that I bet you'd never bash a Zelda game for. Wastes time with puzzles? Man shut up

[@giblet6371]

​@TheElectricUnderground Souls repeats the same bosses over and over as well... just because they are unnecessary hard because they spam everything with less then a second to hit widow to react to. Doesn't make it better. I don't have time to grind my whole week away to get good at a game. Because the game makes it impossible to beat

[@AirahsELL]

@@TheElectricUnderground Because it does those things well enough. The padding is an issue and I'm not sure if Shift Up's older games had the same problem (I'm gonna guess you have no idea of their development history if your knowledge of them begins and ends with Nikke, a game with shit advertising but really good writing which somehow this game lacks) but generally the combat is fine and the fact that enemies have ungodly high stagger values is something that post DS1 Souls games also share. It also generally gives you more angles to approach things. It doesn't do one or two things incredibly well like Sekiro's parry system but it does many things well enough. Generally I don't mind having a ton of options since it lets you have multiple angles of approach.

[@StarRain6]

Old school is the best school, Battletoads has two buttons and NO SKILLZ TREES.

[@Quantum722]

You know I'm kinda worried how DMC6 would turn out after Hideaki Itsuno left the company

[@almac5446]

Or better yet do not make a goddamn sequel

[@normanbestboi9117]

just an FYI. THE GAME IS 6 STORY MISSIONS LONG.

[@moriarty2666]

Yeah. This confused the hell out of me when I finished the game yesterday. Feels like you could beat the main story in 4-5 hours. Bloated with side missions to disguise the fact.

[@edwardjones1482]

@@moriarty2666 the story doesn’t need to be all that great to make a game good if your that type of person that cares about how good a story is I suggest find a game that has a good story

[@moriarty2666]

@@edwardjones1482 where did I ever say that stellar blade doesn't have a good story?

[@Handlelesswithme]

It would’ve fine if the game was actually hard enough to warrant more exploration

[@Valkron11]

7. You missed a whole level 😂

[@GhostwalkerSparrow]

I've actually enjoyed my time with Stellar blade it's pretty fun

[@TheElectricUnderground]

We all have different tastes and preferences I'm not on a crusade against the game or anything, just speaking my honest thoughts about it ha. What I am curious about though is that even though you have a more positive impression of the game than I do, did you connect with my critiques or at least some of them? I would have to imagine most fans of the game would still agree with a lot of the points, but it's hard to know of course.

[@DjavoJ]

​@@TheElectricUndergroundFirst of all I am also one of the people who enjoyed this game, from world building, visuals, combat (especially the boss fights) and music. It's a pretty solid game. Now to your critiques: I see and agree with some points that are a bit questionable 'design choice'-wise. Like the password inputs or the 'Dead Space' like passages with the guns. You also mentioned the problem with the cancel animations. I had just once an issue where it annoyed me and that was against the yellow lurkers in the Great desert. When they die they have like a final grab attack and i was 'stuck' midair during my triple thrust beta animation, so i have to eat the move every time. '^^ But other than that i haven't had any problems, maybe cause i got used to EVEs 'behaviour'. I also noticed that the combat was rather designed for 1v1, so it was always a problem when facing multiple enemies. Due to no real poise on EVE you could get 'combo staggered' to death. But this no poise situation also counts for the enemies or better said bosses. Betas, Burst and Tachy mode are too busted in the game. You could beta stagger some bosses into oblivion. To the general presentation of your review: I don't know what your background is (like if you are working in the gaming industry), cause some points are very technical (cancel animation etc) and if this way is your general style (sorry first vid i've seen), but i don't like this bashing style (maybe i am too sensitive). But why not a 'what could've been done better?' style rather than 'this is shit - that is pathetic'. But again I don't know if it's your general style or what your background is. And I don't know if one could take into account that this is 'shift ups' first triple AAA attempt. My two cents Cheers

[@QuantumTelephone]

It's a solid game! But it has 0 caloric value.

[@kev95]

Yeah, hopefully a sequel will be in the works at some point.

[@danyleanza]

@@DjavoJ I like fail to understand all the outrage. It is a solid game made by a developer who made its first attempt at an AAA game. It is different than other games and it does superbly well what it tries to accomplish. DMC, Bayonetta are still out there and very contemporary. This game has the right of being its own thing and nobody is saying it is GOTY material. It is a solid fun game easy to grasp with some badass fights.

[@necrago]

I agree with the design aspects, but it's kind of hard to take seriously the opinion of someone who mashes only the light attack button (weakest combo, especially with minimal upgrades - though I don't blame you for not doing any of the side quests) and occasionally heavy attack button (combo), doing no (other) combos, no beta chains, using beta skill (specifically quadruplet) spam (though this is a fault of the game for allowing you to do this in the first place if you don't take it in good faith), block spam (for getting most parries), complaining over the mere existence of cutscenes and a story over their quality and potential improvements or defects. Everything else is correct, however, as far as I can see.

[@Re-PhantomZero]

Hahahahaha, dude Mark is a pro at gaming, he is the real deal you don't hold a candle to him 😂. Modern casuals talking down on the pros hahahaha, Jesus Christ.

[@normanbestboi9117]

The way he fights is so he can cancel the combo. Its a way hes forced into playing because of the games system. You cant even parry in the air.

[@necrago]

@normanbestboi9117 I agree that the air combat is useless, and that the game systems don't encourage you to play smart but dumb, but that doesn't change the fact that he is embracing it.

[@PlasmaSnake369]

I believe the sawdust is listed in Taco Bell's ingredients as cellulose btw.

[@EpsiIonEagle]

Gross wtf

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Ha yeah i love calling it Sawdust because of course it isn't literally sawdust but it's a really poetic way to describe the fact that they are cutting their meat with wood pulp or whatever they want to call it. I think cutting the meat with anything is outrageous but it's such a great analogy to what's going on with game design now where the meat of the content (boss fights, mechanics, enemy design, level design) is getting diluted and watered down by passive idol sections to fill out the inflated runtime.

[@SpidersSTG]

Same as dog food. Cellulose or powdered cellulose. Crooks everywhere!

[@L2kneel]

Mfs just want Elden Ring 100x over, most people aren't trying to die 100 times on their first play through they just wanna enjoy the game Stellar Blade has a decent mix of both

[@TonberryChuck]

This review could also be a review for Black Myth Wukong as well.

[@dirtsquids9854]

Black myth is really great though

[@Valkron11]

​@@dirtsquids9854so is Stellar Blade

[@chofun7244]

​​@@dirtsquids9854Nice try, Xiao Ming

[@Dondonn8xm]

@chofun7244 Sit back down Seong-Min. Turns out the Chinese game is better than the Korean game.

[@Dondonn8xm]

@TonberryChuck No, not really. Wukong's gameplay is actually good. Stellar Blade has nothing going for it apart from coomer bait for incels.

[@Dmitry_Medvedev]

I miss when mediocre action games were either DMC clones or God Of War clones. Atleast they were flashy and cool, compensating well for their lack of depth.

[@lazorsbear7068]

Dante's Inferno is a masterpiece compared to these modern "action" games

[@shawklan27]

​@@lazorsbear7068 preach the mix between genuinely terrifying imagery and stylish as fuck combat really makes it a unique experience.

[@jurtheorc8117]

Have a look at Soulstice from 2022. Some DMC and Bayonetta influences, plus some stuff that in my eyes is Darksiders-like (mainly in terms of tone and writing). Got its issues like some annoying enemy types, camera sometimes, and dragging a bit in the middle, but has a lot of cool stuff on offer for monster designs, the majority of the enemy selection being solid, all seven weapons total having their own utilities, plus good characters and writing for them. Bit hard to get into at first due to certain mechanics, but has a lot on offer. There's some upcoming stuff too such as Genokids, Enenra, and i believe Yasuke: A Lost Descendant and Gori: Cuddly Carnage as well, if in a different direction for Gori (kinda mixing the hack-and-slash with hoverboard/skateboard riding).

[@mariorichter-cx9zg]

Ninja Blade😂

[@SlinkyRock]

Stellar Blade is a 'Great Value' action game that is all over the place, can't wait for this review.

[@mgxzazfbyjuchrisclarkvpz236]

Curious what you mean by "great value action game"??

[@sinelacico]

@@mgxzazfbyjuchrisclarkvpz236”great value” like a good bargain bin game, unfortunately stellar blade is not a bargain bin game and is $125 in my country for the digital edition

[@SlinkyRock]

@@mgxzazfbyjuchrisclarkvpz236 'Great Value' is a brand that offers copied products that are cheaper, made with worse components. They try to emulate the original(such as a bag of salty chips) but because they are made with worse components it results in a different often worse but still cheaper and cheap feeling product.

[@TheUltimateNatural]

Stellar Blade's studio is from Korea. That's all you need to know.

[@42crazyguy]

Easy there Asaka

[@TheUltimateNatural]

@@42crazyguy Who the hell is Asaka?

[@Mii_Oh_Nine]

What does it being from Korea have to donwith anything??

[@ashbha4138]

Are you impying the reviewer doesn't like Koreans? What does this mean?

[@finno-crisis]

fr Korea has only made like 2 good games. Lies of P which was a forgettable souls clone and PUBG which is pretty good. that's about it tho...

[@AgeAgeAge]

I'm impressed at all the time travellers in the comments disagreeing with the video before it's even premiered

[@Rihcterwilker]

He stated his opinion in the title already, no?

[@DiegoXRA]

​@@Rihcterwilkeryou still didn't hear the reasoning behind it .

[@HighKnighter]

@@Rihcterwilker It an argument to be supported. If you dismiss the argument out of principle (lol what principle), gotta question if it isn't just because you are sex starved and mentally underdeveloped

[@EdgardR.]

Thing is I'd guess these people don't care for the reason, they disagree with the conclusion and are not interested in having a conversation ​@@DiegoXRA

[@G-Self]

Most of them are probably astroturfers.

[@danny.ray101]

I think this is the first negative review of Stellar Blade I have stumbled on (I haven't played it yet due to lack of PS5). But to be honest, I couldn't tell you what was the last AAA game which got me hooked - probably nothing in the last 18 months at least.

[@TheUltimateNatural]

You must not play a lot of games.

[@danny.ray101]

@@TheUltimateNatural apart from shmups no, because there's almost nothing any more I like :/

[@room.beer.controller3032]

What Electric Underground says around 26:30 is all it took for me to realise that he is one of, if not the best gaming reviewers out there right now. Simply spot on man ❤

[@xanderallen5664]

Stellar Blade was my first game in awhile where I didn't really feel the burden of the game padding out the game time with useless stuff. I bought FF7 Rebirth recently and was very excited for it but have barely gone into the third open world area. I've been waiting for this game since they revealed it as Project: Eve 5 years and even if they didn't make Eve as attractive as they did I still would've bought the game since it was the action-adventure and sci-fi theme that interested me. The game isn't perfect, not all of the boss fights are super interesting, but it doesn't make me appreciate the game any less. I thought the puzzle boxes were fun and rewarded me for exploring the area by allowing me to unlock more outfits or upgrade my gear to become stronger. I think the story is pretty intersting, the writing isn't the best and the english voice acting is not the greatest. Nier: Automata and Sekiro are some of my favorite games ever. I don't think this game is as good as them, but it is still fun and unique in its own way. There are definitely a few things I can think of that could improve the game, but they weren't a large enough deal to take away from my experience from the game. The game gives you 2 options for difficulty (a story and an action mode, an easier and a harder one respectively), while I played on the harder difficulty I could still experience the story and appreciate the combat and boss fights. The 12 expospines and a large variety of gear options allow players to vary their builds depending on their skills and playstyle. I think the developers deserve praise because they did put a lot of work into this game and it payed off. I think the game review industry needs to understand that not every game is made for everyone, and that they shouldn't let some random people on the internet to decide for them to buy a game. Sure they can still help but it shouldn't always be the deciding factor, let the players decide for themselves. Sorry for the essay but I don't think Stellar Blade deserves the hate it has been getting.

[@darkenedpsynoid]

well said

[@Handlelesswithme]

He is being sarcastic btw I realized it the moment he said the game is slow and was only using square square square in the video

[@KingKrouch]

Stellar Blade looks alright, and I prefer the purple haired NPC chick (she is cute) over Eve. However, the Soulsborne combat, the retroactive changes to the game, and the input latency are the things that put me off from playing it, at least until it gets a PC release. Some people think Synthetic Man's takes on games can be garbage, but he's right when he said that this looks like and has the surface level story of a AAA game with a hot chick for a change. The enemies visibly broadcasting their moves, and the yellow paint everywhere comes to my mind. This game i heard is alright (a game releasing that doesn't need patches outside of latency issues is nice for a change), but if DERQ Code Z and 3 also ends up bad despite the CERO Z rating (despite waiting years for a new numbered entry), I think I'm done with modern gaming. Almost every time I look forward to a new game release or a new port/remaster, I get rugpulled. I'll just play older games, arcade games (shmups and rhythm games), Blue Archive, and whatever games are on sale. Seeing footage of Stellar Blade just makes me wish I'd rather be playing Ninja Gaiden Black or something like Code Vein instead (which I think has saucier characters anyways).

[@Dmitry_Medvedev]

Total Synthcel Victory

[@mgxzazfbyjuchrisclarkvpz236]

What is derq code z and 3?

[@robeastv]

I think you nailed it with your remarks on the demo and the vertical slice of what the devs want you to think you're getting. I kinda knew it was gonna happen because it happened with Nier Automata's demo and then game. I'm a fan of this game and am having a great time playing it. But, yeah, I always think about other things like "why is this area here" and "can we remove that part?" Then I start to think about other things that can be cut, eventually trimming down to not even having a game at all. (Make it an idle game as it's simplest form. I don't want this btw. Just where it always leads for me.) It's a weird loop I go through wondering if I'm wasting time playing games. I think sometimes I am because I should take that money and invest to make "PASSIVE INCOME"... so that I don't have to worry about buying games. Another endless thought cycle. To get to the point, I don't disagree with your thoughts on the game. I think the overall sense of padding is what I'm struggling with in newer games. I'm truly waiting for a boss rush or bloody palace mode. Older me right now mostly wants dense gameplay in my action games. Cheers Mark. Cheers All...

[@JohnCrawford1979]

But also, Chun-Li is still a fun character to play as, and proves a creator of a game can get obsessed over the perfection of their favorite character, and that character can still be playable, competitive, and fun to play as. 😉

[@sodathejunker]

I have to give you a lot of credit. We have COMPLETELY opposite impressions of this game and I’d say I disagree with you on most of your takes. However, everything I disagree with is pure opinion. As someone who loves both the Soulsborne games and character-action games (a la DMC, Bayonetta, Hi-Fi Rush) that revolve around high-octane spectacle fights and finding fighting game strings that keep you offensive, this scratched a powerful skill itch I was missing in recent games like FFXVI. Add that to the amazing music and the dystopian scifi meets eldritch horror world setting, and I’m very content. I’m also a fan of this teams various artists and their other projects as individuals (pre Shift-Up they’ve made some seriously fun and impressive games in the industry) There are definitely objective game design choices that I completely agree with you on. Hints on the passcodes turns a fun memory game into redundant fetch quests (thankfully they aren’t all this way). The game isn’t always super easy, but if you go for completion the power-scaling gets a bit weird and you become OP until the final few stages (though that balances in hard mode a bit). And there are a LOT of exposition dumps, almost over explaining topics that hit the first time (a criminal offense to me as a Soulsborne affiçionado. I always prefer show over tell) I can’t agree with you on most points, but I respect you speaking your own truth to your experience. And I appreciate you 1000% for speaking on this game as a video-game, and not just talking about the low hanging fruit topics like everyone else has been. Truly, I’d rather hear an earnestly negative take I don’t agree with over a phoned-in positive take. It doesn’t change my love for the game in any way and I want healthy discord like this to push games forward.

[@techedbirb6663]

Not every game has to be dmc, at least it's not trying to be new god of war where wolverine will be cursed with that.( I personally still enjoyed, but it's gonna get oversaturated and boring)

[@jurtheorc8117]

@sodathejunker for other character action games, the following ones may prove interesting: - Soulstice (2022) - Genokids (upcoming) - Yasuke: A Lost Descendant (upcoming) - Enenra (upcoming) - Gori: Cuddly Carnage (upcoming) - The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile (don't remember what year that one released. 2D rather than 3D, but VERY fast-paced.) - No Straight Roads (2020. Quite short and simple, very boss-centric, but FULL of style, character and love for music.) Honorary mention of Clash: Artifacts of Chaos too, which is described by some as a Soulslike but while having elements of it, such as the bonfire checkpoints, health flasks and world with many looping shortcuts, is more like a 3D fighter/brawler, with different fighting stances and special attacks with full unique animation movesets to find, customize and switch between. Has a very unique world too, with inhabitants that some have said look like they came from The Dark Crystal or would fit quite well in there. Beautiful, colorful, and the main protagonist looks gnarly as all get-out. Genuinely amazing music and good writing too. (it's a prequel to the Zeno Clash series of first-person brawler games, from around... 2008 and 2011, if i remember correctly. Gives more to see in the world, but it's Zeno Clash 2 that shows and tells the most of the world of all three games so far. Mainly through a side quest of finding special cubes and something to do with a scribe called Word.) Want to quickly mention Cookie Cutter and Blud too. Neither Character Action nor Soulslike, though both do have bloody combat and i can vouch for Cookie Cutter feeling smooth to play and being quite over-the-top. Both are beautifully 2D hand-drawn animated and have a lot to see in their world. Has to be said that CC specifically is still being developed. It's a solid and fairly complete game as it is, cliffhanger end notwithstanding, but the lead dev wants to develop and substantially support it for as long as he can if other support allows for it. From difficulty options and seemingly an optional battle arena too, to new weapons, questlines, areas, characters and bosses. Hope these all have sounded interesting to you, and that you may check them out and spread word on them!

[@poutineausyropderable7108]

The only game that comes out with finished, without performance issue and microtransaction. It does have fun combat. I'm gonna be honest, there's some slug if you decide to do every side quest, but the game has great boss, especially in the end game. True, it's kinda sad that this is a positive and now an obvious requirement nowadays. I still liked the video. I think your take on the color coding in combat is fucking aweful, and combos mid, but the rest holds weight. For example, you shit on the combat where you "have to wait" for parries. You don't, it's opening between combos. And you can learn to min max damage during each openings. That means after their attacks and your block/dodge and in between enemy attack during a combo. That's just you being bad. It's closer to a souls game then a combo game, so it obviously won't have combos that requires using the joystick and the wackier stuff. Sekiro had the mikiri counter behind the skill tree. It is annoying, sure, but this game actually use it for a teaching moment. It has an actual training mode, which every fromsoft games sorely lack, hence 95% of players suck at elden ring and don't even know it's basic and how it's different from other games. Plus, moves like waterfowl requires a mod to learn to dodge. Most people don't jump any attack in elden ring, not even the attack which are ment to be jumped. 2% of people do. Ik cause I do lots of coop, watches people play and am good at the game. Having a clear indication is a good thing. You are shitting on it, but let's be honest, the "figuring it out part" is always the worst. The fun part is executing and mastering. Just look up the challenge i did on my channel, 1AP hitless Isshin, +0 Hitless Malenia and many other stuff like that. I like hard game and pushing the challenge. If you have a problem with Sekiro's danger Kanji, then you are wrong and if you don't, then the forward and backward dodge in stellar blade is the same. Again, you can perfect dodge every attack in the game, Colorless, Yellow, Blue or Purple. Lies of P had parryable only attacks. Jedi has dodgeable only attacks. Sekiro has jumpable only attacks. It's not a bad thing. It's your personal preference. It's not a positioning based game, it's not ER, or DS1. It's fine, it's a design choice, but it does suck for you if you like that. The multi fight in this game are just spamming supers, I'm gonna be honest. The Forward and back dodge is just two variation of mikiri, and again, it's a good thing that the game is actually teaching you how to play it. It plays like sekiro with the min maxing mentality of elden ring. You can perfect dodge them in any direction you want btw, but doing the mikiri builds meter. For the beta version of combo, they barely use any meter and you'll have enough Beta and Beta regen that you can use them when the opening comes and never run out. And so what if you miss out on the mindless op super moves, you still have enough to use them, just not as often. It does have lots of customisation. 72 free outfit is something you rarely see nowadays. It has it's issue, but you are just hating. If you hate this game, you probably hate every game that came out in the last 10 years, except maybe 2. It's not a perfect game, and there 100% is some slug and time wasting, but you are shitting on it. You do have a point though, but you should tone it down.

[@Владислав-ы9м5у]

What do you know? It's actually a Korean game. Didn't you know? Devs grew on lineage 2, they were among those who created blade and soul, and now this background makes it clear, why would they make something as preposterous as 'go kill 10 respawning boars' in their game and be proud of that.

[@SuperGGnoRE]

They enjoy being hamsters chasing cocaine.

[@PercivalQyou]

18:55 Maybe you'll enjoy the combat more if you played Stellar Blade like Sekiro and Lies of P. I really don't understand how "You can't cancel attack animations just like Dark Souls" is a valid reason to say the combat is shallow. Just because it's different from Bayonetta or DMC doesn't mean it's not good.

[@Mingodough]

Maybe your ps5 didn’t have an ssd, that’s why you’re standing for that long

[@thegamewin100]

😂😂

[@thelastgogeta]

Gives me TLOU HyperBitHero flashbacks...

[@Combo7-y2h]

All PS5s have SSDs.

[@thegamewin100]

@@Combo7-y2h I think he means the upgrade thing though install into it

[@gavi888]

@@thelastgogeta based

[@kiryubluntz2240]

You spittin’ heat with this one. Felt like I was being gaslit by the critical acclaim for what is an all around mediocre gameplay experience, outside of the somewhat decent, yet linear, combat.

[@SegFaultMatt]

Man, I’m so glad you compared it to modern Final Fantasy. Because the long stretches of boring in the game remind me of the first FF7 Remake over and over again. Great review, Mark.

[@Squalid]

I thought I was going to see a review but I learned about game design, capitalism, philosophy and marketing Stellar review!

[@utikt]

Yup if you haven’t seen a Mark review and enjoyed it strongly recommend subscribing. He definitely puts in way more work than most the reviews out there

[@thepabs911]

Interesting... I didn't learn much at all, and disagree with much of what he said, but then... I wasn't born yesterday. LOL

[@lipittysplit8722]

You’re probably my favorite gaming channel now. It’s nice to see somebody skewer something for once.

[@westonstaufenberg7278]

you won't be disappointed. he gets into the actual meat and potatoes of a game and its mechanics. there's not many that do

[@Aripuni1]

He understand game design

[@ChaosAngelZero]

First of all, this is the first-ever footage of Stellar Blade's combat: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmS8fI2AnceWqrs It was _always_ meant to be derivative of Demon's Souls combat, so there's no deception there. Second of all, it seems to me like you're better at analyzing the mechanics of arcade and arcade-like games than home console/PC ones. Arcade games have, at most, a 30-second-long "gameplay" loop repeated ad infinitum, so those 30 seconds better be the best damn 30 seconds ever. In console/PC games you need some sort of _variety_ to break the _monotony,_ you just can't have a 10 to 20-hour-long game be nothing more than juggling NA:tives with over 9000 different moves in order to achieve *Smokin' Sick Sexy Sadistic StyleSSS.* Which is most probably why PlatinumGames' titles sold so poorly despite the usually very positive reception and great word of mouth, and their single best-selling game, NieR:Automata, has an underwhelming combat system when compared with their previous efforts.

[@chozochiefxiii3298]

Well the thing is the stuff this game chooses to break itself up with is either tedious, boring, requires barely any effort, or treats the player like they're stupid. Which is the issue I have with it. I'm playing darksiders right now, it has basic hack and slash combat with a few flashy combos, but it breaks up the combat with fast moving platforming and zelda like dungeons with puzzles that aren't solved in 30 seconds. This is what I like about older action games. Flashy fun, deep combat, broken up with puzzles and platforming it just felt like a complete adventure. Stellar blade feels like a 10 hour game bloated by 20 hours by mandate.

[@larrywoolfolk8224]

The most accurate take in a sea of rage bait takes, you just earned a sub

[@loneblade9447]

I like Stellar Blade but I can't deny that your points are heavily valid. It does seem like every action games now are devolving into unnecessary rpgs. Hopefully Lost Soul Aside will be deep in its gameplay mechanics.

[@islandofmelanat]

People are already losing it at the title in the comments lmao. Excited to see your take on the combat mechanics

[@Brandonweifu]

I wonder how many people were suckin him off with him bashing modern games But as soon as he dunked on everyones new favorite waifu,they smashed that unsubscribe button lmao

[@rena_sukii]

Where's the comment of people losing them shits? I've scrolled down the comment section and most are just agreeing the video

[@Brandonweifu]

@@rena_sukii you are being willfully ignorant

[@rena_sukii]

@@Brandonweifu what an intelligent reply

[@islandofmelanat]

@@rena_sukii You had to be there I guess lol. The vid was scheduled, had comments open before it went live, and half of those were indeed losing it at the title

[@Samira9129]

Stellar blade is an amazing game, really enjoyed it

[@soulhammer]

Thank you for the honest review. Another game where literally everything but the core gameplay experience was talked about in reviews and fake "controversies". I felt about this game exactly the same way I feel about any current Western "action" game. Shallow and BORING! ah well, I've been itching for another playthrough of God Hand. man I love that game. Cheers!

[@Silverwind-bc2cr]

You made a lot of good points but some of your combat notes sounded more like complaints that the game doesn’t have any significant exploits. Not every game is Smash Melee

[@tournaline3448]

We live in the age of paid reviews. They’re not even trying to hide it anymore.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Yeah and I think it's even more internalized than that touraline, which is perhaps more concerning. I talked about this with bog in our Game Journalism podcast but I think a lot of it now is that the general average tone of game reviews is very soft and pandering generally. So even for reviewers who are not being directly paid or anything, that tone has become a plague and infected them as well. For example I think my review is critical but not insanely so or anything and already people in the comments (not generally just stray ones) think I'm a raving madman ha.

[@rossing4463]

yes because any reviewer who actually likes the game must be getting paid. That was sarcasm btw, in case you missed it.

[@WhayYay]

​@@rossing4463beat it kid

[@stanislavkimov2779]

@@TheElectricUnderground yes, even "good" in past reviewers can't be trusted now. They have no vision of their own and just try to tell people what they want to hear (or repeat what others say, so approved things to say). They avoid being negative or too critical like plague. If it's not something safe to hate on of course (again repeat approved things).

[@desertdude540]

It's not even that they're getting paid, it's just access journalism. A review that comes out a couple of weeks after the game's release won't make nearly as much money as one that comes out before the release, so the reviewers are absolutely dependent on getting early review copies. One or two really negative reviews, and the publisher will cut off access to review copies and you'll have to wait for release and buy a copy to review it. We see this everywhere like tech reviews (I've seen PC Magazine and PC World both give 5/10 reviews to products that didn't even work when they tested them), food/drink reviews (Jim Murray once reviewed a single malt from a distillery he openly despises, either Littlemill or Pittyvaich, noted that they must have added soap to the still to try to bring foaming under control but it failed and ended up overflowing into the condensers, with actual soap in the final product. Absolutely undrinkable, 55/100.), and presumably everything else. I always assume the lower half of the purported scoring range is just padding and subtract it out.

[@RandomGamingDouchebag]

Holy shit that opening was brutal and straight to the point. After playing the demo I had a gut feeling you were gonna trash it, I wasn't disappointed😂. Stellar Blade is fascinating because its no better than middle budget action games of the PS2 that relied so heavily on sex appeal to get their sales. What should have otherwise been a ok game that would have gotten ignored during the 6th console generation has gotten thrusted into the public zeitgeist due to its controversies, but at the end of the day it cannot hold a candle to the quality in the best action games from the last decade. I think there's a conversation to be had about video game censorship, and media as a whole, but I hate when games like this get chosen as the MAIN topic of conversation and people's values are a one track mind without substance to their arguments. By the time the conversation dies down, what was all that arguing for? A middling action RPG that's not even at a budget price? If I wanted TNA in a good action game I'd just play Bayonetta. If people like the game that's fine, but all the conversation and attention surrounding it was cheap and unwarranted.

[@benfoster6715]

The game was a hard pass for me after trying the demo due it failing action game fundamentals and the hilariously poor implimentation of its Sony-like platforming & clambering exploration. When I checked gameplay footage after launch, I was surprised to see the devs doubled-down on the time-wasting exploration bits, which is no real surprise given it is a Sony published 3rd person adventure lol. The full experience is less than the sum of its parts: a pastiche of current tropes done poorly, all with cynical ploy of hyper-emphasized waifu to distract from everything else, whether via contrived controversy or as a visual paste-up over the shoddy gameplay.

[@haroldasusus4684]

I’m so here for the hate 😂 This game never looked bad just fine yet because of culture wars one side acts like this game is better than free candy when it’s just a mid experience

[@alastor8780]

Not trying to downplay your arguments, I haven't played Stellar Blade beyond the demo but I love the pettiness of shit like 'stand around timer' and 'Spyro gameplay' lmao

[@bobbyspray]

Having a blast playing this game. I want more.

[@QuantumTelephone]

It's video game junk food, that's why lol

[@bootychief3484]

​@@QuantumTelephone thats like every game. People just have favorite junk food they like to eat up

[@bobbyspray]

@@QuantumTelephone it's a good game not junkfood

[@QuantumTelephone]

@bobbyspray junk food is good. It's just not fulfilling.

[@bobbyspray]

@@QuantumTelephone Did you play the game?

[@atrocity3010]

The point about locking basic mechanics behind RPG progression reminded me of the Yakuza games because they do mostly the same thing: unlock these abilities so the combat doesn't feel like garbage. I forget if the earlier Yakuza games had you do this, but in Judgment you even need to unlock quickstep canceling (being able to cancel out of combo strings), a basic key component to making the flow of gameplay not feel like walking through molasses.

[@Gnasheress]

Maybe they do this in games to help get played acclimated with the basics first before the more complex moves become available ?

[@magicjohnson3121]

​@@Gnasheress sounds good but in reality there's too many damn moves to unlock

[@onceyougozach2607]

This is true and I appreciate that in yakuza 4 Kiryu comes with a lot of his important moves already unlocked, however Yakuza has always been kind of a jrpg with "random encounters" that use beat em up combat (when viewed this way it makes a lot of sense why the new games are turn based rpgs), so I think it's less egregious that the upgrades and exploration are more incentivized there.

[@VirtuousContract]

I got 100% platinum NG+ if they announce stellar blade sequel tomorrow I’ll buy 🤷🏻‍♂️ I’ll give you the view cause I like hearing others opinions

[@Veloc1]

I seriously had hope the game would start ratcheting up for around 30 hours but I couldn't take how mindless it was anymore. They don't even want you to explore "wrong," placing contrived invisible walls and death triggers if you dare to find your own solution. The game is so absurdly linear while pretending not to be. Great review.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Exactly Veloc once you get the controller in your hand and actually play the game outside the first hour the illusion gets shattered. There are so many other smaller issues I wanted to dig into but the overall big picture of what the game actually is vs how it's being marketed I feel is really important to discuss.

[@reregfys7169]

🤣🤣🤣👎

[@Busterbalz]

The absolute cope and seethe in the comments tells me youre telling the truth. What a shame, i was interested in this game, if it comes to steam and goes heavily on sale i might try it someday.

[@ultimablackmage]

I enjoyed the game overall, but yeah... the "RPG system" is one of by biggest gripes of this game. It's just there to gimp the player early on & elongated the time in the game. Doesn't help it was marketed as a character action game when it's a precision combat game that isn't very precise until you grind out skills. I tried my hardest to chain combo, attack cancel, juggle, you name it... but like Final Fantasy XVI it felt like the game was actively fighting against me. Each battle was just a waiting game of either turtle or parry with attack patterns that become easy to memorise when you are grinding SP from the same enemy, over & over again. I found the major story linear levels were the highlights over the larger open environments because I did enjoy the exploration along with the mini bosses & bosses, but man do I wish this was more like a character action game like Nier since crowd control sucks here. I also found the dollar store Dead Space moments a momentum killer because this game doesn't feel like a shooter in the first place & shoving in those survival horror-esque moments just felt rushed. As for the censorship thing... I personally hate the toned down blood & all the pro-censorschip people fighting with the people who care a little too much about the costumes.

[@ArilandoArilando]

24:00 What exactly is western about this style of design?

[@finno-crisis]

prescriptive gameplay, "Simon says" shit.

[@Squalid]

While I love Nier Automata's story, I think it's a terrible action game. Has Mark ever commented on Nier Automata's gameplay?

[@EdgardR.]

Yeah he doesn't like it and thinks the shmup sections are bad

[@deus_nsf]

NieR Automata is an amazing hybrid RPG/Shooter (and by shooter I don't mean the shoot em up sections, I mean the actual shooting), the pods/abilities/chip meta is something straight out of an immersive sim. It's an RPG first and it's fine.

[@davedm1]

The only true Stella blade review. Dark Souls/Nier automata knockoff at BEST!!!

[@FaZeJERF]

You forgot the dollar tree before dark souls

[@davedm1]

@@FaZeJERF I'm actually hearing of such a thing for the first time lol. Sounds like a tree I need in my life😅

[@Valkron11]

Nothing like Dark Souls

[@controladortv]

Stellar Blade will never be as polished, engaging, entertaining and clever as Nier Automata. PS5 is a disaster with it's exclusives that's why I rather play on PC and Steam Deck then a console.

[@Josh-sz8ip]

You can't play your own games without updating on PC, even if you lost internet connection for days, you can't play offline. You have to wait to get online again to update before playing.

[@ombra711]

What are you even babbling about, bro?

[@TheNotoriousNemo]

I like this game, its probably the first action game ive been able to play, I really suck at these, its a 7.5/10. You did a great job of listing alot of the flaws, because there really are alot of annoying stuff with the game. The stuff i did like was the sexuality "not patched", I like the stages that feel like the cat game Stray. Its almost like it kind of ripped that off but its still a cool setting. The music is a solid 8/10, it kind of sounds like alot of genres and anime like demon slayer. The jumping platforms XD, oh my gosh those were a pain lol. I like the combat for the most part, the jumping to try to dodge is really annoying. I dont like the point of no return in games, just 1 save is something I dont understand... Also, u accidently just gave tips on how to conquer this game, and for that thank you lmao.

[@rimmymindplease8120]

Wow, I feel the rage in the first few seconds already.... Bracing myself for the rest....

[@zeonmx]

I said the same thing about Nier Automata and apparently, that triggers hordes of coomers and weebs.

[@HighKnighter]

Nier automata story is good though, relative to the medium. Existentialist themes in any medium also have the habit of attracting every intellectual and pseudo intellectual across the planet though. People are starved for media that is not vapid and shallow.

[@Josh-sz8ip]

​​@@HighKnighterI don't care about the themes. It's just a good sci-fi story. I was already familiar with the philosophy in Automata years before it came out. I consume nonfiction for deep intellectual stimulation.

[@zeonmx]

@@HighKnighter Lol, for you. The game's story is just ok at best. Nothing amazing about it. It's only amazing for those who just found out about the concept of nihilism and existentialism through a video game, and there are other games who has done this through the medium of storytelling.

[@HighKnighter]

@@zeonmx From skill up 3.5 Million view video to plenty of others with 500K+ views and highly positive ratings, people seem to think the story is amazing. You can stay out here being different though.

[@zeonmx]

@@HighKnighter That's fine? I mean that implies I should care about their taste, but I genuinely don't, though. Don't get butthurt because I don't share bunch of hivemind's thoughts, lol.

[@charlesscholton5252]

Less button presses compared to Diablo Immoral draining your bank account with every click.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

OMG yeah i mean if we're getting into the trenches of western monetization hellscape yes Blade looks much better in comparison ha. I don't come from that background though and instead focus on comparing the game to a higher standard set by games like DMC, Ninja Gaiden, Bayonetta, and Even Metal Gear Rising (which is slept on). But I can see if you come from a background of playing Diablo 3 or something, yeah Blade is gonna be a big change of pace ha. I try not to use terrible western games as the measuring stick for my reviews though, that standard is crazy low.