Stellar Blade First Impressions | Asmongold Reacts to CohhCarnage

Summary

In this early thoughts video, the reviewer initially had mixed feelings about 'Stellar Blade' due to its assets and potential for quick-time events, but after playing for four hours, they found the game to be well-made and fun. Despite some concerns about the combat system's micro delay and upgrade mechanics, the talent tree and enemy variety made up for it. The reviewer praises the level design, loot, and character design, though they find the music repetitive. They compare 'Stellar Blade' favorably to 'Lies of P', noting improved combat and overall quality, and plan to finish the game for a more in-depth review.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker initially had mixed feelings about 'Stellar Blade', with optimism but also concerns due to the game's assets.
• 🤔 Concerns were raised about the game potentially having great visuals but poor gameplay, a common issue in the gaming industry.
• 👎 The speaker is critical of over-sexualized characters, often associating them with poor game quality.
• 🎮 Despite not playing the demo, the speaker found 'Stellar Blade' to be a well-made and fun game after spending four hours playing it.
• 🔥 The game's combat system was initially off-putting due to a perceived input delay, but it grew on the speaker as they learned the parrying mechanics.
• 🛡️ 'Stellar Blade' features a talent tree system that allows for character progression, which the speaker appreciates.
• 👾 The enemy variety in the game is praised for being unique and interesting.
• 🏞️ The level design is noted for its verticality and hidden areas off the main path, enhancing exploration.
• 💰 The game is filled with loot, contributing to the enjoyment of gameplay.
• 🎵 The music is described as repetitive, which could be improved for a better player experience.
• 🎮 The speaker compares 'Stellar Blade' favorably to 'Lies of P', considering it to have superior combat mechanics.

Q & A

What were the initial impressions of Stellar Blade based on its assets?

The initial impressions were mixed. The game looked cool, but there were concerns that the assets might overshadow the gameplay quality, leading to a potentially disappointing experience if the gameplay didn't live up to the visuals.

What misconception did the speaker have about the combat in Stellar Blade?

The speaker initially thought that the combat would be filled with quick-time events due to the animation attack sequences, but this turned out not to be the case.

What was the speaker's attitude towards the character design, particularly regarding sexualization?

The speaker tends to assume that games with oversexualized characters are of lower quality, and they approach such games with skepticism.

How did the speaker's expectations of Stellar Blade change after playing it for four hours?

After playing for four hours, the speaker found Stellar Blade to be a well-made, fun game, contrary to their initial mid to low expectations.

What feeling did the speaker compare their experience with Stellar Blade to?

The speaker compared their experience with Stellar Blade to their experience halfway through the Fallout TV show, where they realized they were enjoying it even without the familiar elements of the Fallout franchise.

What aspect of Stellar Blade's combat system did the speaker find intuitive despite an initial feeling of delay?

The speaker found the parrying system in Stellar Blade intuitive, as it seemed to override the slight delay they felt in the combat system, making it easier to time parries effectively.

What did the speaker think about the upgrade mechanics in Stellar Blade?

The speaker found some of the upgrade mechanics to be a bit stale, but they were okay with it due to the presence of a talent tree that allowed for character progression and skill acquisition.

How did the speaker describe the enemy variety and level design in Stellar Blade?

The speaker praised the enemy variety as unique and weird, and they enjoyed the level design for its verticality and hidden elements off the main path.

What was the speaker's opinion on the music in Stellar Blade?

The speaker found the music to be good initially but noted that it became repetitive over time, suggesting it could be improved by having more variety.

What comparison did the speaker make between Stellar Blade and other games in terms of combat?

The speaker compared Stellar Blade to Devil May Cry, noting that it has a similar style of action combat with combos and dodging, and they believe Stellar Blade has better combat than Lies of P.

What are the speaker's plans for continuing to engage with Stellar Blade?

The speaker plans to finish the main story of Stellar Blade and may create a more thorough thoughts video after completion, as they've heard mixed opinions about the story and characters.

Outlines

00:00

🎮 Initial Impressions and Gameplay Mechanics of Stellar Blade

The speaker begins with mixed feelings about Stellar Blade, initially skeptical due to concerns over the game's assets and potential over-sexualization of characters. Despite initial reservations, after playing for four hours, they find the game to be well-made and enjoyable. The combat system, which initially felt slow, grew on them due to its parrying and blocking mechanics. The speaker also appreciates the game's solid action gameplay, even without its high-quality assets, and mentions a comparison to the Fallout TV show, highlighting the game's ability to stand on its own merit.

05:00

🌟 Stellar Blade's Combat and Character Development

This paragraph delves deeper into Stellar Blade's gameplay, focusing on the combat system and character progression. The speaker finds the combat to be fine after getting used to it, with palpable and visually appealing mechanics. They express some dissatisfaction with the upgrade mechanics but appreciate the talent tree system for character leveling. The enemy variety and level design are praised for their uniqueness and verticality, offering hidden loot and exploration opportunities. The speaker also comments on the game's music, noting its repetitiveness but acknowledging its overall goodness. They conclude by comparing Stellar Blade to other action games, noting its distinct combat style and expressing their intention to complete the main story and potentially provide further insights later.

Keywords

💡Stellar Blade

Stellar Blade is the central subject of the video, referring to a video game that the speaker initially had mixed feelings about but later found to be enjoyable. The game is described as having impressive assets but also raising concerns about gameplay quality. It is later praised for its combat mechanics, level design, and enemy variety.

💡Optimistic

Optimistic in this context refers to the speaker's initial positive outlook or hope for the game's quality, despite some reservations. The term is used to contrast the speaker's first impression with their eventual positive experience after playing Stellar Blade.

💡Assets

In the context of video games, assets refer to the visual and audio elements that make up the game's presentation. The speaker mentions being concerned about the game's assets possibly overshadowing its gameplay, a common worry in discussions about games that look good but may not play well.

💡Quick Time Events (QTEs)

Quick Time Events are a game mechanic where the player must quickly respond to on-screen prompts to execute actions. The speaker initially thought Stellar Blade would rely heavily on QTEs for combat, which was later revealed to be incorrect, highlighting a misconception about the game's mechanics.

💡Unreal Engine 5

Unreal Engine 5 is a game engine known for its high-quality graphics capabilities. The speaker mentions it as a potential reason for the game's impressive visuals, suggesting that Stellar Blade might look good but still be poorly designed gameplay-wise, which turned out not to be the case.

💡Combat System

The combat system in Stellar Blade is a key aspect of the game that the speaker discusses in detail. It includes mechanics like parrying and blocking, which initially felt delayed but later became intuitive and satisfying to the speaker, indicating an important part of the gameplay experience.

💡Talent Tree

A talent tree is a feature in many games that allows players to customize their character's abilities by choosing from a variety of skill options. The speaker appreciates Stellar Blade's talent tree as it offers depth and customization, compensating for other less impressive upgrade mechanics.

💡Enemy Variety

Enemy variety refers to the range and uniqueness of opponents that a player encounters in a game. The speaker praises Stellar Blade for having diverse and interesting enemies, which contributes to the game's replayability and overall enjoyment.

💡Level Design

Level design is the art of creating the structure and layout of a game's playable areas. The speaker compliments Stellar Blade's level design for its verticality and hidden areas, which adds exploration and depth to the game.

💡Loot

Loot in gaming refers to the items that players can collect, often used to enhance characters or provide rewards. The speaker notes the abundance of loot in Stellar Blade, contributing to the game's appeal and the player's sense of progression.

💡Music

The music in Stellar Blade is mentioned as being good but repetitive by the speaker. Music plays a significant role in setting the atmosphere and tone of a game, and in this case, it seems to have a mixed impact on the overall experience.

💡Character Design

Character design involves the visual and conceptual elements that define a character's appearance and personality. The speaker praises Stellar Blade's character design, noting that it is of high quality, even if the characters themselves are not particularly interesting.

💡Controversy

Controversy in this context refers to potential negative opinions or debates surrounding certain aspects of the game, such as character design or gameplay mechanics. The speaker briefly mentions the term in relation to Stellar Blade, indicating that despite any controversy, the game's combat and design are still considered superior to other games.

Highlights

Initial optimism and concerns about the game's assets and potential gameplay issues.

Misjudgment based on animations and the assumption of quick-time events that turned out to be false.

The paradox of high-quality graphics not guaranteeing good gameplay.

Player's personal bias against over-sexualized characters in games.

Admission of playing the game with mid to low expectations.

Realization of enjoying the game beyond its phenomenal assets.

The combat system's slower pace and the built-in micro delay queuing system.

The parrying system's effectiveness despite the perceived input delay.

Upgrade mechanics being somewhat stale but offset by the talent tree system.

Praise for enemy variety and uniqueness in the game.

Appreciation for the game's level design with verticality and hidden elements.

The abundance of loot enhancing the gameplay experience.

Comments on the game's music being good but repetitive.

Comparison to other games and the assertion that Stellar Blade offers superior combat.

The game's potential to be enjoyable even without the controversial character design.

Reflection on how initial game impressions can change with more playtime.

The game's character design being highly praised despite concerns about the story.

Transcripts

K thoughts on Stellar Blade with a quick

early thoughts video this time on

Stellar blade when I first saw this game

I was a little optimistic it looked

pretty cool but have to admit um there

were certain uh assets this game had

which made me a little concerned about

it um it's funny he says that because I

was the exact same way whenever I saw

this game the first time I thought it

didn't really look that good and because

there were a lot of like uh animation

Attack sequences I thought that most of

the cool uh like methods of combat in

this game were going to be quick time

events it was not true but that's what

my my first inclination was into their

assets that sometimes can mean the game

play suffers what he's saying is that

it's a game that could be made an unreal

five that looks amazing but is a

complete piece of [ __ ] garbage that

should have never be made and it should

have never existed but because people

were able to market the game as looking

good then people buy it anyway yeah

that's definitely

true so and that's not in all cases near

being a great example but you know in a

lot of in a lot of cases that's just

kind of how it is um the whole kind of

you know assets sell things maybe the

game doesn't need as much of that other

stuff to kind of you know carry the

weight as it

is so when I first started playing

Stellar blade I did not play the demo

for the record I and if he's talking

about like the character being hot I

also feel the same way like whenever I

see something that's over sexualized I

usually just assume it's a it's a bad

game I do I'm just like okay well this

is probably just

stupid same yeah approached it from a a

joking angle kind of like oh you know

let's see how this is let's see how the

game is you yeah sure wi in with

relatively mid to low expectations all

right I've now spent about four hours

with the game oh and I can safely say

that Stellar blade is awesome

it is a really cool well-made fun game

it's a yeah it's a good game yeah I

remember yesterday whenever I ended my

stream like I've been thinking about

playing it again all day

today and the thing about Stellar blade

that made me really kind of

fundamentally realize that I was having

a good time is the same feeling that hit

me about Midway through the recent

Fallout TV show oh and what that was is

there was a about halfway through the

Fallout TV show something clicked for me

and that is I'm a huge Fallout fan and

I'm loving this

show but I would love wait I never even

seen this menu

before I had no idea this even

existed that's

crazy there's an item

menu

what that's

wow this

show if it had nothing to do with

Fallout and when I realized that is when

I realized that like oh maybe this is a

really good show and I feel that way

about Stellar blade where it's kind of

like after playing it for a little bit I

kind of realized like wait a second this

is this is just a great game yeah I I

would play this game if it had

no phenomenal assets like it's just a

solid action game it's got very cool

Advantage no I mean for me I don't even

like playing female protagonists in

games I like playing a

guy but like if it's a good game I'm

still going to play

it

yeah uh mechanics the combat feels a

little it's I'm it's because I'm gay

that's true so it has like this the

combat feels a little slower than

traditional action games but that's

because there's kind of like this

builtin micro delay SL queing system

that makes it so I feel like parrying

and blocking is a little easier yeah um

I think some people will just look at it

and go this feels like input delay and I

don't like it it does feel like input

delay and I don't like

it first started in the com when I first

started using the combat system it did

feel a little bit weird but then when

you learn about like the Parry system

and you realize that the Parry system

kind of like almost overrides that delay

a little bit like if you if you're if

you're having that slightly delay

feeling it does they even they even

talked about that on the BET

but the enemy starts to attack Perry

feels like it has no DeLay So it creates

this weird feeling where it's kind of

like the the damage dealing part of and

the dodging part of combat feels the

slightest bit delayed but the paries

actually feel pretty on point so it's

kind of a it's it's an interesting weird

feeling um that's not normal but some

people I think say it feels a little

uncomfortable for me after using it for

a little bit it started feeling great so

yeah it there is a little bit of a delay

but it lets parrying be a lot more kind

of uh in it makes it more intuitive

almost in some ways but anyway let's

let's go back to the thoughts

video combat after a little bit feels

fine slash good advancement me combat is

good in the game true mechanics they're

palpable and look good as well they're

okay like I I I don't like some of the

upgrade mechanics I think are a little

bit stale but the reason why I think

it's okay is because it has the whole

talent tree and Like You Can level up

your character through the talent tree

so anything that like I would feel is

like not super great with uh with the

other stuff is kind of overridden by the

talent tree lots of skills to get enemy

variety is awesome I've really liked the

enemies so far I've encountered in this

game they're unique they're weird I dig

it level design great lots of

verticality lots of little off the main

path hidden stuff really enjoying that

as well tons of loot everywhere it's

been really enjoyable music's been good

although a little repetitive music is

very repetitive it could get a lot

better because yeah I feel like I'm

always listening to the same track over

and over and

over yeah overall just at the end of of

my early thoughts video here game is

good Stellar blade solid solid I don't

want to call it a Souls likee but solid

kind of action yeah uh devil Style game

um it's not really a Neo it's not really

a dark

Doge it firmly is in kind of that um

action combat yeah Devil May Cry you're

doing combos that kind of is they

dodging okay yes stars and uh and

definitely enjoying it so anyway that's

it right now so far Stella Stella blade

has been awesome I do only have like

four hours into it I'm planning on at

least finishing the main story and uh

maybe we'll make a more thorough

thoughts video when we get to the end

because I've heard some mixed things

about the stories and characters uh some

people are claiming they absolutely love

them and others are claiming they're

like super one-dimensional I don't know

yet we'll see but I bet that the

character the characters do seem like

the story doesn't seem like it's that

special at all but the character design

is is s

tier like whether it's like that girl in

that one uh like bar or like the old guy

oh it's so

good it' be fun all right guys I'm out

of here thanks for watching and we will

see you in the Stream twitch.tv/ Carnage

see you then there it is yeah I mean I I

definitely agree I I feel like the game

like most games for me get better as I

spend more time playing them like at at

the beginning of like generally my

opinion of a game will be at its lowest

at the beginning because I won't really

understand or appreciate what the game

is about and then as I play more of it

as I invest more time into it then

finally I'm like okay now I'm starting

to get it now I know what I'm talking

about I can start playing this more you

know or start enjoying it more the

characters are boring yeah I think

they're kind of boring too to be honest

I do I don't find them particularly

interesting either would it still be a

good game without the girl controversy

I think that Stellar blade has better

combat than lies of P I think that it

does and I thought Li of P was an

incredible

game so like Li of p is a great game

Stellar blade is better in my opinion

which makes sense right I mean like

obviously you know the people that made

Stellar blade are more experienced they

have more resources and they made a

better game I think L of is good but I

think star blade is better Star blades

Perry is better I just think a lot of

things about it better to be honest with

you it's not just like one thing it's a

lot of things